The Bot Brief

"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come."     

- Victor Hugo

Bots in the News:

Tariff discussions continue to dominate the investment markets and contribute significantly to the overwhelming volatility. The unknown impact of the degree of tariff costs to the consumer and the disruption of supply to end manufacturers have left investors speculating on the economic impact. Fortunately, this past week the ‘stay’ of execution on some countries’ potential tariffs allowed the Bot Index to climb 5% and the S & P 500 to jump 5.70%. The bots were hamstringed by several of the Asian components, in particular the 22% slide by Hiwin Technologies. Hiwin, a Taiwan based chip manufacturer, not only has to contend with the tariff situation but also the lingering threat by communist China.

The bots were buoyed by 11 stocks that improved by 8% or better. Three companies, AeroVironment, NVIDIA Corp., and Joby Aviations’ gains were into double digits.

AeroVironment jumped 31.06% following a stop on the Army’s hold on a significant contract (which had been weighing on the company’s future procurement plans). Simply Wall Street made the following comments, “In light of recent company developments, analysts have projected AeroVironment's future revenue to increase by 15.1% annually, predicting earnings of $154.3 million by April 2028. Despite a current Price-To-Earnings Ratio (PE) of 118x, higher than the industry average of 30x, AeroVironment's projected growth may lead to improved valuation metrics. With a current share price of US$121.03 and an analyst consensus price target of US$203.28, there's a 40.5% potential upside, underscoring analyst confidence in the company's long-term growth trajectory, provided it navigates existing operational risks and maximizes its current opportunities.”

NVIDIA’s 16.62% increase was due to the appearance of some tariff relief within the exemptions listed by the Trump Administration.

Joby Aviation, the recent replacement of 3D Systems within the Bot Index, gained 10.63%. Much of the gain was due to hype by Cantor Fitzgerald’s research analysts who expect the stock to gain 49% in the coming year. The eVTOL (electric vertical take off and landing commuter aircraft) manufacture was touted in a recent report that, “Joby is planning to pursue its initial commercial routes in the United Arab Emirates. The company has plans to deliver its first operational passenger aircraft to Dubai in the middle of this year, with the goal of completing flight testing and opening up passenger routes during 4Q25 or 1Q26.

Looking ahead, Joby expects that its operations during 2025 will cost between $500 million and $540 million. The company has deep pockets to cover this, however; it finished 2024 with $933 million in available cash and liquid assets. Management took care to note that the total did not include upcoming investments from Toyota, related to a manufacturing partnership, which will total an additional $500 million.”