🍎 Apple's Big Bite

The tech giant's latest milestone was more than a decade in the making. Plus, the PHUN ends and more.

Author

Brooks Dyroff
January 17, 2024

Happy Wednesday Zingernation! I never judge a book by its cover. Well, almost never. No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, I’ll give you a chance — unless, of course, you send me a green text bubble.

Which, come to think of it, means there are actually plenty of people out there I won’t give a chance. iPhones may seem to be everywhere, but for more than a decade, Samsung has been the leader of the smartphone market. That finally changed in 2023, when Apple shipped nearly 235 million iPhones, becoming the largest smartphone maker by market share. 

So at least 20.1% of smartphone owners can rest easier knowing I’m not judging them.

Today’s Price Action:
$SPY: -.56%
$QQQ: -.56%
$DIA: -.25%

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TODAY’S MOST VOLATILE STOCKS
ONE TOP MOVER
by Lincoln Electric Systems, Lincoln Nebraska

Briefly: SolarEdge shares are trading lower Wednesday after Barclays downgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Underweight and lowered its price target from $74 to $50.

Rising Competition: Barclays identified multiple downside risks for SolarEdge, including a tough road to recovery for the company’s top line, gross margins and market share, as competitors like Tesla and Enphase Energy rise.

Other Headwinds: The analyst note also mentions rising shipping costs as a concern for SolarEdge, especially after the company shut down its Mexico facility and will now have to ship its products from Asia to fulfill demand. 

What Next: Read more here.

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FIVE MOVERS

Alcoa stock moved lower after the close following the company’s mixed earnings results.

Li Automotive shares took a hit after China reported lower-than-expected GDP growth and other concerning economic data.

Spirit Airlines stock continued its descent due to fallout from its failed merger with JetBlue and negative sentiment from analysts.

Vaxart stock closed up by more than 6% after the company announced a contract with the U.S. government.

Phunware shares crashed back down to earth today as the company announced a public offering yesterday after the close.

ONE TRADE IDEA FOR TOMORROW
Netflix sign on a building at sunset.

Briefly: Bank of America Securities analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich maintained Netflix with a Buy and raised the price target from $525 to $585.

What Happened: The analyst noted that substantial free cash flow generation should help drive shareholder returns.

Back Up: Netflix increased its buyback authorization for an additional $10 billion in October.

What Else: Ehrlich says Netflix’s ability to purchase third-party content could drive additional efficiencies with its content spending, as the company can lean on more on well-known content than high-risk new productions.

So What? This potential win for investors is a potential loss for subscribers — unless you’re salivating for another year of Suits reruns.

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