A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after stocks extended their rebound, led by strong gains in the technology sector, as renewed optimism surrounding U.S.–China trade negotiations lifted investor sentiment.
As the Q4 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the data infrastructure industry, including Teradata (NYSE:TDC) and its peers.
The stocks in this article have caught Wall Street’s attention in a big way, with price targets implying returns above 20%.
But investors should take these forecasts with a grain of salt because analysts typically say nice things about companies so their firms can win business in other product lines like M&A advisory.
As the Q4 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the data infrastructure industry, including Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) and its peers.
Needham analyst Mike Cikos noted tariff exposure in his Infrastructure Software coverage is better insulated compared to other sectors due to the U.S.’ dominant position in Software and the vast, cheap distribution afforded by Software.
Even during a down period for the markets, Confluent has gone against the grain, climbing to $23.71. Its shares have yielded a 16.3% return over the last six months, beating the S&P 500 by 20.5%. This was partly thanks to its solid quarterly results, and the run-up might have investors contemplating their next move.
From commerce to culture, software is digitizing every aspect of our lives. The undeniable tailwinds fueling the industry have also led to strong returns for SaaS stocks lately
as they’ve gained 6.4% over the past six months.
Investing here would have been wise - at the same time, the S&P 500 was flat.
Growth boosts valuation multiples, but it doesn’t always last forever.
Companies that cannot maintain it are often penalized with large declines in market value, a lesson ingrained in investors who lost money in tech stocks during 2022.
Looking back on data infrastructure stocks’ Q4 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) and its peers.
Stocks trading between $10 and $50 can be particularly interesting as they frequently represent businesses that have survived their early challenges.
However, investors should remain vigilant as some may still have unproven business models, leaving them vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of the broader market.
Artificial intelligence (AI) software company C3.ai (NYSE:AI)
will be reporting earnings tomorrow after market close. Here’s what investors should know.
Confluent's earnings performance, its strong guidance, and its exciting partnership with Databricks—with the potential to transform AI—make it a must-watch.
