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

 

 

Bots in the News:

It is difficult to define the equity markets at this particularly unique chapter in the world of investing. Instead of the traditional depiction of a ‘risk-on or risk-off’ marketplace,  trading has become something more of a ‘news-on or news-off’ daily vacillation of investor sentiment. Whether it is the Ukraine-Russia conflict, on or off tariff impositions, Iran vs. U.S. negotiations, or the continuation of the Hamas/Israel hostilities, the markets are vigorously reacting to the latest media buzz.

This week was no different with a return to the ‘bad-news-on’ trend that left the broad market down 2.61% and the Bot Index surrendering its recent recovery by 3.08%.

The best performance within the robotic sector was the 3.09% increase in AeroVironment. The stock was recently touted by Zachs Investment Research in an article with the title, “Here is Why Growth Investors Should Buy AeroVironment (AVAV) Now!”

There were five Bot Index holdings that performed poorly last week with declines in excess of 5%. The worst performer was the new addition to the Bot Index, replacing DDD due its low price,  Joby Aviation who declined 10.28%. Interestingly, the company’s stock was the prior week’s best performer.

Novanta was the second highest decliner following its recent earnings announcement. Revenues grew only by $233.4 million vs analyst estimates of $233.3 million (1.1% year-on-year growth). Adjusted EBITDA was reported at $49.98 million vs analyst estimates of $50.21 million. However, it was management’s revenue guidance for Q2 was $235 million, below analyst estimates of $240.7 million’ that provided the most damage.

Apple’s 7.57% drop was attributed to President Trump’s indication that he was prepared to impose a 25% tariff on the company’s iPhone if not produced in America. The company has recently moved much of its production from China to India to avoid disruptions due to tariffs, however, the new Trump mandate appears to negate this strategy.