Investors Must Stay Patient Amid Market Volatility
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 5 days ago
0mins
Should l Buy NOW?
Source: CNBC
- Market Volatility Analysis: The ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict led to a rough start on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones dropping over 1,200 points and the S&P 500 down 2.5%, indicating significant investor anxiety about a prolonged war and its economic implications.
- Oil Price Impact: U.S. oil benchmark WTI settled at $74.56 per barrel on Tuesday, well below session highs near $78, illustrating how rising oil prices are exerting downward pressure on stocks and reflecting geopolitical risks to the economy.
- Tech Stock Rebound: Despite recent fears of AI disruption, Cramer's
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy NOW?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on NOW
Wall Street analysts forecast NOW stock price to rise
32 Analyst Rating
30 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 124.340
Low
172.00
Averages
222.81
High
263.00
Current: 124.340
Low
172.00
Averages
222.81
High
263.00
About NOW
ServiceNow, Inc. provides an artificial intelligence (AI) platform for business transformation. The Company’s AI platform connects people, processes, data, and devices to increase productivity and maximize business outcomes. Its intelligent platform, the Now Platform, is a cloud-based solution that helps enterprises and organizations across public and private sectors digitize workflows. The workflow applications built on the Now Platform are organized into four primary areas: Technology, CRM and Industry, Core Business and Creator. Its products include IT Service Management, IT Operations Management, HR Service Delivery, ServiceNow AI Agents, AI Experience, Build Agent, ServiceNow AI Control Tower, AI Agent Fabric, RaptorDB, Workflow Data Fabric, Workplace Service Delivery, ServiceNow Platform Encryption, Telecommunications Service Operations Management, and others. The Company also offers identity security, helping organizations secure access across the enterprise.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Microsoft Launches AI-Enhanced Office, Prices Up 65%
- Product Upgrade and Pricing: Microsoft has launched the Microsoft 365 E7 subscription at $99 per user per month, a 65% increase from the $60 E5 subscription, aimed at attracting enterprise users to adopt its Copilot AI add-on, thereby boosting overall revenue.
- AI Investment Returns: The company has invested over $100 billion in data center infrastructure over the past year, particularly in Nvidia chips to support AI model operations, with AI product sales being a crucial way to demonstrate returns on this investment, expected to drive future profit growth.
- New Feature Release: Copilot Cowork will be introduced as a research preview, designed to handle multi-step tasks such as sending scheduled emails and preparing meeting documents, which is anticipated to further drive the adoption of Copilot and enhance user productivity.
- Market Expansion Potential: Analysts note that the launch of the E7 subscription will encourage more organizations to upgrade to E5, with Microsoft’s 365 commercial products and cloud services representing 30% of total revenue in the December quarter, indicating strong growth potential in the market.
See More
Microsoft Launches Copilot Cowork AI Platform
- Feature Launch: Microsoft, in collaboration with Anthropic, introduces Copilot Cowork, which can perform tasks for enterprise users such as creating presentations and data processing, enhancing work efficiency and driving enterprise adoption.
- Significant User Growth: Paid Microsoft 365 seats have grown 160% year-over-year, with daily active users increasing tenfold, indicating strong momentum in AI sales and further solidifying its market position.
- Accelerated Customer Deployment: The number of customers deploying Copilot has reached over 35,000 seats, tripling year-over-year, reflecting sustained demand for new AI functionalities, especially with major clients like Mercedes-Benz rolling out globally.
- Optimized Product Offering: The newly launched Agent 365 monitoring platform is priced at $15 per user per month, and when combined with the $99 Microsoft 365 E7 suite, it provides a more competitive overall solution, enhancing perceived value for customers.
See More
Intuit Shares Surge 17.6% Amid Software Stock Recovery
- Software Stock Recovery: Intuit's stock surged 17.6% last week, marking its best performance since August 2001, indicating that investors are refocusing on fundamentally strong stocks amid fears of AI disruption, leading to a broader recovery in software stocks.
- Earnings Beat Expectations: Intuit's Q2 earnings report on February 26 revealed sales and profits exceeding Wall Street's expectations, and although the Q3 revenue guidance was soft, management maintained confidence in meeting full-year financial targets, bolstering market sentiment.
- Retail Sentiment Shift: Despite the rise in Intuit's stock price, retail sentiment on Stocktwits turned ‘bearish’, yet users expressed optimism about future performance, suggesting strong retail investor interest in the stock, with message volume surging 33% in the past week.
- Analyst Rating Divergence: According to Koyfin data, 27 out of 35 analysts rated Intuit as ‘Buy’ or higher, with an average price target of $605.52 implying a 26% upside, although some firms lowered their targets, reflecting concerns about AI disruption in the market.
See More
Investment Opportunities in AI Infrastructure
- TSMC's Market Leadership: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has established itself as a market leader in manufacturing advanced chips at small nodes, and is expected to benefit significantly from the AI data center boom, particularly in the production of graphics processing units (GPUs) and other AI chips.
- Rising Demand for AI-driven CPUs: With the advent of agentic AI, the demand for advanced central processing units (CPUs) is set to increase, positioning TSMC as a key manufacturer that will capitalize on this trend over the next two years, further solidifying its market dominance.
- Growth Potential of ServiceNow: As a leading player in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector, ServiceNow is leveraging its Now Assist generative AI suite and newly launched Control Tower to provide robust AI orchestration capabilities, which are expected to drive significant growth in the coming years.
- Acquisitions Enhance Security: ServiceNow's recent acquisitions of Armis and Veza bolster its security measures, positioning the company to become a leader in agentic AI in the coming years, and combined with its undervalued stock, it represents a compelling investment opportunity.
See More
Investment Opportunities in AI-Driven Market
- TSMC's Market Leadership: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has established itself as the market leader in advanced chip manufacturing due to its technological expertise and scale, and is expected to benefit significantly from the AI data center boom over the next two years, particularly in the production of graphics processing units (GPUs) and other AI chips.
- Profitability and Capacity Utilization: TSMC's factories need to operate at nearly full capacity to be profitable, with a current market cap of $1.8 trillion and a gross margin of 58.73%, demonstrating its strong profitability and competitive position in a high-demand environment.
- ServiceNow's Growth Potential: Despite challenges in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector, ServiceNow is expected to rebound in the coming years due to its platform that unifies customer data with workflows, currently valued at $130 billion with a gross margin of 77.53%.
- AI Innovation and Acquisition Strategy: ServiceNow's generative AI suite, Now Assist, has been well-received by customers, and its new Control Tower aims to serve as an orchestration layer for AI; recent acquisitions of Armis and Veza further enhance its security, positioning it as a leader in the future AI market.
See More
Palantir Stock Rises 15% Amid Iran Conflict
- Stock Surge: Palantir's stock surged 15% amid the Iran conflict, standing out in a declining market, reflecting investor confidence in its reliance on government spending, which constitutes about 60% of its revenue.
- Analyst Rating Upgrade: Analysts at Rosenblatt maintained a buy rating on Palantir and raised their price target from $150 to $200, believing that the Middle East conflict will benefit the company's government project pipeline, indicating potential for more contract opportunities ahead.
- Military Contract Impact: Palantir signed a $10 billion contract with the U.S. Army last year and provides AI capabilities through its Maven Smart System program, further solidifying its position in the defense sector.
- Market Dynamics Rebound: Software stocks rebounded after recent sell-offs, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rising nearly 8% this week, indicating improved market sentiment, which also benefited Palantir's performance.
See More
Microsoft Launches AI-Enhanced Office, Prices Up 65%
- Product Upgrade and Pricing: Microsoft has launched the Microsoft 365 E7 subscription at $99 per user per month, a 65% increase from the $60 E5 subscription, aimed at attracting enterprise users to adopt its Copilot AI add-on, thereby boosting overall revenue.
- AI Investment Returns: The company has invested over $100 billion in data center infrastructure over the past year, particularly in Nvidia chips to support AI model operations, with AI product sales being a crucial way to demonstrate returns on this investment, expected to drive future profit growth.
- New Feature Release: Copilot Cowork will be introduced as a research preview, designed to handle multi-step tasks such as sending scheduled emails and preparing meeting documents, which is anticipated to further drive the adoption of Copilot and enhance user productivity.
- Market Expansion Potential: Analysts note that the launch of the E7 subscription will encourage more organizations to upgrade to E5, with Microsoft’s 365 commercial products and cloud services representing 30% of total revenue in the December quarter, indicating strong growth potential in the market.
See More
Microsoft Launches Copilot Cowork AI Platform
- Feature Launch: Microsoft, in collaboration with Anthropic, introduces Copilot Cowork, which can perform tasks for enterprise users such as creating presentations and data processing, enhancing work efficiency and driving enterprise adoption.
- Significant User Growth: Paid Microsoft 365 seats have grown 160% year-over-year, with daily active users increasing tenfold, indicating strong momentum in AI sales and further solidifying its market position.
- Accelerated Customer Deployment: The number of customers deploying Copilot has reached over 35,000 seats, tripling year-over-year, reflecting sustained demand for new AI functionalities, especially with major clients like Mercedes-Benz rolling out globally.
- Optimized Product Offering: The newly launched Agent 365 monitoring platform is priced at $15 per user per month, and when combined with the $99 Microsoft 365 E7 suite, it provides a more competitive overall solution, enhancing perceived value for customers.
See More
Intuit Shares Surge 17.6% Amid Software Stock Recovery
- Software Stock Recovery: Intuit's stock surged 17.6% last week, marking its best performance since August 2001, indicating that investors are refocusing on fundamentally strong stocks amid fears of AI disruption, leading to a broader recovery in software stocks.
- Earnings Beat Expectations: Intuit's Q2 earnings report on February 26 revealed sales and profits exceeding Wall Street's expectations, and although the Q3 revenue guidance was soft, management maintained confidence in meeting full-year financial targets, bolstering market sentiment.
- Retail Sentiment Shift: Despite the rise in Intuit's stock price, retail sentiment on Stocktwits turned ‘bearish’, yet users expressed optimism about future performance, suggesting strong retail investor interest in the stock, with message volume surging 33% in the past week.
- Analyst Rating Divergence: According to Koyfin data, 27 out of 35 analysts rated Intuit as ‘Buy’ or higher, with an average price target of $605.52 implying a 26% upside, although some firms lowered their targets, reflecting concerns about AI disruption in the market.
See More
Investment Opportunities in AI Infrastructure
- TSMC's Market Leadership: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has established itself as a market leader in manufacturing advanced chips at small nodes, and is expected to benefit significantly from the AI data center boom, particularly in the production of graphics processing units (GPUs) and other AI chips.
- Rising Demand for AI-driven CPUs: With the advent of agentic AI, the demand for advanced central processing units (CPUs) is set to increase, positioning TSMC as a key manufacturer that will capitalize on this trend over the next two years, further solidifying its market dominance.
- Growth Potential of ServiceNow: As a leading player in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector, ServiceNow is leveraging its Now Assist generative AI suite and newly launched Control Tower to provide robust AI orchestration capabilities, which are expected to drive significant growth in the coming years.
- Acquisitions Enhance Security: ServiceNow's recent acquisitions of Armis and Veza bolster its security measures, positioning the company to become a leader in agentic AI in the coming years, and combined with its undervalued stock, it represents a compelling investment opportunity.
See More
Investment Opportunities in AI-Driven Market
- TSMC's Market Leadership: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has established itself as the market leader in advanced chip manufacturing due to its technological expertise and scale, and is expected to benefit significantly from the AI data center boom over the next two years, particularly in the production of graphics processing units (GPUs) and other AI chips.
- Profitability and Capacity Utilization: TSMC's factories need to operate at nearly full capacity to be profitable, with a current market cap of $1.8 trillion and a gross margin of 58.73%, demonstrating its strong profitability and competitive position in a high-demand environment.
- ServiceNow's Growth Potential: Despite challenges in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) sector, ServiceNow is expected to rebound in the coming years due to its platform that unifies customer data with workflows, currently valued at $130 billion with a gross margin of 77.53%.
- AI Innovation and Acquisition Strategy: ServiceNow's generative AI suite, Now Assist, has been well-received by customers, and its new Control Tower aims to serve as an orchestration layer for AI; recent acquisitions of Armis and Veza further enhance its security, positioning it as a leader in the future AI market.
See More
Palantir Stock Rises 15% Amid Iran Conflict
- Stock Surge: Palantir's stock surged 15% amid the Iran conflict, standing out in a declining market, reflecting investor confidence in its reliance on government spending, which constitutes about 60% of its revenue.
- Analyst Rating Upgrade: Analysts at Rosenblatt maintained a buy rating on Palantir and raised their price target from $150 to $200, believing that the Middle East conflict will benefit the company's government project pipeline, indicating potential for more contract opportunities ahead.
- Military Contract Impact: Palantir signed a $10 billion contract with the U.S. Army last year and provides AI capabilities through its Maven Smart System program, further solidifying its position in the defense sector.
- Market Dynamics Rebound: Software stocks rebounded after recent sell-offs, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF rising nearly 8% this week, indicating improved market sentiment, which also benefited Palantir's performance.
See More
