24 August, 2023

She’s Got The Stocks – 24 August 2023

Every week on Women Leading Tech, we round up the movements of the most important tech stocks in Australia and worldwide. Not only do staff in tech firms often receive part of their remuneration in stock options but stocks can be a great way to ensure financial freedom.

This week tech optimism came in the form of chipmaker Nvidia which is up 11.8 per cent from its lowest point this month, and a staggering 219.02 per cent YTD. After the close of trading on Wednesday, Nvidia topped estimates and said sales would jump 170 per cent this quarter, driven by demand for its AI chips. It jumped to around $500 after hours, a level that would mark a record if it closes there on Thursday. Its prior closing high was $474.94 on 18 July.

The optimism comes in spite of (substantial) macro headwinds such as the benchmark yield for the 10-year treasury note reaching its highest levels since November 2007 and the Federal Reserve continuing to increase interest rates in a bid to temper inflation.

The optimist began on Monday when there was an 8.5 per cent jump in shares for Nvidia, a leader in AI, ahead of its second-quarter results this week.

Despite the benchmark yield for the 10-year treasury note reaching its highest level since 2007 – Nvidia’s gain gave hope to growth stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has gained 2.4 per cent this week after reaching its lowest point in the month on Friday the 18th of August.

Nvidia is by far the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 Index this year and, given it makes up nearly 3.2 per cent of the S&P 500, its moves will have implications for the wider market.

Staying on the topic of AI, things continued to look positive for cloud accountancy firm Xero this week which reported a 3.36 per cent increase in price over the past five days.

The firm, founded in New Zealand, is up 69.13 per cent YTD as investors expect the company to gain substantially from the digitalisation of SMBs.

This week, Xero is unveiling a suite of AI tools at a two-day event. The tools include a machine-learning AI that will automatically add new contacts that aren’t in a business’s Xero list. It is also reportedly working on using AI in the customer experience space.

Telstra reported a 13 per cent increase in its annual profit, reaching $2.05 billion. Despite selling a minority share in its mobile tower business, Amplitel, last year, the telco had contemplated divesting a segment of its InfraCo Fixed division. This division, boasting a valuation around $15 billion, possesses significant digital assets, including fibre optic cables, data centres, and subsea cables. CEO Vicki Brady highlighted that the burgeoning growth in artificial intelligence and the rising demand for cloud storage were pivotal reasons for the telecom giant’s decision to retain its substantial infrastructure business.

Things were also on the up for Australian data centre operator Nextdc which has a 5.2 per cent increase in share price in the past five days. This was the result of a positive trading update which announced a slew of customer wins. Given the benefits of these wins are expected to be realised in FY2025, it makes an attractive investment prospect.

Used car website Carsales also reported a positive gain in the past five days, with its share price lifting 2.48 per cent. The website beat analyst expectations last week with a 43 per cent increase in adjusted profit.

Moving to the negative side of the tracks, things were looking gloomy for freight software provider WiseTech Global which experienced a 16.42 per cent drop in the past five days — erasing $5.6 billion from its market capitalisation. This downturn was prompted by a cautionary note to shareholders regarding anticipated lower earnings for the year and the impact of reverting to an acquisition-driven growth strategy, which is expected to narrow profit margins.

Meanwhile, Meta, which stood out as a market leader in 2023 thanks to its advancement in AI, appeared to be hitting rough waters as its share price was down 4.24 per cent in the past five days. Meta’s, Twitter clone called Threads, which launched last month and quickly shot up the app rankings, is starting to roll out on the web, giving users access from their PCs. The site, Threads.net, is not live for everyone yet and may still just show a link to download the mobile app. Meta said that, in the coming weeks it will be improved to look more like the mobile app

Meantime, Amazon AI scammers blew millions on Lake Como weddings and cars, the Federal Trade Commission alleged. John and Roman Cresto, two brothers allegedly offered e-commerce training and management services to customers, selling success on Amazon and Walmart, for a price, but the FTC alleges they failed to deliver on the promises and left customers deep in debt.

Investors are now looking ahead to the start of a two-day Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, beginning Thursday. Fed chair Jerome Powell is expected to deliver remarks Friday.

Got any stock tips? We’d love to hear your views and insights, so send them to sofia@themisfits.media.

Company	Opening price	Closing price	Change (%)
Macquarie Telecom Limited (ASX: MAQ)	$69.80	$69.80	0.00%
REA Group (ASX: REA)	$158.01	$159.88	1.18%
Atlassian (NAS: TEAM) (USD)	$193.13	$190.04	-1.60%
Xero (ASX: XRO)	$114.73	$118.58	3.36%
Carsales.com (ASX: CAR)	$26.59	$27.25	2.48%
NEXTDC (ASX: NXT)	$12.89	$13.56	5.20%
WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC)	$83.27	$69.60	-16.42%
Appen (ASX: APX)	$2.12	$2.17	2.36%
Airtasker (ASX: ART)	$0.21	$0.20	-2.44%
Telstra (ASX: TLS)	$4.12	$4.05	-1.70%
Adobe (NAS: ADBE) (USD)	$518.70	$519.48	0.15%
Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) (USD)	$208.78	$206.76	-0.97%
Apple (NAS: AAPL) (USD)	$177.45	$177.23	-0.12%
Alphabet (NAS: GOOGL) (USD)	$130.27	$129.69	-0.45%
Meta (NAS: META) (USD)	$301.95	$287.60	-4.75%
Microsoft (NAS: MSFT) (USD)	$321.86	$322.46	0.19%
Amazon (NAS: AMZN) (USD)	$137.67	$134.25	-2.48%
Nvidia (NAS: NVDA) (USD)	$439.40	$456.68	3.93%
Samsung (SMSN:LI London Intl (USD)	$1,259.00	$1,243.00	-1.27%
Netflix (NAS: NFLX) (USD)	$423.70	$413.17	-2.49%

Advertise with us

She's Got The Stocks