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Novavax, Inc. Is a biotechnology company, which engages in the discovery, development, and commercialization of recombinant vaccines. The company was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD.

Novavax, Inc.

Novavax Inc

Novavax is trending following an updated investor presentation highlighting strategic progress, including substantial market share in Japan for its COVID-19 vaccine and the broad potential of its Matrix-M adjuvant. This news, alongside elevated short interest and fervent community discussion around a potential short squeeze, is fueling a market repricing of its protein-based vaccine platform and pipeline assets.

Global X Funds - Global X Dow 30 Covered Call ETF

Global X Dow 30 Covered Call ETF

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trending as it consistently pushes towards new all-time highs, fueled by broad market enthusiasm and ongoing discussions around potential Federal Reserve interest rate adjustments. While many anticipate further upside and a "Santa Claus rally," a vocal segment of the community expresses caution, pointing to stretched valuations and a divided outlook on economic conditions.

Tempus AI, Inc. is a healthcare technology company, which engages in bringing artificial intelligence and machine learning to healthcare. It focuses on building platforms for oncology, neuropsychiatry, cardiology, infectious disease, and radiology. The company was founded by Eric Paul Lefkofsky in August 2015 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Tempus AI Inc. - Ordinary Shares - Class A

Tempus AI Inc

Tempus AI is trending following strong preliminary revenue results and a record total contract value, driven by rising demand from major pharmaceutical partners for its AI-driven data. Community discussion highlights significant volume and call flows, with traders actively debating its potential for continued growth in precision oncology amid some intraday volatility. The company's strategic partnerships and role in embedding AI into drug discovery and clinical diagnostics are frequently emphasized.

SSgA Active Trust - SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF

Immediate market discussions center on the reported criminal probe into Fed Chair Powell, sparking intense debate over central bank independence and the potential for political influence on monetary policy. This uncertainty is compounded by recent U.S. action in Venezuela and proposed credit card interest rate caps, leading to polarized community views on heightened geopolitical risks and significant financial sector shifts. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA) has recently achieved new highs, its rally's sustainability is keenly debated amidst concerns over broader market fragility.

Monero

Monero ($XMR) is surging amid a renewed focus on privacy coins, with the community touting it as the "king of privacy" and the true, untraceable digital cash. Many believe XMR is outperforming competitors like Zcash and even Bitcoin due to its default privacy features, leading to widespread accumulation and ambitious long-term price targets. Despite facing delistings on major exchanges, proponents are actively discussing its fundamental utility and expressing frustration over its lack of trending visibility.

PayPal Holdings, Inc. engages in the development of technology platforms that enable digital payments and simplifies commerce experiences on behalf of merchants and consumers worldwide. Its solutions include PayPal, PayPal Credit, Braintree, Venmo, Xoom, and Paydiant products. The firm also enables consumers to exchange funds with merchants using funding sources, which include bank account, PayPal account balance, PayPal Credit account, credit, and debit card or other stored value products. It operates through United States and Other Countries geographical segments. The company was founded in December 1998 and is headquartered in San Jose, CA.

PayPal Holdings Inc

PayPal is a major topic of conversation, driven by widespread frustration over its sustained stock decline, which many investors believe contradicts the company's strong fundamentals and recent strategic AI partnerships. Community discussion is heavily focused on how a proposed credit card interest rate cap could significantly boost PayPal's Buy Now, Pay Later segment. This ongoing debate is further fueled by persistent analyst downgrades and calls for management to address the stock's underperformance.

Microsoft Corp. engages in the development and support of software, services, devices, and solutions. It operates through the following segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing. The Productivity and Business Processes segment is composed of products and services relating to productivity, communication, and information services such as Office Commercial, Office Consumer, LinkedIn, and Dynamics business solutions. The Intelligent Cloud segment consists of public, private, and hybrid server products and cloud services for businesses and developers, as well as enterprise and partner services. The More Personal Computing segment refers to products and services including Windows operating system, Windows cloud services, Surface, HoloLens, personal computer accessories, Xbox hardware, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Microsoft News, and Microsoft Edge. The company was founded by Paul Gardner Allen and William Henry Gates, III in 1975 and is headquartered in Redmond, WA.

Microsoft Corporation

Microsoft Corp

Microsoft is trending amid community debate over recent remarks regarding big tech's responsibility for AI data center power costs, with some anticipating increased infrastructure investment and others concerned about financial impacts. Nevertheless, analysts remain bullish on the company's robust AI and cloud monetization as a core beneficiary of the AI supercycle, despite ongoing investor frustration with its subdued price action.

Critical Metals Corp. engages in the mining, exploration, and development of lithium metals. It owns Wolfsberg Project and Tanbreez Project. The company was founded on October 24, 2022 and is headquartered in British Virgin Islands.

Critical Metals Corp.

Critical Metals Corp. is trending as renewed geopolitical interest in Greenland's rare earth deposits, particularly CRML's Tanbreez project, drives significant community discussion. Investors are keenly watching upcoming high-level meetings between U.S., Danish, and Greenlandic officials, with many anticipating developments that could solidify CRML's strategic importance in securing critical mineral supply chains. The strong belief in Greenland's strategic value and potential short squeeze dynamics is fueling strong conviction and buying interest.

SMX (Security Matters) Plc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of authentication solutions. It offers brand protection, authentication, and track and trace technology. The company was founded by Haggai Alon on July 1, 2022 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

SMX (Security Matters) Plc

SMX (Security Matters) PLC

SMX is gaining significant attention following recent company updates confirming it's fully funded for the first quarter with no planned dilution, and highlighting its molecular-level traceability technology for precious metals and anti-counterfeiting. The community is vigorously discussing its strong short squeeze potential, fueled by reports of extremely high Cost-To-Borrow rates and zero available shares, with many anticipating a substantial price surge akin to past low-float runners.

Moonlake Immunotherapeutics operates as a clinical-stage biotechnology company. It offers tri-specific Nanobody, Sonelokimab to address significant unmet needs in inflammatory skin and joint diseases. The company was founded by Kristian Reich, Jorge Santos da Silva, and Arnout Ploos van Amstel in 2021 and is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics - Ordinary Shares - Class A

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) is experiencing significant market attention following positive feedback from the FDA, which confirmed existing trial data is sufficient for a Biologics License Application for its drug sonelokimab in hidradenitis suppurativa, greatly de-risking its regulatory pathway. This development has fueled widespread speculation within the community about potential acquisition bids from major pharmaceutical players like Merck and Eli Lilly, with many investors anticipating a substantial revaluation and a potential short squeeze due to high interest from sellers. The discussion highlights the company's strong asset in the competitive immunology sector and its clearer path to market.

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<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>According to an Autocar India report, Riders will be able to speak to the system to access information and control features without taking their eyes off the road.</li><li>On January 5, the company&nbsp;rolled out its advanced Amelia 7 agentic artificial intelligence platform at CES.</li><li>Amelia 7 lets drivers and viewers use spoken commands to handle ordinary errands without touching screens or phones.&nbsp;</li></ul>Conversation artificial intelligence (AI) company SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) gained investors’ attention as the company’s AI services captured interest at&nbsp;the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.India-based Ultraviolette Automotive unveiled its new “Violette” voice command interface, developed in partnership with Soundhound AI.&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/SOUN">SoundHound AI stock </a>traded over 7% higher in Monday’s premarket.&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">Hands-Free Control For Riders</h2>According to an Autocar India&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.autocarindia.com/bike-news/ultraviolette-showcases-new-technology-at-ces-438784">report</a>, riders will be able to speak to the system to access information and control features without taking their eyes off the road, relying on a compatible helmet to relay commands to the bike’s systems. The voice assistant lets users query key metrics, including battery level, ride mode, trip statistics, and service reminders.&nbsp;On January 5, the company&nbsp;rolled out its advanced Amelia 7 agentic artificial intelligence platform at the CES, which taps digital agents that can complete purchases and perform complex activities on behalf of users.Amelia 7 lets drivers and riders use spoken commands to handle ordinary errands without touching screens or phones.&nbsp;“At CES 2026, SoundHound is showcasing a whole ecosystem of AI agents that perform tasks and transactions on behalf of consumers, no matter where they are,” said Keyvan Mohajer, CEO and Co-Founder of SoundHound AI.&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">What Are Stocktwits Users Saying?</h2>On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the stock remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory amid ‘high’ message volume levels.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2026_01_12_062435_png_6424d123b4.webp" alt="SOUN’s Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 06:00 a.m. ET on Jan. 12, 2026 | Source: Stocktwits" width="926" height="107"><figcaption>SOUN’s Sentiment Meter and Message Volume as of 06:00 a.m. ET on Jan. 12, 2026 | Source: Stocktwits</figcaption></figure>A bullish Stocktwits user said that the voice AI shown at CES was very impressive and that in just one year, it has improved so much that it sounds almost exactly like a real person.<stembedurl>https://stocktwits.com/texas__red/message/641500338</stembedurl>Another user said that&nbsp;Sounhound&nbsp;is ideally positioned, as the future will be ‘all about voice and motion AI’.<stembedurl>https://stocktwits.com/LieutenantJoe/message/641501523</stembedurl>Additionally, the stock touched the 50-DMA on Friday for the first time since November 3.<figure class="image"><img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Soundhound_jpg_b7b6e4ecf7.webp" alt="Soundhound.jpg" width="1309" height="867"></figure>SOUN stock has declined by over 8% in the last 12 months.&nbsp;Also See:&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/why-is-tempus-ai-stock-surging-premarket-today/cmU9w8kR43x">Why Is Tempus AI Stock Surging 11% Premarket Today?</a>For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

In this photo illustration, the logo of SoundHound AI, Inc. is displayed on a smartphone screen.

Why SOUN Stock Is In The Spotlight Today — What Is The Link With CES?

India-based Ultraviolette Automotive unveiled its new “Violette” voice command interface, developed in partnership with Soundhound AI. 

SOUN Stock On Retail Radar Today: SoundHound AI’s Voice Platform Sparks Interest 

Equity

India-based Ultraviolette Automotive unveiled its new “Violette” voice command interface, developed in partnership with Soundhound AI. 


ETFs to Consider Amid Geopolitical Woes and Higher US Military Budget 

Trump's $1.5T military budget and rising global tensions could lift defense ETFs and spill over into cybersecurity, AI, manufacturing and space ETFs.

<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>Robotics will have a foundational advancement in capability rather than a widespread consumer breakthrough like ChatGPT, as per Choi.&nbsp;</li><li>Looking at the exit landscape, Choi cautioned that a potential market correction could favor mergers and acquisitions over initial public offerings.</li><li>However, he tipped Grayscale, the cryptocurrency asset manager, as a likely first IPO candidate.</li></ul>Venture capitalist at Khosla Ventures Ethan Choi foresees a transformative year ahead for technology, with robotics achieving a significant leap in capabilities and potential social unrest among white-collar workers over AI-driven job disruptions.Ethan Choi, a partner at the Menlo Park-based firm Khosla Ventures, shared his predictions for 2026 in an <a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/khosla-ventures-eric-choi-vc-investor-2025-12?utm_medium=social&amp;utm_social_post_id=638502557&amp;utm_campaign=tech-sf&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_social_handle_id=3224616765">interview</a> with Business Insider. Choi anticipates that robotics will experience its own "GPT-3 moment" in 2026—a foundational advancement in capability rather than a widespread consumer breakthrough like ChatGPT. As per Choi, this breakthrough will allow for versatile robots capable of handling real-world tasks."In 2026, we'll see robotics experience its own GPT-3 moment," Choi told Business Insider. "One of the leading robotics models will demonstrate human-level intelligence applied to the physical world, mastering complex spatial, temporal, and embodied tasks that mark the beginning of true general-purpose robotics."<h2 class="st-heading-2">Choi Sees Protests Against AI</h2>Choi also predicted the emergence of large-scale protests against artificial intelligence—not from blue-collar workers traditionally impacted by automation, but from white-collar professionals.“We'll have the first of dramatic anti-AI protests in certain countries with white-collar workers, not blue-collar workers, demanding job security in the face of AI disruption,” he said in the interview.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Who Will Go IPO First In 2026?</h2>Looking at the exit landscape, Choi cautioned that a potential market correction could favor mergers and acquisitions over initial public offerings. However, he believes the strongest companies can still go public.He tipped Grayscale, the cryptocurrency asset manager, as a likely first IPO candidate, while also naming insurtech company Ethos and travel platform Klook among other candidates.<h2 class="st-heading-2">How Did Stocktwits Users React?</h2>On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Global X Artificial Intelligence &amp; Technology ETF (<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/AIQ">AIQ</a>) and Global X Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/BOTZ">BOTZ</a>) trended in the ‘bearish’ territory, coupled with ‘low’ message volume.Sentiment around Global X Robo Global Robotics &amp; Automation ETF (<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/ROBO">ROBO</a>), meanwhile, remained ‘bullish’.&nbsp;Read also: <a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/big-short-investor-michael-burry-says-he-is-not-short-tesla/cL7BP6YREz5">'Big Short' Investor Michael Burry Says He Is Not Short Tesla Even As He Calls The Stock ‘Ridiculously Overvalued’</a>For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

A pair of 1X androids are displayed at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) at ExCel on May 30, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Khosla Ventures Partner Sees Robotics Have A ‘GPT-3 Moment’ In 2026; Warns Of Anti-AI Protests From White-Collar Employees

Ethan Choi, a partner at the Menlo Park-based firm Khosla Ventures, shared his predictions for 2026 in an interview with Business Insider.

<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>Palantir is on track to finish the year among the S&amp;P 500’s top gainers, with shares up nearly 150% year to date.</li><li>Strong revenue growth, expanding margins, and a high Rule of 40 score underscore solid underlying fundamentals.</li><li>Valuation remains the central concern, with the stock trading at a steep premium to the broader market and peers.</li></ul>Even as analysts and investors remain divided, Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) is poised to end the year as one of the S&amp;P 500’s top 10 performing stocks. The artificial intelligence (AI)–powered data analytics platform delivered a fundamentally strong year, though valuation concerns remained a persistent red flag as the stock climbed nearly 150% year to date.As the stock climbed largely unabated—aside from the April tariff-driven market selloff and the November AI pullback—short sellers seized on Palantir’s rally to highlight what they viewed as excessive valuation.Citron’s Andrew Left argued that&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/PLTR">Palantir’s stock</a> was worth only about $40—even under generous valuation assumptions—when it was trading above $170.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Palantir —&nbsp; Investors’ Delight?</h2>Since Palantir, co-founded by five technocrats, including PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel and current CEO Alex Karp, went public via a direct listing on Sept. 30, 2020, its stock has generated an astounding return of nearly 1,900% for its investors.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Palantir_Post_IPO_Returns_png_bb5bac3fd1.webp" alt="Palantir Post IPO Returns.png">Source: KoyfinThe stock was consolidating within a broad range until the middle of 2023, when the rising tide of AI lifted all boats. It has left behind Nvidia, considered the frontrunner in the AI race, and the software giant Microsoft, both of which are biting the dust.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/PLTR_Vs_NVDA_Vs_MSFT_YTD_Return_png_099ba402c1.webp" alt="PLTR Vs NVDA Vs MSFT YTD Return.png">Source: Koyfin<h2 class="st-heading-2">Analysts, Retail Downbeat</h2>When the stock hasn’t disappointed investors, why is there so much pushback from some quarters? Citron’s Left, for one, sees Palantir’s business model as unattractive.<blockquote>“Palantir relies on large, long-term government contracts and competes in the enterprise space with lumpy, less scalable revenue.”</blockquote>Given that Palantir is heavily reliant on government contracts, Citron sees software giants posing a long-term competitive threat. The firm also viewed Palantir’s insider sales as a bad omen. According to Quiver Quantitative, Palantir&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.quiverquant.com/news/Palantir+Technologies+Stock+%28PLTR%29+Opinions+on+AI+Momentum+and+Valuation+Debate">insiders</a> have traded the stock in the open market 337 times in the past six months, all of which were sell trades. Karp alone had sold an estimated $128.78 million of Palantir shares in the same period.Come November, “Big Short” fame Michael Burry revealed a huge bearish bet on Palantir.Sell-side analysts are primarily on the sidelines. According to Koyfin, 17 of the 23 analysts covering the stock have a ‘Hold’ rating. Of the remaining analysts, three each have bullish and bearish ratings. The average analyst price target for Palantir’s stock is $186.81, implying just about 1% downside potential.On Stocktwits, retail traders who were bullish six months ago and three months ago turned ‘neutral’ a week ago. Sentiment downshifted to ‘bearish’ in the recent week.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:716/422;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_29_at_4_30_44_AM_png_e5f73dd23a.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-29 at 4.30.44 AM.png" width="716" height="422"></figure>Palantir is the 13th-most widely followed stock on Stocktwits, with the following count rising 17% over the past year.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Is Pessimism Justified?</h2>Palantir has been showing both year-over-year (YoY) and quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) revenue growth, with the YoY rate accelerating strongly.&nbsp;<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Palantirs_Strong_Revenue_Performance_png_20d5ed514b.webp" alt="Palantirs_Strong_Revenue_Performance.png">Source: Fiscal.aiThe company has aced the “Rule of 40,” a metric that combines revenue growth rate and profit margin. To be considered healthy, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company should score more than 40%. In the September quarter, the Rule of 40 score was 114% for Palantir.Margins have also been expanding, indicating operational efficiency.&nbsp;<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/PLTR_Margin_Trajectory_png_38f9878422.webp" alt="PLTR_Margin_Trajectory.png">Source: KoyfinThe company announced a raft of partnerships this year, including with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the U.S. Navy, and companies such as Nvidia Databricks, Anthropic, Archer Aviation, Snowflake, Accenture and xAI.Most bears see the hefty valuation as a deterrent. The forward price-earnings (P/E) multiple is at a hefty 203.35 compared to the S&amp;P 500’s 22.5 and the IT sector’s 27.1.While announcing an upward adjustment to Palantir’s stock price target to $170 from $125 in mid-November, Freedom Capital analysts said the embedded hypergrowth, implied by the elevated valuation, is unlikely to persist indefinitely, the Fly reported.Some retail traders on Stocktwits also lamented the hefty valuation. “Way overpriced,” a retail watcher said. Another user called the stock rally a “manipulated” move.For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/iren-vs-nebius-which-neocloud-stock-is-a-better-bet-in-2026/cL75nEvREDl">IREN Vs Nebius: Which Neocloud Stock Is A Better Bet Heading Into 2026?</a>

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, talks to members of the media at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 10, 2025 in Sun Valley, Idaho. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Palantir Crushed Nvidia, Microsoft And Most AI Stocks In 2025 — And Investors Didn’t Care About Valuation

Palantir delivered strong fundamentals and outsized stock gains, but extreme valuation, insider selling, and divided analyst sentiment continue to fuel skepticism despite accelerating growth and expanding margins.

<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>IREN’s vertically integrated, bare-metal model offers cost advantages and near-term cash flow support from Bitcoin mining.</li><li>Nebius, by contrast, is positioning itself as a full-stack AI cloud platform with stronger margins and longer-term software leverage.</li><li>Retail sentiment is downbeat, but Wall Street firms stay optimistic, given the supply-demand imbalance.</li></ul>Two neoclouds that have been runaway winners this year amid surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-related services are IREN Limited (IREN) and Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS). These companies have been riding the surging demand for data center infrastructure from hyperscalers and other AI players.Iren and Nebius belong to a class of companies called neoclouds, which are specialized cloud providers that offer a range of services, including GPUs-as-a-service (GPUaaS), fast networking, and optimized software.<h2 class="st-heading-2">IREN Vs Nebius: How Shares Stacked Up</h2>Sydney, Australia-based IREN, founded in 2018 by siblings Daniel and Will Roberts, has seen its shares surge by over 300% this year. Nebius was not far behind with a gain of 225%. Both stocks saw a real liftoff only since August, but are trading below their year-highs.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Neoclouds_YTD_Stock_Returns_png_f5064b61d0.webp" alt="Neoclouds YTD Stock Returns.png">Source: KoyfinWhile IREN is about 48% off this year’s peak ($76.87) and Nebius has shed 38% from its all-time high of $141.10, reached on Oct. 10.<h2 class="st-heading-2">IREN Vs NBIS: Which Has a Better Business Model</h2>&nbsp;IREN, formerly an energy company, branched out into Bitcoin mining and then pivoted to AI infrastructure, owning and operating land, power, data centers, and GPUs to provide cost-efficient, high-performance computing capacity. It is often considered a provider of “bare-metal, contract-based GPU capacity, and is therefore preferred by startups and cloud providers.&nbsp;On the other hand, Nebius, a spin-off of the publicly traded Yandex Group, the Dutch holding company of the Russian Internet giant Yandex, provides a full-stack cloud platform. Its services include the supply of cost-efficient GPU clusters, cloud platforms, managed services for AI training and inference, and tools and services for developers.<h2 class="st-heading-2">IREN Vs Nebius: How Fundamentals Stack Up</h2>In terms of revenue growth, IREN’s revenue has been trending upward this year, whereas Nenius has shown volatility in the growth pace.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/IREN_Vs_NBIS_Revenue_Performance_png_8ca7d1022e.webp" alt="IREN_Vs_NBIS_Revenue_Performance.png">Source: Fiscal.aiNebius has a better gross margin percentage from the latest quarter’s report, although IREN trails by only a little over four percentage points. The former has seen a steadily climbing margin since the fourth quarter of 2024.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/IREN_Vs_NBIS_Margin_Profile_png_8eb6f85554.webp" alt="IREN_Vs_NBIS_Margin_Profile.png">Source:&nbsp;Fiscal.aiAlthough IREN generated a profit for the September quarter, thanks to contributions from Bitcoin mining, free cash flow was negative. Nebius reported a loss for the September quarter and a negative free cash flow.<h2 class="st-heading-2">IREN Vs Nebius: Valuation</h2>In terms of stock valuation, based on the forward Price/Sales (P/S) ratio, Nebius is slightly pricier at 9.54 compared to IREN’s 8.7.According to Koyfin, 72% of the 14 analysts covering&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/IREN">IREN’s stock</a> have a buy-equivalent rating, and the average analyst price target ($83) implies over 105% upside potential. About 78% of the nine analysts covering <a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/NBIS">Nebius stock</a> have buy-equivalent ratings. The average analyst price target for IREN stock ($151.50) suggests roughly 73% upside potential.Retail traders, however, are downbeat. Both IREN and Nebius shares elicited ‘extremely bearish’ sentiment from among users of the Stocktwits platform.<h4 class="st-heading-4" style="text-align:center;">Retail Sentiment For IREN&nbsp;</h4>&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:728/436;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_29_at_2_48_56_AM_png_378dfaefb0.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-29 at 2.48.56 AM.png" width="728" height="436"></figure>&nbsp;Retail Sentiment For Nebius&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:723/440;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_29_at_2_51_52_AM_png_ef807e473c.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-29 at 2.51.52 AM.png" width="723" height="440"></figure>&nbsp;However, retail interest in the stock has risen this year. Over the past year, IREN’s followers on the platform increased by 276%, while Nebius’s have climbed by a steeper 1270%.Earlier this month, Goldman initiated the coverage of IREN stock with a ‘Neutral’ rating, the Fly reported. While calling IREN a “hypergrowth” company, analysts at the firm expressed wariness over its valuation. They see the valuation as “relatively full. That said, the analysts expect outsized growth over the next several years as its Microsoft deal scales. But growth beyond that is uncertain, they said.Following Nebius’ September quarter results, Citizens JMP analysts initiated coverage of the stock with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $175 price target. The analysts see the deployment of graphics processing unit clusters as an opportunity to "unlock significant value” and expect strong pricing trends due to continued supply/demand imbalance.<h2 class="st-heading-2">The Better Bet</h2>At current levels, the choice is between IREN’s cost-efficient infrastructure scale versus the platform depth and margin expansion potential of Nebius. With both stocks still well below their highs, sustained execution—and proof that demand remains durable beyond the current AI buildout—will likely determine which neocloud ultimately delivers more durable shareholder value.For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/meta-lost-its-mojo-can-zuckerberg-restore-investor-trust-in-2026/cLeU9llREwA">Meta Lost Its Mojo This Year — Can Zuckerberg Restore Investor Trust In 2026?</a>

Computer racks in Data Center (Representative image courtesy of Arctic-Images via Getty Images)

IREN Vs Nebius: Which Neocloud Stock Is A Better Bet Heading Into 2026?

Both IREN and Nebius have emerged as standout neocloud beneficiaries of the AI infrastructure boom, but they represent two distinct ways to play the theme.

<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>While Nvidia still controls the bulk of AI accelerator revenue, AMD is growing faster off a smaller base, winning incremental data-center and inference workloads.</li><li>Inference economics and product momentum have improved AMD’s competitive standing.</li><li>Despite trading at a higher forward P/E, AMD appears cheaper on a price-to-sales basis and is less exposed to concerns about circular&nbsp;deals.</li></ul>The growth in Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares has been more than twice as good as Wall Street’s artificial intelligence (AI) darling Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) this year, even though the smaller chipmaker was relatively late to the AI party.Known for its fightbacks, AMD was not cowed down, but slowly and steadily made inroads. And the result is for everyone to see.&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/AMD">AMD’s stock</a> has gained more than 74% year-to-date, relative to&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/NVDA">Nvidia stock’s</a> approximately 32% gain, as the company’s revenue trajectory has been broadly upward as it began to eat into the latter’s AI accelerator market share and was quick with its product launches.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/YTD_Stock_Returns_png_075b7e06ce.webp" alt="YTD Stock Returns.png">Source: Koyfin&nbsp;Does the outperformance mean AMD is gaining some traction in the AI chip race? How will the Nvidia vs AMD rivalry pan out in the new year?<h2 class="st-heading-2">1. AMD vs. Nvidia: The Data Center Duel</h2>Nvidia still rules the roost in the data center market, with revenue totaling $51.2 billion in the third quarter compared to AMD’s tally of $4.3 billion. The YoY data center revenue growth pace was 66% for Nvidia and 22% for AMD in the third quarter, up from 56.4% and 14.3%, respectively, in the preceding quarter.Looking at the rate of change, AMD’s growth pace has increased by two-thirds, while NVDA’s has grown by less than one-fifth.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/AMD_vs_NVDA_Data_Center_Revenues_png_9d7e3d540e.webp" alt="AMD_vs_NVDA_Data_Center_Revenues.png">Source: Fiscal.aiEach new AI dollar&nbsp;spent now doesn’t go exclusively to Nvidia, and it is forced to share the AI accelerator pie with competition. Since AMD is growing off a smaller revenue base, even small wins can help it record outsized percentage growth. The incremental AI revenue AMD earns could give it additional operating leverage — i.e., profit growth per additional dollar of revenue will be high once fixed costs are covered.&nbsp;Incidentally, AMD’s data center comprises EPYC server processors designed for AI workloads in large data centers, and its AMD Instinct GPU accelerators are intended for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI workloads. On the other hand, Nvidia’s data center business is designed to offer a full-stack,&nbsp;integrated AI platform, including specialized hardware (GPUs &amp; CPUs), networking, and software.<h2 class="st-heading-2">2. AMD’s Inferencing Superiority&nbsp;</h2>AMD has a competitive edge in the AI inferencing chip market, which is set to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%, compared to 31% for training. Inferencing is the process of running live data through a trained AI model to conclude brand new data.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/AI_inferencing_png_fd58c7b89f.webp" alt="AI inferencing.png">Source: BloombergAMD’s MI355X, launched in June, outperforms the Nvidia B200 AI accelerator in both memory capacity and bandwidth. Sharing a chart from third-party benchmark Signal65, tech-focused blogger and investor Daniel Romero said the MI355X outperformed on several metrics, including throughout and published results, vis-a-vis the B200, while being used for inderencing in the DeepSeek-R1 model.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:680/315;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/AMD_vs_NVDA_benchmarkinf_png_01719c6c2f.webp" alt="AMD vs NVDA benchmarkinf.png" width="680" height="315"></figure>Source: Signal65 via X<h2 class="st-heading-2">3. AMD vs. NVDA: Which Is More Affordable?</h2>Although AMD has a higher forward price-earnings (P/E) multiple versus Nvidia, on a price-sales (P/S) basis, AMD appears cheaper.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/AMD_vs_NVDA_Valuation_PS_png_45b7f5974c.webp" alt="AMD_vs_NVDA_Valuation_PS.png">Source: Fiscal.ai<h2 class="st-heading-2">AMD vs. NVDA: Retail’s Verdict</h2>Retail investors are equally pessimistic toward AMD and Nvidia shares. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward AMD, which was largely ‘bullish’ for much of the year, has worsened to ‘bearish’ since last week.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:725/442;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_23_at_3_19_10_AM_png_63af4816f5.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-23 at 3.19.10 AM.png" width="725" height="442"></figure>Nvidia’s stock has seen retail sentiment fluctuating from ‘extremely bullish’ to ‘extremely bearish’ this year, with the mood currently at ‘bearish.’<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:703/440;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_23_at_2_20_08_AM_png_ab73bb826c.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-23 at 2.20.08 AM.png" width="703" height="440"></figure><h2 class="st-heading-2">AMD vs. NVDA: The Outlook</h2>The potential resumption of AI chip sales to China bodes well for both companies. With the Trump administration’s renewed China chip ban announced in April, both AMD and Nvidia suffered a setback, as the workaround AI chips they developed to sidestep the ban imposed by the previous Biden administration were blocked. According to a Saxo report, Nvidia earned roughly $17 billion&nbsp;in revenue from China in 2024, while AMD earned $6.2 billion. High-value AI accelerators accounted for the bulk of the shipments.&nbsp;AMD has secured major contracts to deploy data center chips, including with OpenAI, as the AI startup diversifies its supplier base. A media report suggested that Alibaba is considering&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.mlex.com/mlex/articles/2424504/amd-nears-china-rollout-of-ai-chip-as-alibaba-weighs-major-order">buying</a> 40,000 to 50,000 units of AMD’s MI308 accelerators.Another significant overhang for AI plays has been the use of circular financing structures, which have fueled skepticism about how much of the announced demand reflects genuine end-customer spending. AMD is relatively insulated as the deals are structured more as investments than financing. The OpenAI deal announced in October calls for giving it a potential 10% equity stake in AMD through warrants tied to chip sales.&nbsp;AMD and Broadcom may be on track to develop AI processor revenue slightly faster than Nvidia in 2026, Morgan Stanley said in a report released earlier this month. The firm, however, sees the lag as a function of supply chain constraints of a $205 billion run-rate revenue stream. At AMD’s Financial Analyst Day, AMD CEO Lisa Su said:<blockquote>“With the broadest portfolio of products and our deepening strategic partnerships, AMD is uniquely positioned to lead the next generation of high-performance and AI computing.”</blockquote>AMD said it expects to lead the AI compute market, which is estimated at $1 trillion by 2030, with a 40% CAGR, compared to its $500 billion estimate for 2028. The company expects its AI data center revenue to grow at an 80% CAGR over the next 3-5 years, driven by strong momentum across multiple hyperscaler, AI-native, and sovereign opportunities.Wall Street analysts currently see more upside for Nvidia stock over the next year than for AMD, according to price targets compiled by Koyfin.&nbsp;For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/silver-beating-gold-in-year-of-economic-and-geopolitical-uncertainty/cLeFK8iREMf">Why Is Silver Beating Gold In A Year of Economic And Geopolitical Uncertainty?</a>

The AMD booth focuses on AI and data center development at the 8th China International Import Expo. 

How AMD Quietly Beat Nvidia This Year — Even As China Curbs Hit Them Both

AMD outpaced Nvidia as accelerating data-center growth, inference strength, and valuation asymmetry drove outsized gains, even while Nvidia retained dominance in AI chips.

<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>Retail-driven speculation propelled a little-known Indian chipmaker to historic gains, even as losses mount.</li><li>Regulators have stepped in amid concerns over trading activity, curbing liquidity, and intensifying scrutiny of the rally.</li><li>The rally highlights how AI-linked narratives can fuel meme-stock behavior even in the absence of clear earnings visibility.</li></ul>Technology stocks shone the brightest this year, underpinned by strong performances by artificial intelligence (AI) plays, including chipmakers, storage solutions companies, and data infrastructure companies. Granted, it was not a steady, steep ascent, but the trend was broadly to the upside, interspersed with minor pullbacks.&nbsp;AI stalwart Nvidia is up a relatively less glamorous 29% this year, but its chip peers Micron, Broadcom, Intel, and AMD have had a stronger run. So did the storage solutions companies such as Western Digital, its spin-off company Sandisk, and Seagate Technology, as well as chip-equipment makers Lam Research and KLA Corp.&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">Breakout Story Or Shady Play?</h2>But an obscure chipmaker in the eastern part of the world has beaten all these big giants fair and square in terms of stock performance — a David in the world of AI Goliaths.However, the company’s opacity continues to deepen by the day. Welcome to the world of RRP Semiconductor. The Thane, India-based company has built an Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly &amp; Test (OSAT) facility in Maharashtra for chip packaging, fabrication, and testing.&nbsp;The company's financial soundness, however, is in question. RRP Semi reported negative revenue of Rs. 682.14 lakhs ($68.2 million) for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2025, according to its filings with the stock exchange. Its adjusted loss swung wildly from Rs. 0.21 a year ago to Rs. 5.25.Incorporated as a trading investment firm in 1980, the company transitioned into the electronics and semiconductor industry, renaming itself RRP Semiconductor in May 2025, according to information from the stock market analytics firm Trendlyne.&nbsp;RRP Semi landed in trouble with regulators after social media speculation that Indian cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar had invested in the company sent its shares soaring. The sports icon had attended the inauguration of the Navi Mumbai OSAT plant in late March 2024. In a filing with the BSE in mid-October, the company clarified that Tendulkar has not subscribed to its shares and that the company has not received land from the government of Maharashtra. This Indian state is located here.&nbsp;<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/YTD_Gain_Of_AI_plays_png_bcaa026187.webp" alt="YTD Gain Of AI plays.png">Source: TradingViewFor the year-to-date period, RRPSemi stock has skyrocketed about 6,000%. It hit a peak of Rs. 11,902 (intraday) on Monday and has been retreating amid regulatory scrutiny. The gains are much more outsized at 55,000% over the 20 months through Dec. 17, and, according to Bloomberg, this marked the most significant increase among companies worldwide with a market value above $1 billion. The company currently has a market cap of $1.7 billion.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/RRP_2025_12_18_04_53_47_png_882c9c4895.webp" alt="RRP_2025-12-18_04-53-47.png">Source: TradingView<h2 class="st-heading-2">RRP Semi — India’s Meme Darling?</h2>Social-media frenzy, a small free float, and the company’s pivot to semiconductors, along with the swelling retail investor base, led to 149 straight “limit-up” sessions,&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-18/world-beating-55-000-surge-in-india-ai-stock-fuels-bubble-fears?srnd=homepage-asia">according</a> to Bloomberg. A limit-up session refers to a scenario when a stock or index reaches the upper circuit limit, or the pre-defined maximum allowable price increase for the day. According to a Bloomberg chart, RRP Semi has seen a surge in retail participation in the second half of the year.&nbsp;RRP Semi is 98% owned by Rajendra Chodankar, the founder of RRP Group, the parent company, and some of his associates.Traders in the stock had thrown caution to the wind and plunged long into the stock despite the exchanges and the company flagging potential issues. The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the stock market regulator in India, has begun looking into whether any wrongdoing is involved in RRP Semi’s stock surge, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The stock is now restricted to trading only once a week.&nbsp;For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/cryptocurrency/micron-proved-ai-boom-isn-t-over-and-exposed-oracle-broadcom/cLegKbQREAe">Micron Just Proved the AI Boom Isn’t Over — And Exposed What Oracle, Broadcom Got Wrong</a>

The close-up view of a CPU socket on a computer motherboard. (Representative image courtesy of Narumon Bowonkitwanchai via Getty Images)

Forget Nvidia — This Obscure Indian Chip Stock Just Became the World’s Best-Performing AI Play With 6,000% YTD Surge 

Massive gains in a little-known Indian semiconductor firm were driven by hype and a limited float, overshadowing concerns about losses, disclosures, and regulatory scrutiny.

Obscure Indian Chip Stock Outruns Nvidia In A 6,000% AI-Fueled Rally This Year

Massive gains in a little-known Indian semiconductor firm were driven by hype and a limited float, overshadowing concerns about losses, disclosures, and regulatory scrutiny.


<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>Operational and execution risks have come into sharper focus, with data center construction delays, revised timelines, and infrastructure bottlenecks raising concerns.</li><li>Financial pressures continue to weigh on sentiment, as heavy capital expenditure, a reduced forward outlook, and a speculative credit rating underscore the company’s high-risk, high-reward profile.</li><li>Retail traders and several Wall Street firms continue to bet on a rebound driven by long-term demand for AI.</li></ul>Artificial intelligence (AI) datacenter operator CoreWeave, Inc.’s (CRWV) fortunes have quickly reversed. From a high-profile initial public offering (IPO) in March this year and a meteoric two-month rally that kicked off in late April, <a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/CRWV">CoreWeave’s stock</a> has lost much of its momentum as skeptics sowed doubt in investors' minds, who were&nbsp;going all in on&nbsp;any AI play.Even so, the stock is still sitting on handsome gains. What has changed is that much of the nearly 370% return it generated at its intraday peak in late June has evaporated, leaving loyal investors wondering whether the heydays will return.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/CRWV_YTD_Stock_Trajectory_png_d7bd286a31.webp" alt="CRWV YTD Stock Trajectory.png">Source: Koyfin<h2 class="st-heading-2">What Precipitated the Down Move</h2>CoreWeave's hot post-IPO rally stalled after the stock hit a peak in late July.&nbsp; As investors paused for a breather, the Michael Intrator-led company spooked investors by announcing a $9 billion all-stock deal to buy Bitcoin miner Core Scientific, which had also branched out into AI data centers. The agreement has since then been shelved. An expanded AI cloud deal with OpenAI, valued at up to $4 billion, helped to reverse the downtrend. The rally attempt fizzled out in mid-August despite second-quarter results that outperformed expectations. Some blamed the stock slide on the bigger loss it reported for the quarter.&nbsp;After a modest recovery from the post-earnings slide, CoreWeave moved sideways, before the third-quarter earnings report, released in early November, triggered another round of selling in the stock. A delay in the data center infrastructure coming online prompted the company to reduce its forward-looking guidance, exerting downward pressure on the stock.Following the Q3 report, Macquarie analyst Paul Golding, who remains on the sidelines of the stock, cut the price target to $115 from $145. The analyst attributed the action to the use of a lower valuation multiple to reflect the persistently high capital expenditure (capex). He, however, sees room for earnings improvement.Capex, however, declined in the third quarter due to delays at a third-party data center developer, pushing the delivery timeline for "powered shell" capacity.<figure class="table" style="width:94.66%;"><table class="ck-table-resized"><colgroup><col style="width:31.52%;"><col style="width:20.9%;"><col style="width:25.56%;"><col style="width:22.02%;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>Q1'25</td><td>Q2'25</td><td>Q3'25</td></tr><tr><td>Capex</td><td>$1.9B</td><td>$2.9B</td><td>$1.9B</td></tr></tbody></table></figure>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Data source: Earnings call transcriptThe losses were exacerbated by the AI pessimism that was beginning to grip the market around that time. The recovery seen since late November proved short-lived, and the stock has been in a five-session losing streak since Dec. 9.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/CRWV_YTD_Returns_png_7091a212f6.webp" alt="CRWV YTD Returns.png">Source: KoyfinCoreWeave now has 41 data centers, with eight of them coming online in the third quarter. The data center capacity corresponds to 90 megawatts of active power and 2.9 gigawatts of contracted power, according to an S&amp;P <a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/regulatory/article/-/view/type/HTML/id/3492923">report.</a> The firm sees looming risks if the company faces construction or performance issues arising from the data center infrastructure, potentially coming online later than planned.S&amp;P rated CoreWeave's $2.25 billion 1.75% senior unsecured convertible notes, due 2031, a 'B' — suggesting speculative or junk grade. The Recovery Rating is '5,' indicating a low probability (30%) of recovery.&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">Delays Dent Progress?</h2>In an exclusive report published on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/coreweave-stock-market-ai-bubble-a3c8c321">&nbsp;said</a> unexpectedly turbulent rainstorms in North Texas caused a roughly 60-day delay at a construction site in Denton.The data center cluster, with 260 megawatt computing capacity, which CoreWeave planned to lease to OpenAI, is now pushed back several months, the report said. It is also noted that revised design plans have delayed some of the data center projects that one of the company's partners was building for it in Texas and elsewhere.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Short Attack</h2>Following the Q3 report, short seller Jim Chanos piled on misery to the stock by <a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/jim-chanos-joins-michael-burry-in-sounding-ai-alarm/cLPIZeRRE59">questioning</a> the company's accounting practices, including its use of a longer depreciation period. Even with a longer depreciable life, CoreWeave's third-quarter numbers suggest the company is barely profitable, he said in a post on X.&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">What Retail Traders Feel About CRWV Stock</h2>After the stock slump, CoreWeave retail investors have shed their cautious stance and have jumped onto the bullish bandwagon. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock was 'bullish' as of early Wednesday.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:735/436;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_17_at_12_24_16_AM_png_b341e134f4.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-17 at 12.24.16 AM.png" width="735" height="436"></figure>&nbsp;A retail trader hinged his <a href="https://stocktwits.com/Cybermoon/message/639390500">expectations</a> on a potential "V-shaped" recovery in the stock following its five sessions of losses in a row. Another user hoped for a short-covering rally. According to Koyfin, short interest in the stock is elevated at 6.60%, down from the September highs of 11%.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/CRWV_short_interest_png_72b08cfb62.webp" alt="CRWV short interest.png">Source: KoyfinMore than half of the analysts covering the stock have 'Buy' or 'Strong Buy' ratings, and 11 remain on the sidelines, and only 2 have sell-equivalent ratings, according to Koyfin's database. The average analyst price target for the stock is $130.96, implying nearly 90% upside from current levels.For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/how-ford-and-gm-stocks-quietly-beat-tesla-and-rivian-this-year/cLeJfyRREYw">&nbsp;Detroit Strikes Back: How Ford And GM Stocks Quietly Beat Tesla And Rivian This Year</a>

CoreWeave logo is displayed on a mobile phone, with the company's branding visible in the background, in this photo illustration in Brussels, Belgium, on November 10, 2025. 

CoreWeave’s Post-IPO Surge Fades: Investors’ AI Fears Leave Stock In A Tight Spot

Heavy capital spending, data center delays, accounting scrutiny, and waning AI enthusiasm have weighed on CoreWeave’s shares, even as retail traders stay bullish and analysts still see meaningful upside.

<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>IREN exited the Bitcoin mining expansion to focus on AI cloud and HPC, landing a landmark Microsoft deal and aggressively scaling GPU capacity.</li><li>After a 1,160% surge to November highs, sentiment cooled amid AI skepticism, dilution fears, and weaker margins, triggering a sharp correction.</li><li>Analysts see contracts, ARR visibility, and long-term AI demand outweighing fragile neocloud economics once sentiment improves.</li></ul>IREN, a former Bitcoin miner, made all the right moves when a broader multi-year uptrend seen since January 2023 began to lose steam early this year. The company has always been quick to identify opportunities, and investors have promptly welcomed each of its strategic moves.&nbsp;Despite a steep descent seen since November,&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/IREN">IREN’s stock</a> is still up 261% year-to-date (YTD).&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">Strategic Shifts Paying Off</h2>Sydney, Australia-based IREN, founded in 2018 by siblings Daniel and Will Roberts, started as a provider of solar services for commercial and residential use. The company used clean energy to fuel a booming Bitcoin mining business that benefited from a strong rally in the apex crypto that began in late 2022.&nbsp;Then, as data centers powering energy-hungry artificial intelligence (AI) workloads surged in popularity, IREN pivoted decisively, seizing the opportunity with both hands. In a statement released on March 31, the company said it was pausing all Bitcoin mining expansion and shifting its focus. Announcing the shift, CEO Daniel Roberts said:<blockquote>“As we near completion of our 50 EH/s mining expansion, our focus is shifting to the next phase of growth and delivering scalable infrastructure for AI and HPC through our AI Cloud Services and AI Data Center businesses.”</blockquote>Since IREN announced the pivot, the stock has gained a whopping 1,160% from its Nov. 5 intraday peak of $76.87. By the time, IREN had landed a&nbsp;massive deal with Microsoft, valued at $9.7 billion over five years, providing the software giant with access to Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs. Simultaneously, the company also struck an agreement with Dell to acquire the GPUs and ancillary equipment for about $5.8 billion.&nbsp;Following the deal, Macquarie analyst Paul Golding said the development further accelerates IREN’s diversification into AI Cloud:<blockquote>“The move signals IREN's vertically integrated AI Cloud platform being a formidable offering in the market. It also unlocks a customer segment among global hyperscalers.”</blockquote>JPMorgan, which has a ‘Sell’-equivalent rating, raised IREN’s stock price target to $39 from $28 in late November, citing the flurry of deal activity in high-performance computing.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Iren_data_center_fueled_gain_png_d7c815a371.webp" alt="Iren_data_center_fueled_gain.png">Source: KoyfinMarket Darling To Momentum CasualtyThe rally in IREN stock, a favorite among both investors and retailers, stalled in early November as skepticism about AI plays gained ground amid bearish comments from some sections of fund managers and Wall Street firms. IREN’s mixed quarterly results reported on Nov. 6 further dented sentiment.IREN’s announcement on Dec. 1 regarding a $2 billion convertible note offering also did not go down well with investors.The technical picture also deteriorated after the stock completed a double-top formation in early November. Since the Nov. 5 peak, the stock has shed 54%<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/IREN_YTD_Stock_Trajectory_png_d9cbb72aad.webp" alt="IREN YTD Stock Trajectory.png">Source: Koyfin<h2 class="st-heading-2">Is Neocloud Business Model A Drag?</h2>With IREN staying deep in correction territory, investors have begun raising questions about IREN’s AI pivot. At least one research firm does not think likewise. In a report released on Monday, B. Riley analysts reiterated a ‘Buy’ rating and a $74 price target, citing their view that the company is set to outperform fellow neoclouds once AI sentiment improves, Coindesk reported.<h2 class="st-heading-2">How Neoclouds Fared This Year</h2>Since Nov. 5, IREN’s stock has underperformed its peers, including CoreWeave (CRWV), Applied Digital (APLD), and Nebius Group (NBIS), but it still towers over the rest, considering the YTD returns.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/IREN_vs_Neoclouds_YTD_returns_png_e7671318c0.webp" alt="IREN vs Neoclouds YTD returns.png">Source: KoyfinApart from the publicly listed stock, other dominant players in the space are London-based Civo, Crusoe Cloud, Lambda, and Vultr.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Fundamental Challenges</h2>Calling Neocloud’s business model “bare-metal-as-a-service” (BMaaS), consultancy firm McKinsey&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/the-evolution-of-neoclouds-and-their-next-moves">said</a> their economics are fragile. With this model, gross margins are typically around 55%-65% before depreciation, depending on utilization and pricing. The firm said:”<blockquote>“If there is a small decrease in GPU rental prices, or if utilization slips below 80 percent, returns will flatline. The economy becomes even more fragile when debt financing is taken into account, because interest costs quickly erase any residual cushion.”</blockquote>Iren, which previously boosted EBITDA margins to 40%, has seen them drop to 10.4% in the third quarter.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/IRE_Ns_Margin_Contraction_png_b4b67ee796.webp" alt="IRENs_Margin_Contraction.png">Source:&nbsp;Fiscal.aiMcKinsey highlighted price erosion of older GPUs during the new chip release cycle as another risk these companies face. The firm also said the big deals are less lucrative than they seemingly appear.&nbsp;<blockquote>“These big deals have resulted in high revenue concentration for neocloud players. Public disclosures show that for some players, more than half of their revenue comes from just one or two customers.”</blockquote><h2 class="st-heading-2">Retail Mood Improves</h2>The retail users of the Stocktwits platform have turned ‘bullish’ on IREN’s stock as of early Tuesday from the ‘bearish’ mood seen a week ago. The stock has seen a 273% increase in followers over the past year, and retail chatter has surged by over 300% — all indicating rising retail interest in the stock.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:731/439;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Screenshot_2025_12_16_at_3_00_50_AM_png_fba9aabc69.webp" alt="Screenshot 2025-12-16 at 3.00.50 AM.png" width="731" height="439"></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2 class="st-heading-2">What Could Rignite IREN Rally</h2>IREN has taken some risk off the table by locking in a huge contract and also strengthening its balance sheet.On the September quarter earnings call, CEO Daniel Roberts said that the Microsoft contract will fetch a 20% prepayment and $1.94 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR), according to a Koyfin transcript. He also flagged a strong scaling of its GPU fleet to 140,000 GPUs by the end of 2026, up from 23,000 currently, which can support $3.4 billion in ARR.&nbsp;B.Riley&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/15/bitcoin-miner-iren-s-47-slide-flagged-as-a-buying-opportunity-by-b-riley">called</a> IREN’s stock price movement a sentiment-driven reset in a volatile proxy, rather than a break in fundamentals. The firm said IREN faces only a $2.7 billion gap between available capital and its planned high-performance computing (HPC) capital expenditure. It views the recent pullback as a buying opportunity.According to Koyfin, more than 70% of the analysts covering IREN stock have buy-equivalent ratings. The average analyst price target for the stock is $81.85, implying over 130% upside over the next year.For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:&nbsp; <a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/ai-play-sound-hound-tumbles-41-in-2025-as-heavy-short-interest-builds/cLe4PfcREo7">AI Play SoundHound Tumbles 41% In 2025 As Heavy Short Interest Builds: Is Retail Investor Patience Wearing Thin?</a>

The Curious Case of IREN: Can The Neocloud Win Back Investors After A 50% Stock Slump From Its November Peak?

IREN exited the Bitcoin mining expansion to focus on AI cloud and HPC, landing a landmark Microsoft deal and aggressively scaling GPU capacity.

Long-term contracts, GPU expansion, and analyst optimism suggest upside despite fragile neocloud economics and margin risks.


<ul class="summary-bullets"><li>Disney becomes Sora’s first content-licensing partner and invests $1B in OpenAI, gaining AI capabilities and future equity rights.</li><li>OpenAI gets funding relief amid massive projected losses; Disney seeks engagement&nbsp;boost across streaming and parks.</li><li>Disney shares remain muted, up just 0.5% YTD, with retail sentiment still bearish.</li></ul>The Mouse House has&nbsp;finally jumped on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon, teaming up with the technology’s ‘OG’ innovator, OpenAI. The moot point is whether this partnership is&nbsp;a substantial “win-win” opportunity or merely a headline-grabbing alignment.At least, investors have taken the news positively,&nbsp;as seen from the&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/DIS">Disney stock</a> rising 2.4% on Thursday.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Disney’s Deal Snippets</h2>-Disney becomes Sora’s first content licensing partner, as part of a three-year contract.-Based on user prompts, Sora can now generate videos, drawing from a set of over 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars.-Disney becomes&nbsp;an&nbsp;OpenAI customer (will use OpenAI’s APIs to build new products, tools, and experiences, and deploys ChatGPT to its employees).The highlight of the deal terms is a $1 billion investment Disney has agreed to make in&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/symbol/OPENAI">OpenAI</a>, which&nbsp;is currently raking up mammoth losses. It would also receive warrants that can be used to purchase additional equity.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Win-Win Or It So Seems?</h2>Walt Disney CEO Bog Iger was upbeat about the&nbsp;partnership. Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk on the Street on Thursday, he&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/11/disney-open-ai-iger-altman.html">said</a> the company’s $1 billion equity investment is a “way-in” to AI,&nbsp;and&nbsp;would have a potential long-term impact&nbsp;at Disney.<blockquote>“We want to participate in what Sam is creating, what his team is creating…We think this is a good investment for the company.”</blockquote>For OpenAI, the $1 billion&nbsp;cheque –&nbsp;and future&nbsp;potential investments by Disney –&nbsp;are only a drop in the bucket.&nbsp;It is burdened by massive losses stemming from&nbsp;its&nbsp;huge investment in training AI models and the&nbsp;supporting cloud infrastructure.HSBC estimates that OpenAI is on track to incur losses at least until 2030, according to a Financial Times report.&nbsp;Losses are seen increasing from $17.72 billion in 2025, peaking at over $108 billion in 2029, and narrowing to $77 billion in 2030.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:600/371;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Open_AI_s_Estimated_Losses_in_Billions_png_aa6dca42de.webp" alt="OpenAI's Estimated Losses (in Billions).png" width="600" height="371"></figure>HSBC data source via Financial TimesIn any case, a partnership and investment with a media group as iconic as Disney is a welcome development for OpenAI.At a time when the media and entertainment industry is undergoing a significant consolidation, this AI trump card&nbsp;with Disney could serve it well in the near term. Theater attendances are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, and its streaming business&nbsp;faces&nbsp;cutthroat competition. The AI-generated content may help reinvigorate engagement on the company’s streaming platforms.Following&nbsp;Disney’s fourth-quarter results in mid-November, Evercore ISI analyst Kutgun Maral said the&nbsp;company’s&nbsp;FY26 outlook was conservative amid macro uncertainties. Nevertheless, the analyst said Disney's "strong track record and strategic investments position it well for sustained growth.”&nbsp; While lowering Disney’s stock price target by $11 to $130, Rosenblatt Securities flagged concerns about a notable deceleration in domestic parks.In a post on X, the founder of video analytics company Delmondo, Nick Cicero, said Disney had solved two existential problems with the OpenAI deal. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;-Creators making billions of views worth of unauthorized Disney content-Kids are spending more time on YouTube than Disney+Cicero feels the move is about revenue physics, rather than tech:<blockquote>“Sora gives Disney its first scalable way to pull creator-made content into its own premium ecosystem — brand-safe, trackable, legal, and ready for CTV monetization.”&nbsp;</blockquote><h2 class="st-heading-2">Disney Takes On Google</h2>In an interesting turn of events, close on the heels of striking the OpenAI partnership, Disney reportedly sent a “cease-and-desist” letter to Google over the unauthorized use of its work by the latter’s Gemini large-language model (LLM), Axios&nbsp;<a class="st-link-external" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/12/11/disney-google-ai">reported,</a> citing a copy of the letter it obtained.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Tracking Disney’s Trajectory</h2>After a forgettable first three months, Disney’s stock took off strongly&nbsp;in May, as the company&nbsp;posted&nbsp;a second-quarter beat and raised its full-year forecast, buoyed by strong performances by its theme parks and streaming business.The euphoria lasted through June before fading, and the stock has been stuck in a sideways trending channel since then.<img src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/Disney_YTD_stock_move_png_5aa9b6df39.webp" alt="Disney YTD stock move.png">Source: KoyfinThe stock is barely (+0.50%) in positive territory for the year.<h2 class="st-heading-2">Retail’s Downbeat</h2>The AI plunge hasn’t made a world of good for Disney,&nbsp;at least in the eyes of retail investors. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward the stock is stuck in ‘bearish’ as of early Friday. The mood toward the stock has largely been downbeat for much of this year.<figure class="image"><img style="aspect-ratio:717/448;" src="https://news.stocktwits-cdn.com/DIS_RS_png_5c7e382566.webp" alt="DIS-RS.png" width="717" height="448"></figure>&nbsp;&nbsp;Disney’s stock is currently trading at a discount of about 20% relative to the one-year consensus price target&nbsp;from analysts, according to Koyfin.&nbsp;For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.Read Next:&nbsp;<a href="https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/san-disk-outperforms-western-digital-with-600-ytd-gain-climbed-to-top-of-s-and-p-500-winners-list/cLICWXGREFL">SanDisk Outperforms Former Parent Western Digital With Nearly 600% YTD Gain — And Climbed To Top Of The S&amp;P 500 Winners List: What Drove The Explosive Rally?</a>

A statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse stands in a garden in front of Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World on April 3, 2025, in Orlando, Florida. 

Disney Offers A Boost To OpenAI With $1B Investment — and Grabs a Spot in the AI Race: A Win-Win  Deal?

Disney’s $1B OpenAI partnership offers strategic AI entry and content advantages, but investor sentiment remains muted as the stock trades sideways despite potential long-term benefits.

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