- 3 Big Scoops
- Posts
- Google Likely to Aquire Wiz
Bulls, Bitcoin, & Beyond
Market Moves Yesterday
S&P 500 @ 5,615.35 ( ⬆️ 0.55%)
Nasdaq Composite @ 18,398.44 ( ⬆️ 0.63%)
Bitcoin @ $62,928.27 ( ⬆️ 6.03%)
Hey Scoopers,
Happy Monday. Here’s what we’re covering today:
👉 Google eyes $23 billion acquisition
👉 Will small-caps stage a comeback?
👉 Bitcoin spikes past $62k
So, let’s go 🚀
Market Wrap 📉
Equity indices surged on Friday on hopes that slowing inflation would soon be followed by an interest rate cut this September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average touched a record high, advancing 1.6% last week. Thursday’s June CPI report that showed a decline was the key catalyst for the Dow index as investors are now embracing quality stocks outside of the tech sector.
Companies such as Home Depot and Caterpillar gained pace as investors piled into the Dow’s industrial names.
After another strong end to last week, the S&P 500 index is now up over 18% in 2024. The tech sector has risen 33% year-to-date, followed by the communication services sector at 26%.
Trending Stocks 🔥
Wells Fargo- Shares of the lending giant fell 6% after reporting a 9% decline in net interest income in the June quarter. The company, however, beat consensus revenue and earnings estimates in Q2 of 2024.
JPMorgan - Shares slipped over 1% after it reported Q2 revenue of $50.99 billion and earnings per share of $4.26 vs. estimates of $49.87 billion and $4.19 per share, respectively. A higher-than-expected provision for credit losses led to the decline last Friday.
Citigroup - Shares dropped 2% despite strong Q2 results. It reported earnings per share of $1.52, higher than estimates of $1.39 per share, due to solid performance in the investment banking segment.
Google All Set to Acquire Wiz
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Google is in advanced talks to acquire Wiz, a cybersecurity company, for $23 billion.
Source: Cyber Security News
Founded in 2020, Wiz has grown rapidly and was recently eyeing an initial public offer (IPO) when it was last valued at $12 billion in May.
Wiz offers an enterprise-facing cloud security platform with real-time threat detection and responses powered by artificial intelligence. It is backed by a roster of blue-chip venture capitalists that include Index Ventures, Insight Partners, and Sequoia Capital.
The deal will be Google’s largest-ever acquisition, allowing the tech giant to gain a strong foothold in the cybersecurity segment. Two years back, Google acquired Mandian, another cybersecurity firm, for $5.4 billion.
Earlier this year, Google was in talks to acquire marketing software company HubSpot.
The Russell 2000 Is Gaining Pace
The Russell 2000 index surged roughly 6% last week, marking its best weekly performance in 2024. The top-performing small-cap stocks last week included Morphic, EVgo, and Soundhound AI, which gained 75%, 37%, and 33%, respectively.
Mega-cap tech stocks have largely fueled the ongoing bull run. Between October 2022 and December 2023, the S&P 500 has outpaced the Russell 2000 by 20 percentage points and this outperformance continues in 2024.
Analysts believe that small-cap stocks can stage a comeback, especially if the Fed can engineer a soft landing and lower interest rates in the next 12 months.
Small-cap stocks have struggled in the last two years as higher interest rates have made it difficult for these companies to pay off or refinance their debt.
Alternatively, the issue with buying small-cap stocks is that rising unemployment and a sluggish macro economy will make it difficult for companies to meet earnings expectations in the future.
Bitcoin Tops 62k (Again!)
Bitcoin whales took full advantage of the ongoing slump, accumulating 71,000 BTC last month. A majority of the Bitcoin was scooped up when the digital asset touched $54,200 last week.
Based on a 30-day moving average, Bitcoin whales stacked up BTC at the fastest rate since April 2023, shortly after local banks in the U.S. collapsed. This suggests that the bottoming out of BTC may be complete in the current cycle.
Notably, Bitcoin registered a sharp increase over the weekend after U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt while speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Headlines You Can't Miss!
China’s GDP growth in Q2 misses estimates
Swatch sales fall over 14% in 2024
Trump victory trades to swell after shooting
China’s beer market is the world’s largest
Bitcoin ETFs log $300 million in inflows
Chart of The Day
While the broader markets are trading near all-time highs, several stocks are hovering at 52-week lows.
Some of them include giants such as Lululemon, Nike, McDonald’s, Zoom Video, Starbucks, UPS, and Cisco.
Slower consumer spending amid inflation and elevated interest rates have negatively impacted retail-oriented stocks in the last 12 months.
Meme of the Day
DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. The newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell assets or make financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.