Major U.S. stock benchmarks closed higher on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average edging up 0.04% to 50,135.87, the S&P 500 rising 0.47% to 6,964.82, and the Nasdaq climbing 0.9% to 23,238.67.These are the top stocks that gained the attention of retail traders and investors through the day.Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:KD)Kyndryl Holdings stock tumbled 54.92% to close at $10.59, trading between an intraday high of $11.43 and a low of $10.10, with the stock sitting at its 52-week trough of $10.10 ver ...

-- A Big AppLovin Critic Walked Back Some Of Its Claims. The Stock Jumped. [Major Indexes Rise as Tech Stocks Surge][There Was an 'Unmistakeable' Flight to Value Last Week][What's Next for Crypto After a Rough Week?][How Much Coca-Cola Stock is Expected to Move After Earnings]- Top StoriesEven with Monday's gains, shares of AppLovin have lost about 37% from December's highs amid heightened scrutiny of its practices and investors.Gabby Jones / Bloomberg / Getty ImagesClose### Key Takeaways- CapitalWatch said ...

Group 1: Nvidia - Nvidia's stock rose by 2.4% with a trading volume of $37.199 billion, and Goldman Sachs set a target price of $250, anticipating Q4 revenue of $67.3 billion [1][11] - Goldman Sachs expects Nvidia to deliver a revenue "surprise" of $2 billion in Q4, with EPS forecasts exceeding market expectations by 5% and 9% for Q4 and Q1 respectively [1][11] - Analysts predict that the Rubin GPU will start shipping in Q3 2026, significantly increasing volume in Q4 and supporting strong growth until at least 2028 [1][11] Group 2: Tesla - Tesla's stock increased by 1.48% with a trading volume of $22.539 billion, and the company announced the mass production of the Tesla Cybercab at its Texas Gigafactory [2][12] - Tesla's Vice President revealed that the Full Self-Driving (FSD) technology rollout in mainland China is progressing, with a local training center established for adaptation [2][12] Group 3: Amazon - Amazon's stock fell by 0.76% with a trading volume of $18.912 billion, while STMicroelectronics announced a multi-year, multi-product collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) [3][12] - The partnership positions STMicroelectronics as a strategic supplier of advanced semiconductor technologies for AWS, integrating high-bandwidth connectivity and energy-efficient solutions [3][12] Group 4: Microsoft - Microsoft's stock rose by 3.13% with a trading volume of $18.292 billion, but the company faced two downgrades in less than a week due to concerns over AI-related risks [3][13] - Melius Research downgraded Microsoft from "Buy" to "Hold," citing worries about capital expenditures and the performance of its Copilot AI software [3][13] Group 5: Micron - Micron's stock fell by 2.84% with a trading volume of $11.764 billion, as semiconductor research indicated that Micron may miss out on first-year orders for the Rubin architecture [4][13] - SemiAnalysis reported that Nvidia is likely to exclude Micron's HBM4 from initial production, favoring Korean suppliers instead [4][13] Group 6: SanDisk - SanDisk's stock decreased by 2.43% with a trading volume of $8.87 billion, but Bernstein raised its target price to $1000, reflecting a 72.4% increase from the previous target of $580 [5][15] - The new target price suggests a potential upside of about 50% from the current stock price, as SanDisk focuses on NAND flash memory and storage products [5][15] Group 7: AMD - AMD's stock rose by 3.63% with a trading volume of $8.255 billion, and the company appointed a new Chief Marketing Officer from Oracle [6][16] - Huatai Securities maintained a "Buy" rating for AMD with a target price of $300 [6][16] Group 8: Oracle - Oracle's stock increased by 9.64% with a trading volume of $7.721 billion, and DA Davidson upgraded its rating from "Neutral" to "Buy" based on reduced risks associated with its client OpenAI [6][16] - The report maintained a target price of $180 for Oracle, reflecting improved outlooks for the company's performance [6][16] Group 9: AppLovin - AppLovin's stock surged by 13.19% with a trading volume of $4.564 billion, driven by positive comments from multiple financial institutions regarding its business prospects [6][17] - The market sentiment is bolstered by AppLovin's AI-driven advertising engine, Axon, which is described as a leading machine learning advertising engine [6][17]

Core Viewpoint - Software stocks have experienced significant selloffs due to investor concerns about AI disrupting traditional software economics, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) falling over 20% recently. However, expectations may have shifted too quickly, and while AI will reshape the software landscape, it is unlikely to make entire categories obsolete [1][2]. Group 1: Market Dynamics - The market is currently pricing in a level of disruption that does not align with the durability of the strongest software platforms, creating compelling investment opportunities among premium software names [2]. - For much of the past decade, software companies enjoyed substantial valuation premiums due to their asset-light models, high margins, and recurring revenue, but many of these premiums became excessive, leading to caution in the sector [3]. Group 2: Company-Specific Insights - Several strong software franchises, including AppLovin, Palantir Technologies, Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Robinhood Markets, are trading near cyclical lows despite maintaining competitive positions, indicating attractive risk-reward profiles [4]. - AppLovin shares surged after the withdrawal of money laundering allegations, recovering from a 50% drop from record highs, and the company is expected to see sales growth of 18.2% this year and 38.3% next year, with earnings projected to increase by 106% [6][8]. - Salesforce, trading at approximately 14.7x forward earnings, is experiencing a historical discount despite expected revenue growth of 9.5% this year and 10.9% next year, alongside earnings growth of 15.3% this year [12][13]. - Palantir Technologies has seen its shares correct nearly 40% recently, yet it is projected to achieve revenue growth of 61.4% this year and 40.8% next year, with earnings expected to surge by 78.7% [15][17]. - ServiceNow is trading at an all-time low multiple of approximately 24.5x forward earnings, with revenue expected to grow 20.1% this year and 18.2% next year, making it an attractive option for long-term investors [19][21]. - Robinhood Markets has evolved into a multi-product financial platform, with shares trading at approximately 33.6x forward earnings, below its historical median, and is expected to see revenue growth of 53% this year [23][26]. Group 3: Investment Considerations - The recent software correction presents an attractive entry point for high-quality growth stocks, as the market may be overstating the speed and severity of disruption from AI, particularly for established industry leaders [27][28]. - Valuations for several premier software franchises have reset to levels rarely seen over the past decade, improving the risk-reward profile for long-term investors [28].

Core Insights - AppLovin stock is recovering as an analyst has deemed recent concerns regarding competition to be exaggerated [1] Company Summary - The recent analyst commentary suggests that fears about competition affecting AppLovin's performance are not as significant as previously thought [1]

Core Viewpoint - AppLovin's shares experienced a significant increase of 15.1% as of Monday afternoon, indicating a positive start to the trading week, although the stock remains volatile and could decline again [1] Group 1: Analyst Insights - Jefferies' analyst James Heaney is credited for the stock's rise, having reiterated a price target of $860 per share, which is nearly 90% above the current price, and described the recent 45% pullback from December's high as a "great buying opportunity" [2] - The bullish sentiment is not solely from Jefferies; independent analysts have also expressed confidence in AppLovin's ability to leverage new digital advertising tools from competitors like Alphabet and CloudX to its advantage [4] Group 2: Market Context - Recent updates regarding AppLovin, including the correction of a previous money-laundering accusation by CapitalWatch, may have been overlooked due to a bearish market environment but are gaining attention now due to Jefferies' reiterated price target [5] - The credibility of information from independent sources remains a concern, as unverified reports can lead to market corrections, highlighting the need for caution when interpreting stock performance [6]

Market Performance - The U.S. markets closed with the Nasdaq gaining 0.90%, the Russell 2000 up 0.70%, and the S&P 500 increasing by 0.47%, while the Dow only added 0.04% [2] - Midday updates showed the Nasdaq at +1.22%, Russell 2000 at +0.97%, and S&P 500 at +0.66%, with the Dow slightly down at -0.06% [3] - Technology (+1.69%), communication (+1.07%), and materials (+0.76%) sectors showed significant gains, while staples (-0.87%), health care (-0.83%), financials (-0.14%), and utilities (-0.08%) declined [3] Top Movers - Valaris Ltd surged by 28.8% following the announcement of its acquisition by Transocean in a $5.8 billion deal [4] - TeraWulf saw a 16.2% increase after Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $37 price target [4] - Applovin Corp rose by 14.6% after a retraction of a short-seller report linking it to "transnational crime syndicates" [5] Decliners - Kyndryl Holdings experienced a significant drop of 55.2% after the announcement of its CFO's departure amid an accounting review [7] - Hims & Hers Health fell by 24% after being required to pull its GLP-1 products from the market, which constituted nearly all of its growth over the past year [7] - Monday.Com declined by 22% following a miss on earnings [7]

Earnings Reports Overview - A high-volume slate of earnings reports from the technology, consumer discretionary, and energy sectors is scheduled, which will provide insights into current market momentum and investor sentiment [1] - Companies such as Monday.com Ltd. and Pagaya Technologies Ltd. have already reported their earnings before the market opened on February 9 [1] Key Earnings Estimates - Analysts expect a commission-free brokerage platform to announce an EPS of 63 cents, reflecting a 16% increase from the same period last year, and quarterly revenue of $1.33 billion, up from $1.01 billion last year, marking a 4.7% increase compared to the third quarter [2] - Nebius Group N.V. is anticipated to report a loss of $1.14 per share and revenue of $246.05 million [3] Notable Company Performances - AppLovin shares have declined over 33% year-to-date, indicating potential challenges in the consumer staple and tech sectors [3] - Coinbase Global, Inc. is expected to report earnings of 68 cents per share on revenue of $1.86 billion, with a focus on offsetting a projected 33% drop in transaction revenue through its stablecoin and subscription services [5]

AppLovin ( NASDAQ:APP ) has been on quite a rollercoaster following a scathing report from short-seller CapitalWatch that accused the company of basically serving as a "digital laundromat†for Asian crime groups and claimed AppLovin's ad tools were helping launder billions through shady networks. ...

Capitalwatch apologizes to an AppLovin shareholder it had accused of having connections to transnational crime syndicates. ...