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Weekly Bot Brief 5-21-02021
POSTED 05/23/2021
"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come." Victor Hugo
Bots in The News:
The Bot Index’s performance last week eclipsed the broad market by a significant margin. Paced by the 21.54% gain in 3D Systems, the bots rose 1.21% while the S & P 500 fell .431. 3D Systems rose 16.34% in the prior week so the results of the back-to-back double digit increases saw the stock run from $19.21 to $27.14. As noted in last week’s Bot Brief, DDD shocked analysts with its blow out earnings and revenue gains for the quarter. Clearly, investors have an improving outlook for the company and its stock since it was trading in the $4 range just last September.
Hiwin Technologies shook off recent political concerns that have dampened investor appeal for the Taiwanese company and gained 6.35%. The stock shed some $75 in the past couple of weeks as Mainland China resurrected its desire for a ‘one’ China (and perhaps Taiwan’s superior semiconductor chip industry.
NVIDIA Corp. rebounded from four consecutive weeks of negative returns to improve 5.26%. Immersion Corp and Accuray Inc. gained 8.84% and 5.05% respectively to round out the more significant stock moves within the composite. Immersion’s solid week was a function of the ‘buy’ recommendation that Zacks announced on its appraisal of the stock.
There were only two negative stocks for the week that stood out. Oceaneering International dropped 5.73% while Teledyne gave up 4.60%. Teledyne’s slide was a result of an announcement that Artisan Partner’s Small Cap Fund was liquidating its holdings due to the company’s climb above the defined small cap threshold. It appears the investment management firm remains positive on the prospects for the company, particularly regarding the firm’s recent takeover of FLIR Systems, the largest provider of thermal imaging systems for military and industrial applications.
Disappointed:
We were disappointed with the May 2021 AEA Papers and Proceedings of the one hundred thirty-third Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association. While there were quite a number of interesting synopses include in the massive booklet, there were NO inclusions on the economic power and problems that will be presented to humankind by the Robotic Revolution. We are still of the opinion that the rise of robots in the workforce will be the single most significant event in the history of the world and, yet not a word in this year’s tome.
Don't Miss These Industry-Leading Events!
Energy, Energy, Energy…..again:
In last weeks The Bot Brief our commentary centered on several breakthroughs in the production of forms of clean energy. Foremost of the discussion was the utilization of ammonia fuel for the replacement of extremely dirty oil to run the shipping industry. Also, we noted a plethora of articles proposing hydrogen as a clean energy source and the old concept of fusion whereby two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus while releasing electrical energy.
Well, in this week’s The Economist, there is a feature regarding a plant in Sweden that is producing ‘eco-steel’ by replacing fossil fuels with a hydrogen cooker. The prior utilization of coal/coke emits a significant amount of carbon into the atmosphere. With the hydrogen fuel, the reduction of carbon amounts to 98% of the prior heating method of the iron oxide into workable steel. The hydrogen required in the process is obtained through the electrolysing of water by the abundance of hydro-electric power in the Norrland region of Sweden.
Member: American Economic Association, Society of Professional Journalists, United States Press Association. Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, Robotic Industries Association, Member IEEE.
The Bot Brief is a weekly newsletter designed for economists, investment specialists, journalists, and academicians. It receives no remuneration from any companies that may from time to time be featured in the brief and its commentaries, analysis, opinions, and research represent the subjective views of Balcones Investment Research, LLC. Due to the complex and rapidly changing nature of the subject matter, the company makes no assurances as to the absolute accuracy of material presented.