The Daily Editor

Block (XYZ) stock is down 6% after the financial technology and cryptocurrency company reported fourth-quarter 2024 financial results that missed Wall Street’s forecasts across the board.

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Block announced earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71, which was well below the $0.88 expected among analysts.

 » Read more about: XYZ Earnings: Block Stock Falls as Financial Results Miss Wall Street Targets  »

 » Read more about: ‘No economic bounceback’: Bank of Canada governor says trade war could hurt the economy more than pandemic  »

• Albert Edwards warns declining analyst optimism for US tech stocks could mean trouble.
• Historically, souring analyst optimism has led to poor stock-market performance.
• Tech-stock capitalization now exceeds dot-com bubble levels, leaving the market vulnerable, he said.

Societe Generale strategist Albert Edwards has long been skeptical that AI stocks in the US could live up to the hype surrounding them.

 » Read more about: A renowned market strategist who called the dot-com bubble warns US stocks are at 'serious risk' as tech analyst optimism starts to sour  »

“Companies report widespread concerns about the impact of federal government policies, ranging from spending cuts to tariffs and geopolitical developments,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. “Sales are reportedly being hit by the uncertainty caused by the changing political landscape, and prices are rising amid tariff-related price hikes from suppliers.”

A separate report said U.S.

 » Read more about: Stock market today: Dow tumbles 700 as US businesses and consumers worry about tariffs  »

Goldman Sachs analyst Mike Ng maintained a Buy rating on Apple (AAPL – Research Report) today and set a price target of $294.00. The company’s shares closed yesterday at $244.87.

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According to TipRanks,

 » Read more about: Apple (AAPL): New Buy Recommendation for This Technology Giant  »

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is expanding its personalized AI system, Apple Intelligence, to several new languages, including French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, and Chinese. Additionally, localized English versions will be released for Singapore and India. This move will enable more users worldwide to interact with Apple’s AI technology in their native language.

 » Read more about: Apple (AAPL) to Expand Apple Intelligence to New Languages  »

Shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL – Get Free Report) were up 0.7% during trading on Thursday after Maxim Group raised their price target on the stock to $215.00. Maxim Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Apple traded as high as $246.78 and last traded at $246.57.

 » Read more about: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Trading Up 0.7% After Analyst Upgrade  »

 » Read more about: Cathie Wood's Ark Invest Loads Up On Beam Therapeutics, Nu Holdings: Offloads MercadoLibre, Adaptive Biotechnologies  »

 » Read more about: Trump to use CFIUS to restrict Chinese investments in strategic areas, White House official says  »

The cryptocurrency market is lacking positive catalysts in the near term, Wall Street bank JPMorgan (JPM) said in a report Wednesday.

The correction in crypto markets in recent months has seen both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) futures near backwardation, which is a sign of lower demand,

 » Read more about: Crypto Market Faces Weak Demand, Needs Trump Initiatives to Kick In, JPMorgan Says  »