Weekly Investment News and Analysis

Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.2%, the S&P 500 fell 1.5% and the Nasdaq composite tumbled 3.1%. Major indexes reversed after a higher open on Friday giving up most of Thursday’s surprise upside. Instacart cut its internal valuation a third time, to US$13 billion. Patreon’s internal valuation fell 70% over the past year, according to a memo sent to staff in September. Vista Equity Partners has struck a deal to purchase cybersecurity provider KnowBe4 for US$4.6 billion in an increasingly rare leveraged buyout as financing for such deals has become harder to secure. ForgeRock Inc., a maker of identity-verification software, said it will be acquired by Thoma Bravo in an all-cash deal valued at about US$2.3 billion. Volkswagen will take a 60% stake in US$2 billion tech JV with China’s Horizon Robotics. Renault and Nissan said Monday they were discussing ways to reinforce their partnership, including the possibility of an investment by Nissan in Renault’s new electric-vehicle unit. Nutanix stock rockets toward a 5-month high after WSJ report of buyout interest. TSMC earnings topped estimates as chip industry braces for slowdown, and Asia’s top chip stocks tumbled Tuesday, ensnared in an escalating US-China tech race that has erased more than US$240 billion from the sector’s global market value. Apple’s new mixed reality headset is expected to include an iris scanning feature that allows people wearing it to login to the device and make payments from it. Sophic Client Jasper Commerce Inc. (JPIM-CA) will acquire Cartika, expanding into managed Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for mid-market businesses. This accretive and shareholder friendly acquisition should nearly double Jasper’s Fiscal 2023 (Jul 2023) revenue to $3.5-4 million, YoY from the Company’s ~$1.7 million F2022 guidance and accelerate EBTIDA break-even by nearly a quarter. The transaction is to be funded with Jasper’s existing balance sheet. Sophic Client Edge Total Intelligence (CTRL-TSXV, UNFYF-OTCQB, Q5I-FRA) announced its U.S. listing on the OTCQB under symbol “UNFYF”.

Even though Friday was brutal for tech stocks, major indices ended up last week. The Dow Jones rose 2%, S&P 500 was up 1.5%, and the Nasdaq eked out a 0.7% gain despite falling 3.8% on Friday. Twitter and Elon Musk will not be seeing each other in court—yet. The parties, who were scheduled to go to trial in Delaware on October 17, have until October 28 to close Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for US$54.20 per share. Meanwhile, Carl Icahn scored an estimated US$250 million gain on Twitter stock. South Korea’s internet giant Naver is buying ecommerce firm Poshmark for US$1.2 billion, taking advantage of the big drop in Poshmark’s stock price. Amazon freezes corporate hiring in retail and operations businesses. Peloton cuts 500 more jobs; CEO Barry McCarthy, said he is giving the company about another six months to significantly turn itself around. DraftKings stock jumps on report of partnership with ESPN. Rivian stock price jumps after EV maker backs 2022 production guidance even as the company recalled nearly almost all of its vehicles. TSMC sales top estimates as clout helps chip giant during slowdown. TikTok parent ByteDance Ltd. saw its operating losses more than triple last year to above US$7 billion as it spent heavily to continue its torrid growth. Fast-fashion retailer Shein has shed up to one-third of its value in private markets in recent months after reaching a valuation of more than US$100 billion earlier this year. Horizon Worlds metaverse app so bad that Meta has to force employees to use it. The US Supreme Court agrees to hear case on tech companies’ legal immunity. Around US$100 million of Binance Coin was stolen Friday. Visa partners with FTX in a bet that shoppers still want to spend cryptocurrencies in a bear market. Sophic Client UGE International (UGE-TSXV) acquired 3.5MW community solar project and closed a US$15 million credit facility.

Markets fell yet again last week, ending a terrible September, and Q3 — the longest stretch of down quarters since 2008. The Dow Jones was down 2.9%, S&P 500 fell 2.9%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 2.7%. The Vision Fund, a venture capital arm of SoftBank, has launched a sweeping layoff process, cutting at least 30% of its workforce globally, or approximately 150 of the 500 employees. Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will freeze hiring and cut costs. DocuSign to cut workforce by 9% as part of restructuring plan. Peloton added Dicks Sporting Goods to the retail outlets that will sell its exercise bike. Shares of Peloton dived 15% on the news to just below US$7, its lowest point yet. Intel’s self-driving unit Mobileye on Friday unveiled its IPO filing. The tech IPO market globally is in the middle of its worst drought in nearly two decades. U.S. listings have raised a little over US$7 billion so far this year, according to data from Dealogic. Last year traditional IPOs, excluding special purpose acquisition companies, had raised a record US$154 billion. Mobileye’s IPO, coming on the heels of Porsche’s blockbuster debut in Europe, could, however, be an early sign of improving investor sentiment. TripActions reportedly files to go public at US$12 billion valuation. Stripe revenue rises 66% to US$2.255 billion. Uniswap Labs eyes over US$100 million in new funding, as the parent firm of the world’s largest decentralized exchange gears up to broaden its offerings. In Canada, Sophic Client, Clear Blue Technologies (CBLU-TSXV) received $5 million grant funding from SDTC. This grant combined with a June $4 million non dilutive funding from the Government of Canada, supports the $10 million market cap company’s 2023 growth. BuildDirect announced the upsizing of a private placement. Kitchener-Waterloo startup Avidbots secured US$70 million in a Series C funding round to expand its fleet of floor scrubbing robots.

Last week, the Dow Jones fell 4%, the S&P 500 fell 4.6%, and the Nasdaq fell 5.1%, as a hawkish Federal Reserve sent US Treasury yields soaring. Instacart plans to focus its IPO on selling employee shares. Chinese EV maker Leapmotor aims to raise US$1 billion in a Hong Kong IPO. Tencent considers more stake sales to fund share buybacks, future growth. FTX is in talks to raise up to US$1 billion at valuation of about US$32 billion, in-line with its prior round. Meta, and Google to cut costs and staff. Home-flipper Opendoor hit with losses in echo of Zillow collapse. Accenture stock fell after profit and revenue beat expectations but outlook was downbeat. Take-Two stock fell as company says leaked ‘Grand Theft Auto’ footage the result of ‘network intrusion’. Amazon said it had ‘biggest three hours of signups’ for Prime during first exclusive NFL stream. 25% of Netflix subscribers planning to leave service. In 2021, investors poured more than US$12 billion into a new breed of start-ups focused on buying Amazon marketplace sellers. This year, the funding has mostly dried up. Nasdaq moves into crypto with custodying services. Affirm stock heads higher as company notches BNPL deal with Amazon in Canada. Coinsquare to acquire CoinSmart as consolidation of Canadian crypto traders continues. Sophic Client, Swarmio Media (SWRM-CSE, SWMIF-OTC) and Globe Telecom Partner with PUBG MOBILE to Promote the Globe Gamer Grounds Platform in the Philippines. PUBG MOBILE is one of the most popular mobile games in the Philippines, with over one million monthly active users. Sophic Client Reklaim (MYID-TSXV, MYIDF-OTC): This report demonstrates how shifts in regulation and company compliance relates to Reklaim, which allows consumers to confirm their identity and unveil data that businesses have collected and sold without the consumer’s explicit consent for years.

The market had another rough week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.1%, the S&P 500 index fell 4.8%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 5.5%. Billionaire investor, Stanley Druckenmiller warned there’s a high probability of the stock market being flat for a decade. SoftBank considers launching a third vision fund, despite massive losses. TikTok parent ByteDance to buy back US$3 billion worth of shares; the buyback would value ByteDance at about US$300 billion, Reuters reported. Adobe’s US$20 billion deal for Figma is more than 50 times the startup’s revenue and is the biggest acquisition of a private technology company ever. Intel cuts expectations for Mobileye, aiming for US$30 billion IPO. Tencent Music Entertainment Group is pressing ahead with its Hong Kong listing plans with a goal to start trading in the Asian financial hub as soon as next week, according to people familiar with the matter. Twilio lays off 11% of its staff as it aims for profitability in 2023. Wix’s stock rose after activist investor Starboard disclosed a 9% stake. Deere invests billions in self-driving tractors, smart crop sprayers. Cruise, the autonomous vehicle company owned by General Motors, will launch a robotaxi service in Phoenix, Arizona, and Austin, Texas, before the end of 2022. Netflix estimates ad-supported tier will reach 40 million viewers by late 2023. Roblox announces new ad revenue stream. Uber investigates hack. California files Antitrust complaint against Amazon. Google loses appeal over illegal Android app bundling, EU reduces fine to €4.1 billion. Citadel Securities, Fidelity and Charles Schwab to launch new crypto exchange. In Canada, CubicFarm Systems announced a $6.25 million senior secured term loan. Converge Technology Solutions acquires Newcomp Analytics. Stack Capital increases its exposure to Prove Identity via a share swap. WELL Health announces inclusion in the 2022 TSX30. Sophic Client, Swarmio Media announced an initial strategic investment of a US$1 million convertible note from Apelby Communications at a US$30 million market capitalization. Sophic Client, LuckBox announced triple digit growth in key operational metrics. Sophic also published three reports on Sophic Client Reklaim.

While headlines haven’t turned positive yet, Dow Jones was up 2.7% last week, the S&P 500 rose 3.65%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 4.1%. In Canada, Bragg Gaming secured U.S.$8.7 million funding for Company’s further execution on its growth initiatives. Shopify announced a pair of leadership changes Thursday, with a new chief operating officer set to take over immediately and a new chief financial officer slated to begin in October. U.S.-listed Chinese stocks fell Monday amid lockdown restrictions on 65 million people. Shares of Getty Images shot up 13.4% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the visual content company said it signed a “multi-year” renewal agreement with Amazon. GameStop reported wider loss, and announced a partnership with crypto exchange FTX. Netflix is trying to better control rising cloud computing costs with longtime cloud partner Amazon Web Services as part of its efforts to reduce total expenses, the Wall Street Journal reported. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger said on Wednesday that the company estimated a “substantial portion” of Twitter users were “not real” back in 2016 when the entertainment giant was considering buying the social media platform. Apple picks Globalstar for emergency satellite service on iPhone 14. While people are hyped up about the Apple September event, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman is back with more information regarding the upcoming Mixed Reality headset. According to him, Apple is developing three new headsets code-named N301, N602, and N421. Uber partners with Nuro on food deliveries using autonomous EVs starting in the fall. Rocket Lab’s recycled booster engine fired flawlessly after an ocean landing. Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ TV series got a record 25 million viewers. Apple TV+ global market share surpasses 6%. Mercedes-Benz and Rivian partner to jointly build electric vans in Europe.

Last week, the Dow Jones was down 3%, the S&P 500 lost 3.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 4.2%. Cathie Wood’s flagship ARK fund sees biggest monthly outflow in a year of US$820 million in August, just shy of its September 2021 outflow of US$939 million. Softbank Vision Fund is cutting 100 jobs. Snap is planning to lay off approximately 20 percent of its more than 6,400 employees, according to people familiar with the matter. U.S. regulators to vet Alibaba, JD and, other Chinese firms’ audits. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway sold shares in Chinese EV maker BYD for the first time in 14 years – and rakes in a 3,400% profit. Shares of Pinduoduo shot up 7.4% in premarket trading Monday, after the China-based company that connects agricultural producers with consumers reported second-quarter profit that more than tripled and revenue that rose well above expectations, citing “a recovery in consumer sentiment.” Twitter stock falls after Elon Musk sends another merger termination letter, for different reasons than the first one. MicroStrategy stock falls after DC AG sues CEO for tax fraud. iPhone US market share hits all-time high, overtaking Android; dominates global premium sales. OnlyFans, the adult content site best known for explicit content, reported revenue soared 160% to US$932 million year-over-year, according to financial results for the year ending November 2021. Netflix is seeking to charge advertisers top dollar of roughly US$65 for reaching 1,000 viewers, a measure known as CPM, or cost per thousand. Nvidia, AMD warned of new US export restrictions on AI chips. Shortage of 50-cent chips holds up US$50,000 cars, TSMC chief says. Micron Technology is investing $15 billion in new plant in Boise, Idaho. Honda and LG Chem will build a US$4.4 billion EV battery factory in the US. Bosch to invest US$200 million in US fuel cell production for electric commercial trucks.

Last week, the Dow Jones fell 4.2%, the S&P 500 fell 4%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 4.4%. Hedge funds are piling back into their favorite FANG stocks amid rising uncertainties in the stock market as investors grapple with elevated inflation and a Federal Reserve that is still expected to raise interest rates, according to Goldman Sachs. Global spending on technology, which includes cloud services, is expected to rise about 3% this year, well below the 10% annual growth in 2021 and the nearly 7% gain the year before, according to Gartner. The US IPO market faced the worst year in two decades. So far this year, traditional IPOs have raised only US$5.1 billion, Dealogic data shows. Typically, at this point in the year, traditional IPOs have raised around US$33 billion. Instacart orders and revenue grew in the second quarter as consumers stuck to online grocery delivery despite rising prices and store reopenings, a promising sign for investors as the company prepares for an initial public offering as soon as later this year. An army of Tesla fans in South Korea holds a collective stake of more than US$15 billion, putting them among its top shareholders, report says. The U.S. and China are nearing an agreement that would allow American regulators to inspect the audit records of Chinese companies listed in New York. China’s Pinduoduo to enter US market in first international step. T-Mobile and SpaceX Starlink say your 5G phone will connect to satellites next year. Sophic Client, UGE International (UGE-TSXV, UGEIF-OTC) CEO Nick Blitterswyk discussed the solar boom and how Biden’s climate bill could benefit business on ‘ on Fox Business. Eguana (EGT-TSXV) announced a US$33.0 million strategic investment by ITOCHU Corporation and provides update on US$5 million second tranche loan from Western Technology investment. Sophic Client Swarmio (SWRM-CSE, SWMIF-OTC) announced that it received $802,275 in secured debt from various private lenders. Open Text (OTEX-NYSE, OTEX-TSX) plans to acquire Micro Focus at US$6 billion valuation.

Friday reversed a good start to the week, the Dow Jones closed the week down 0.2%, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite was down 2.6%. In the USA, 522 startups have laid of 70,698 employees in 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi. Fidelity,and BlackRock cut fintech giant Ant’s valuation lower. WeWork’s co-founder lined up a US$350 million A16Z investment for a new billion-dollar real estate venture. Chinese internet giant Tencent reported its first-ever quarterly revenue decline since the company went public in 2004, as China’s economic slowdown took a toll. Shares of Hong Kong-listed food delivery service Meituan fell as much as 10% after Reuters reported that shareholder Tencent Holdings was planning to sell all or a bulk of its US$24 billion stake. Unity Software on Monday rejected gaming software company AppLovin Corp’s US$17.54 billion takeover offer and said it would go ahead with its deal to purchase mobile app monetization software company ironSource. Amazon is testing a feature in its app that would show users a TikTok-style photo and video feed of products for shoppers to share with other users. After dealing with booming demand and global shortages since the start of the pandemic, the semiconductor industry is facing a sudden downturn. The suddenness of the turn has ricocheted through the sector since late July, when Intel stunned Wall Street with the news that revenue in its latest quarter had fallen US$2.6 billion, or 15 per cent, short of expectations. In Canada, After the boom of 2021, Canadian venture capital investment is normalizing back to pre-pandemic levels, per the latest data from the Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA). Sophic Client LuckBox (LUCK-TSXV, LUKEF-OTC), management provided positive forward looking comments at the Company’s AGM held last week, guiding to profitability in H1 2023 supported by the Company’s existing cash balance.

Last week, the Dow Jones was up 2.9%, the S&P 500 was up 3.25%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 3.1%. The Nasdaq is now up 20%+ since it’s June 16th low. SoftBank reported a record net loss of US$23.4 billion for Q2 2022, as the global stock market rout dealt a severe blow to the vast portfolio of the company’s Vision Fund. The company now expects to book a gain of more than US$34 billion by reducing its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. Shares of Nvidia dropped 8% after a preliminary earnings announcement for the July quarter warned that weaker-than-expected demand for its gaming chips caused it to fall far short of the revenue target it had shared with investors last quarter. Palantir plunges 14% after scaling back its annual forecast. Trade Desk stock soars toward best day since 2018 amid ‘standout’ performance. AppLovin offers to buy video game software maker Unity in US$17.5 billion deal. Elon Musk sells nearly US$7 billion worth of Tesla stock amid Twitter uncertainty. South Korean investors pour more cash into SpaceX at US$125 billion price tag. Apple tells suppliers to make at least 90 million iPhone 14 units. BlackRock launches Bitcoin Trust for big clients. In Canada, D-Wave listed on the NYSE following the close of a SPAC deal. With a new team, Framework Venture Partners secures US$100 million first close for its second fund. Sophic Client Jasper, Commerce preannounced continued growth in Fiscal 2022 (ending July 31). Sophic Capital published a piece on client UGE International’s benefit from the largest climate package in U.S. history. We also published the first part of a CEO interview from our client Edge Total Intelligence, highlighting the company’s enterprise software platform, value proposition and end markets.

Last week, the Dow Jones closed down 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq was up 2.15%. Apple is again planning to issue debt to reward its shareholders by buying back its stock and paying dividends, according to a regulatory filing. Meta launched its first ever corporate bond offering on Thursday, without disclosing either the size of the deal or its pricing. SoftBank has raised as much as US$22 billion in cash from deals that would sharply reduce its stake in Alibaba over the coming years. PayPal jumped 14% after the fintech launched a massive US$15 billion stock buyback and received the backing of Elliot Management. Coinbase stock jumped after BlackRock, Instagram platform announcements. Pinterest popped 20% on earnings that weren’t as terrible as expected. Airbnb stock slumped despite record-breaking bookings. DraftKings stock shot up after a narrower-than-expected loss, and revenue that climbed above forecasts. Robinhood lays off 23% of staff, closes two offices in fresh round of cuts. Oracle layoffs have begun, according to reports. Amazon is buying iRobot for US$1.7 billion. Unity Software, the U.S. developer best known for software used to design video games, is in talks to spin off its China unit. Shipments to iPhone assembler Pegatron’s factory in China were being held for scrutiny by Chinese customs officials a day after the company’s senior executive met with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In Canada, CGI announces its intent to repurchase 939,000 shares held by CDPQ. Shopify is making a US$100 million investment in Klaviyo. Semtech confirmed buyout talks with Sierra Wireless. Canalyst is being acquired by Chicago-based Tegus in a massive BC tech exit of $400-500 million. FreshBooks has secured a US$100 million debt facility.

Last week, the Dow Jones was up 3%, the S&P 500 rose 4.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 4.7%. Amazon, and Apple stock responded well to earnings last week, while Meta piled onto growing fears that advertising demand is plummeting, posting its first decline in revenue since going public. Shares of Roku tumbled more than 25% in after-hours trading on a miss, and following the company’s projection of only 3% top-line growth for Q3. Spotify stock jumped on strong subscriber growth, and forecasts. Instacart aims to go public before year’s end, defying a frozen IPO market. Eutelsat and OneWeb agree on merger to create European satellite juggernaut. Twitter trial over Elon Musk merger is set to begin Oct. 17, as Elon Musk countersues Twitter over the merger, but details aren’t yet public. Twitter’s ‘mounting’ ad pressures mean the stock could be in mid-teens without support from Musk deal, according to MoffettNathanson. Google has delayed a phase-out of Chrome ad trackers to 2024 as antitrust trials loom. Crypto exchange FTX US expands stock trading, plans options next. Coinbase Global Inc. is facing a US probe into whether it improperly let Americans trade digital assets that should have been registered as securities, according to three people familiar with the matter. The company’s shares dropped as much as 9.2%. The U.S. passes US$52 billion in chip subsidies to boost production, counter China. Solar stocks jump as Senator Joe Manchin reaches a deal with Democrats that includes climate spending. Shares of SunRun and SunPower both jumped as much as 13% while First Solar surged 10% and SolarEdge rallied 6%. Sophic Client UGE (UGE-TSXV, UGEIF-OTC) closed up 7%. In Canada, Converge Technology secured a $500 million loan to continue acquisition spree. Volatus Aerospace announced a prospectus offering. CGI sees ‘Perfect’ deal climate as valuations improve. Clearco, Shopify, and Coinsquare announced layoffs as markets and the economy remains turbulent.