Each week, Benzinga’s Stock Whisper Index uses a combination of proprietary data and pattern recognition to showcase five stocks that are just under the surface and deserve attention.
Investors are constantly on the hunt for undervalued, under-followed and emerging stocks. With countless methods available to retail traders, the challenge often lies in sifting through the abundance of information to uncover new opportunities and understand why certain stocks should be of interest.
Here's a look at the Benzinga Stock Whisper Index for the week of Aug. 16:
AST SpaceMobile ASTS: The satellite and space-related company was one of the stocks with the highest interest over the past week, which comes after quarterly earnings and a company update. Among the updates was that the company is on track to launch five satellites in early September.
"We stand at a pivotal moment for AST SpaceMobile. The arrival of our first five commercial satellites at the launch site marks the culmination of years of relentless innovation and perseverance, in partnership with industry leaders like AT&T, Google, Verizon, Vodafone and Rakuten, among others," AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan.
Avellan said the upcoming launch is "a significant step toward fulfilling our mission to eliminate dead zones and empower communities worldwide with space-based cellular broadband connectivity."
The BlueBird satellites are expected to be part of a nationwide, non-continuous service for AT&T and Verizon beta test users in the coming months.
After the company update, B. Riley Securities analyst Mike Crawford maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $15 to $26. UBS also maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $13 to $30.
AST shares were up over 40% on the week, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below. Shares of the satellite company are up over 400% year-to-date in 2024.
Cingulate Inc CING: The clinical-stage biotech saw shares surge during the week following a patent granted in Europe.
The patent covers the company's lead asset CTx-1301, which is a treatment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, also known as ADHD. The patent covers up to 30 European territories. News of the patent comes as the company is preparing to file a new drug application with the FDA for the U.S. The NDA is expected to be filed in the first half of 2025.
Cingulate shares are up over 100% in the past five days, as seen on the Benzinga Pro chart below. The stock is down over 90% year-to-date.
Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR: The software company continues to see strong interest from Benzinga readers with its presence in the artificial intelligence sector.
Palantir reported second-quarter financial results recently with revenue up 27% year-over-year, beating consensus estimates from analysts. The company's customer base was up 41% year-over-year.
The company also shared details of a collaboration with restaurant company Wendy's and an expanded partnership with Microsoft for AI tools.
"The growth of our business has been re-accelerating steadily, and we see an unprecedented opportunity ahead to capture and build on that momentum," Palantir CEO Alex Karp said.
In a recent poll of Benzinga readers, Palantir was selected as the winner among five non-Mag 7 AI stocks as the company that will outperform in the coming year. Palantir won with 32% of the vote, beating out Advanced Micro Devices, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel and C3.ai.
Workday Inc WDAY: The software company saw strong interest from investors over the last week, which comes ahead of second-quarter financial results.
Workday will report second-quarter financial results on Aug. 22. Analysts expect the company to report earnings of $1.65 and revenue of $2.07 billion. Workday has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in eight straight quarters and nine of the last 10 quarters. The company has also beaten revenue estimates in more than 10 straight quarters.
Workday shares fell in May after reporting first-quarter financial results and lowering guidance.
Bank of America recently lowered its price target for Workday from $275 to $265 and Wells Fargo lowered its price target from $275 to $260. Analysts and investors will be closely watching second-quarter results to see if the company can beat estimates and if full-year guidance can improve.
Snap Inc SNAP: The social media stock saw high interest from readers, which may be for negative reasons. A 13F filing from Soros Fund Management revealed the fund sold 1.4 million Snap shares in the second quarter, exiting its position. Snap's recent second-quarter financial results showed revenue of $1.24 billion falling shy of analyst estimates.
While the company could becoming irrelevant and losing to competitors, there were several positives in the quarter. Revenue was up 16% year-over-year and daily active users were up 9% year-over-year.
Snap shares were up on the week, but are down 45% year-to-date in 2024. With shares trading near 52-week lows of $8.28, investors could see potential future value with new product launches and a focus on AI.
The stock was recently named as an "irrelevant company" by Jim Cramer, who said the stock is "not investable." Analysts also lowered their price targets on the stock after earnings.
One future catalyst for Snap could be its Snap Partner Summit on Sept. 17, where it will announce new service updates.
Stay tuned for next week’s report, and follow Benzinga Pro for all the latest headlines and top market-moving stories here.
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