AnalytixInsight

Last week was mixed despite Nvidia’s stellar earnings and guidance. Nasdaq composite rose 1.4% for the week (fifth straight weekly gain, and an all-time record). S&P 500 index closed marignally higher (after a brief record high Thursday). Dow Jones lost 2.3% last week. Nvidia revenue rose 262% to US$26 billion in the quarter that ended in April as its artificial intelligence chip sales helped the company beat its revenue projection for the quarter by more than 30% for the second quarter in a row. Free cash flow rose by nearly 6 times to US$14.9 billion in the April quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. And the company gave another strong revenue projection for the current fiscal quarter, which ends in July, saying sales would rise about 107% from last year. Anduril is seeking a US$12.5 billion valuation after doubling revenue. SpaceX is weighing a plan to sell shares at US$200 billion valuation. Shares of database provider Snowflake fell 5% on Thursday after the company said a day earlier that revenue growth had “moderated” in April. Microsoft unveils new AI ‘agents’ to automate workplace tasks and AI focused PCs. U.S. approved NASDAQ and NYSE requests to list Ether ETFs. Ether has jumped nearly 30% in recent days on the anticipation of the SEC decision. In Canada, Blackline announced a $20 million bought deal and $10 million concurrent private placement. Sophic Capital client, Kraken Robotics completed a $20 million bought deal equity financing. Sophic Clients, ADM Endeavors, Legend Power Systems, OneSoft Solutions reported quarterly results. ADM’s focus is now on expanding operational capacity from its new facility in 2024. LPS closed on some large deals, has a strengthened balance sheet, and a growing pipeline. OneSoft reported 30%+ y/y revenue growth, and estimates 2024 in the range of $15 – $16 million, 44% to 54% y/y growth.

Last week, Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all hit record highs. Dow Jones rose 1.2% during the week, S&P 500 gained 1.5%, and Nasdaq composite was up 2.1%. CoreWeave, an upstart cloud provider that rents out servers with Nvidia’s artificial intelligence chips, raised US$7.5 billion in debt financing led by Blackstone, the company said Friday, adding that it was the largest deal of its kind. OpenAI on Monday launched a new AI model and desktop version of ChatGPT, along with an updated user interface. Google is expanding conversational search results that summarize answers instead of just listing links to other websites. Snowflake is said to be discussing buying AI startup Reka AI for US$1 billion. Squarespace said Monday it had agreed to a buyout by private equity firm Permira for US$44 a share in cash, in a deal that values the company at US$6.9 billion including debt. Reddit shares surged as it struck a content deal with OpenAI. Meta is reportedly working on camera-equipped AI earphones. Netflix said it plans to launch its own advertising technology platform to allow advertisers to buy ads on the streaming service. Millennium, Point72 and Elliott are among Bitcoin ETF buyers, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Q1 13F filings of roughly 1,000 filers. In Canada, Xybion Digital, and CloudMD were both taken out — as we’ve highlighted previously, we expect small to mid cap Canadian listed companies to be acquired unless the valuation gap with US listed companies narrows. Sophic Client, Xcyte Digital released its “Xperience” subscription service. Xperience, the first-of-its-kind service, gives subscribers the flexibility to select the most suitable technologies for hosting events bringing together a global ecosystem of event technology. The Xperience partner ecosystem is intended to be distributed globally and offered to, among others, large multinational enterprises, which is expected to broaden Xcyte’s reach into major worldwide markets.

Major indices resumed their move towards record or 52-week highs last week — Dow Jones gained 2.2%, S&P 500 rose 1.85%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 1.1%. Chinese EV maker Zeekr priced its US IPO at top of range to raise US$441 million, the stock popped 30%+ on its debut. S&P 500 companies that have reported Q1/24 results disclosed buying back US$181.2 billion of their shares during the period, up 16% y/y. Since the start of 2023, the volume of M&A financed by stock or a mix of cash and stock has touched its highest level in more than two decades. SoftBank is in talks to acquire Graphcore, a struggling British semiconductor startup once valued at US$2.8 billion. BigCommerce reportedly hired bankers to explore potential sale. Private equity firms are reportedly circling Peloton for a potential buyout. Warren Buffett gave a prominent gesture of confidence to Apple at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday, saying it’s “extremely likely” the stock will remain his holding company’s biggest investment despite Apple’s recent struggles. OpenAI will announce and demonstrate updates to ChatGPT and GPT-4 on Monday via livestream, the company said on X on Friday. Apple is finalizing a deal with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT features to iOS 18. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance sued the U.S. government on Tuesday to block a new law signed by President Biden forcing a sale or ban of the short-form video app. In Canada, Sophic Client, Kraken received $3.5 million of orders for subsea security equipment. Tantalus Systems announced a $10 million bought deal financing. American Aires announced a $3 million private placement. Shopify fell 18% on Wednesday, shaving almost US$20 billion off the company’s value, after the company gave revenue and profit guidance for the current quarter that spooked investors.

Markets ended the week strongly, due to a tame jobs report, which led to rate cut hopes and a rebounding Apple, prior to Berkshire indicating it cut its Apple position on Saturday. Dow Jones rose 1.1% during the week, S&P 500 gained 0.55%, and Nasdaq composite rose 1.4%. CoreWeave, an Nvidia-backed cloud startup, said it raised US$1.1 billion in new funding led by Coatue Management. The round valued it at US$19 billion. Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic on Wednesday unveiled its first mobile app for iPhone users and a new subscription plan for enterprise customers. Tesla shares surged 15% on Monday after Bloomberg reported that the automaker had partnered with Chinese internet company Baidu to help bring the electric vehicle maker’s driver assistance technology to China. A 10.5% drop in iPhone revenue dragged down Apple’s overall revenue by 4% in the March quarter, the tech giant reported Thursday, leading to a 2.3% decline in net profit. Apple announced a new US$110 billion share buyback and increased the dividend. Apple has renewed discussions with OpenAI about using the startup’s technology to power some new features coming to the iPhone later this year. Google on Monday announced new features for its Performance Max ad-buying tool, which uses artificial intelligence to optimize ad campaigns. In Canada, Sophic Client Ionik announced the sale of PopReach Games portfolio for a total aggregate purchase price of up to US$9.8 million. Sophic Capital Client, Xcyte Digital signed agreement to purchase assets of Webinar.net, bringing the Companys’ Pro Forma revenue run rate to US$5.0 million, before synergies, up 500% since the Company’s 2023 RTO. Zedcor announced a $4 million Bought Deal and $10 million concurrent Private Placement offering. Stack Capital invested US$8 million into Canva.