| | | Good Afternoon! | Hey, everyone. It's Adam from Elite Trade Club. Here’s what moved the market today. |
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| | | | Markets 📈 | The market trended downward today due to lingering concerns over tariffs and inflation, taking several U.S. indexes along with it. The Russell 2K index was hit the hardest, falling 2.8% on the day. | DJIA [-1.48%] S&P 500 [-1.76%] |
| Nasdaq [-2.64%] Russell 2K [-2.81%] |
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| | Market-Moving News 📈 | Artificial Intelligence | Amazon Advances AI Ambitions in Anthropic Partnership Move | | Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) reinforces its push into artificial intelligence as its backed startup, Anthropic, secures a substantial funding round. The tech giant, a minority investor, sees Anthropic close a $3.5 billion raise led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and others. Amazon’s prior investments, totaling $8 billion after a November infusion, underscore its commitment to this AI venture. | With the funds, Anthropic plans to expand its computing power and extend operations into Asia and Europe. The startup powers Amazon’s enhanced Alexa+ service, bringing its Claude chatbot technology to households. Amazon Web Services is Anthropic’s primary cloud and training partner, using AWS chips to build and run its AI models. | The company, founded by ex-OpenAI executives, has gained traction with enterprise clients like Zoom and Pfizer, reflecting a strong demand for AI solutions. | Amazon benefits from this growth, integrating Anthropic’s advancements into its broader offerings. Investors eye this partnership as Amazon positions itself in the competitive AI sector, leveraging Anthropic’s progress without holding a board seat. | This funding round builds on Amazon’s earlier stakes, following Google’s January investment in Anthropic. The collaboration highlights Amazon’s focus on scaling AI capabilities through strategic alliances. Investors find the tie-up compelling as Amazon aligns its resources with Anthropic’s expanding footprint. |
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| | Restaurants | Domino’s Finally Joins the Stuffed Crust Game After Three-Year Development | | Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ) has officially launched its Parmesan Stuffed Crust, marking a long-awaited addition to its menu. This move comes three decades after Pizza Hut first introduced the stuffed-crust concept, which has since become a staple among major competitors. | The new product is part of Domino’s broader effort to enhance its menu and retain customers who have opted for stuffed-crust offerings elsewhere. The company reports that millions of Domino’s customers purchase stuffed-crust pizza from competitors each year, making this launch a key strategic move. | Domino’s spent three years developing its version to ensure it met its quality standards. The result is a crust filled with mozzarella cheese, topped with garlic seasoning, and finished with Parmesan. The company has also optimized its kitchen operations, including training franchisees and staff across 7,000 stores over a 12-week period to ensure consistency. | The new Parmesan Stuffed Crust is available as part of Domino’s $9.99 carryout deal, a pricing strategy to attract new and returning customers. | Domino’s has historically been skeptical of the stuffed-crust pizza, citing concerns over its impact on operational efficiency. However, with growing demand and changing market trends, the company decided in 2022 to move forward with development. | The nationwide rollout begins today, positioning Domino’s to compete more directly with rival pizza chains that have long offered stuffed-crust options. |
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| | Private Equity | Carlyle Eyes Multi-Billion Dollar Exits as IPO Plans Gain Momentum | | Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is gearing up for a substantial wave of asset sales and initial public offerings in 2025. The private equity firm aims to unlock billions through exits, taking advantage of favorable market conditions. Executives confirm a strong pipeline of IPOs and private sales, aligning with Carlyle’s strategy to return capital to investors. | The firm plans to offload a mix of portfolio companies via public listings and strategic deals, building on its approach from last year’s exits. Carlyle highlights improving market stability and attractive valuations as key factors supporting these moves. Despite a sluggish start to mergers and acquisitions, the company anticipates a rise in deal activity as the year progresses. | Carlyle maintains its focus on large-scale leveraged buyouts, identifying them as prime opportunities for growth. The firm also addresses potential trade policy concerns, noting that its service-oriented businesses face minimal exposure to tariff risks. | As Carlyle accelerates its IPO and exit plans, its investment decisions stand to influence private equity dealmaking throughout 2025. Investors watch closely as the firm positions itself to capitalize on current market trends, balancing its portfolio sales with a commitment to expanding through strategic acquisitions. |
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| | Top Winners and Losers 🔥 | | Middlesex Water Co [MSEX] $58.03 (+15.76%) | Middlesex Water crushed expectations in its Q4 report, jumping over 15% despite a severe market downturn. | Allegro Microsystems Inc [ALGM] $25.62 (+14.89%) | Allegro Microsystems jumped today on reports it was an acquisition target for ON Semiconductor. | TG Therapeutics Inc [TGTX] $34.42 (+14.39%) | TG Therapeutics posted impressive fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, causing its share price to soar. |
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| | | | N-Able Inc [NABL] $7.20 (-28.22%) | N-Able’s end-of-fiscal-year financial results left investors uncertain despite increases in revenue and sales. | Fortrea Holdings Inc [FTRE] $10.38 (-25.05%) | Fortrea slipped even further after posting lower-than-expected numbers in its full-year 2024 report. | GDS Holdings Limited [GDS] $31.84 (-16.32%) | GDS Holdings experienced setbacks as shareholders expressed concerns over the impact of tariffs on the Chinese company. |
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| | | | That's it for today! Please, write us back, and let us know what you think of the Closing Bell Roundup. We're always eager to hear feedback! | Thanks for reading. I'll see you at the next open! | Best Regards, — Adam G. Elite Trade Club |
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