Palantir, Playtech, Intel and Bajaj Finance

Palantir (PLTR)

Shares of data analytics company Palantir have more than doubled so far this year, and Bank of America (BofA) expects the stock to continue rising, Fortune reported.

BofA maintained its buy rating for Palantir and raised its price target for the stock from $30 to $50, according to a statement last week. Palantir was trading at over $35 per share in premarket trading on Monday.

BofA analysts reportedly said the bank believes Palantir's “capabilities, technology and future prospects” are misunderstood on Wall Street.

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“The impending inclusion in the S&P 500 represents a turning point for institutional investors to rethink their 'knowledge' of PLTR,” they said.

Palantir shares jumped earlier this month after news broke that the company, along with server maker Dell (DELL) and insurer Erie Indemnity (ERIE), would be added to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) before the market opens on September 23.

Gaming software company Playtech expects adjusted profit for 2024 to be slightly above market expectations, mainly due to the strong performance of its business-to-business (B2B) division.

Playtech shares rose nearly 8% on Monday following the company’s trading update.

The company said its B2B division delivered strong results in the first half of the year, “driven by a combination of revenue growth in the Americas and a focus on tighter cost control.”

Playtech also announced that it had reached an agreement with Mexican sportsbook Caliente to hold a 30.8% stake in Caliente Interactive, the new holding company for their Caliplay joint venture.

The deal followed a legal dispute in which Caliplay stopped paying software and service fees to Playtech. However, Playtech said Caliplay had resumed paying the fees and received more than €150 million (£127 million), or over 80 percent of the unpaid amount.

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In the company's business-to-consumer division, Playtech said it was in talks with Flutter (FLTR.L) about the possible sale of its Italian division Snaitech.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Today’s trading update highlights why gaming software company Playtech is considering exiting its consumer-facing Snaitech business.”

“The business-to-business segment is the one that will ensure that earnings for 2024 are slightly above expectations – supported by good growth on the other side of the Atlantic and strict cost control.”

The story continues

Playtech will release its half-year results on September 30.

Shares in chipmaker Intel rose nearly 4 percent in premarket trading after news broke that the European Commission had given Poland the green light to provide the company with more than $1.9 billion in state aid for its chip assembly and testing facility.

However, Intel has faced challenges this year, with its stock plunging 61% year-to-date. The company recently announced that it plans to lay off more than 15% of its workforce, around 15,000 employees, as part of cost-cutting measures.

“I would say this is the biggest restructuring at Intel since the memory microprocessor decision four decades ago,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger told Yahoo Finance in early August.

Separately, Goldman Sachs analyst Toshiya Hari told Yahoo Finance that Intel faces an “uphill battle” to turn things around and compete with companies like Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD) and Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM).

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Hari rated the stock as a sell because he believed the company would need some time to bring its technology up to par with its competitors.

Intel missed second-quarter revenue, gross profit and earnings forecasts, citing tougher market conditions and higher-than-expected costs to increase production of its artificial intelligence (AI) chips. The company also decided to suspend its dividend, which will take effect in the fourth quarter of the year.

India's largest shadow bank, Bajaj Finance, listed its housing finance arm last week; the IPO's shares were oversubscribed by almost 64 times.

Bajaj Housing Finance raised $782 million on its first day of bidding last Monday, making it the most sought-after IPO in India this year as investors sought to gain exposure to the country's growing real estate market.

Bajaj Housing Finance shares more than doubled on Monday, rising 136 percent to 165 rupees (1.49 pounds), compared with an offer price of 70 rupees.

In addition to industry demand, it was also the reputation of parent company Bajaj Group that gave the stock a boost on its debut.

“The group has a proven track record of wealth creation,” said Pranav Bhavsar, co-founder of Trudence Capital Advisors Pvt, according to Bloomberg.

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