"There is no force on earth more powerful than an idea whose time has come." Victor Hugo
Bots in the News:
The first week of November proved to be a bust for the high PE, tech-oriented equities. The Bot Index declined 4.34% while the broad market slid only 1.63%. Several of the most dynamic movers this year were punished in dramatic fashion during the week. Five within this ‘cherished’ group slid in excess of double digits. The weaker companies were led by the 16.97% drop by the medical device manufacturer Novanta. The substantial decline was precipitated by comments from Simply Wall Street, “The latest guidance points to organic revenue growth flat to up just 1% for 2025, implying that most of the forward revenue gains are likely to come from further acquisitions rather than from existing core operations. This was hardly sufficient to maintain the whopping 70+ Price to Earnings Ratio.
The auto-aero taxi company Joby Avionics slid 14.07%, Google dropped 11.40%, the popular AI firm Palantir Corp. declined 11.24% and finally the drone manufacturer AeroVironment punished investors by 10.88%.
There were only four gainers within the Bot index’s 30 components. The best performer within that limited group was Intuitive Surgical, which gained 4.81%.
Member: American Economic Association, Society of Professional Journalists, United States Press Association. Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, Robotic Industries Association (now A3 Automation), Member IEEE.
The Bot Brief is a weekly newsletter designed for economists, investment specialists, journalists, and academicians. It receives no remuneration from any company that may from time to time be featured in the brief and its commentaries, analysis, opinions, and research represent the subjective view 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 materials presented.
