Tesla's Robotaxi impresses; cyber and tech stocks face mixed investor views
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Wedbush Sticks to Their Hold Rating for Wayfair (W)
Wedbush analyst Scott Devitt maintained a Hold rating on Wayfair today and set a price target of $70.00. The company's shares closed today at $73.48. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Devitt covers the Consumer Cyclical sector, focusing on stocks such as CarMax, eBay, and Amazon. According to TipRanks, Devitt has an average return of 12.5% and a 51.93% success rate on recommended stocks. In addition to Wedbush, Wayfair also received a Hold from Truist Financial's Youssef Squali in a report issued today. However, on the same day, William Blair maintained a Buy rating on Wayfair (NYSE: W). W market cap is currently $8.37B and has a P/E ratio of -22.81. Based on the recent corporate insider activity of 66 insiders, corporate insider sentiment is negative on the stock. This means that over the past quarter there has been an increase of insiders selling their shares of W in relation to earlier this year.
Miami Herald
4 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Tesla awards Elon Musk $29 billion in stock amid compensation battle. What to know
Tesla is awarding Elon Musk around $29 billion in shares as a legal battle looms over a prior multibillion dollar compensation plan for the chief executive. A special committee of the company's board of directors said the interim pay package would motivate Musk to "stay focused" on Tesla as the electric vehicle maker pivots to robotics and artificial intelligence. Under the pay plan, Musk would receive 96 million shares valued at around $300 each as long as he remains in an executive position at Tesla for the next two years. On Musk's social media platform X, the special committee said the executive has not received "meaningful compensation" for his work for eight years. One of the world's richest people, Musk owns about 13% of Tesla shares, making him the largest individual shareholder. The company is worth more than $969 billion based on current share prices. Tesla shares on Monday closed at $309.26, up 2%. Why did the board approve this plan? Tesla board members Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson said on X that the $29 billion award is a first step, "good faith" effort to compensate Musk in lieu of a longer term plan. As Musk splits his time and energy among several ventures, including AI startup xAI and space exploration firm SpaceX, Tesla board members said they are eager to keep his attention focused on the electric vehicle maker. Musk has garnered criticism from investors for getting distracted by his temporary role in the Trump administration. Tesla shares have fallen more than 18% this year following significant brand damage and plunging vehicle sales. The company is at a critical turning point where it must pivot to robotics and autonomous driving technology to remain competitive, analysts said. Musk has overseen Tesla's robotaxi launch in Austin, Texas, and frequently touts the potential of the humanoid robot Optimus. "While these impending changes are exciting, the outcomes are not guaranteed," wrote Denholm and Wilson-Thompson. "It is imperative to retain and motivate our extraordinary talent, beginning with Elon." "We are confident that this award will incentivize Elon to remain at Tesla," they wrote. What happened to Musk's previous pay package? A Delaware judge has twice struck down a 2018 executive pay package that would have awarded Musk more than $55 billion in stock, arguing that Musk exerted unfair control over the negotiation process. In 2018, Tesla shareholder Richard Tornetta sued the company to block the compensation plan, claiming the board misled investors and was not transparent about the approval process. Tornetta and his attorneys also argued that the board was too susceptible to Musk's influence. Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, the judge in the case, sided with Tornetta and rescinded the entire pay package, calling it an "unfathomable sum." McCormick denied the pay plan again in 2024, after the board held another vote to approve it. Tesla has since appealed McCormick's second decision, citing his contributions to Tesla's growth. "This compensation issue has been a constant concern of shareholders once the Delaware soap opera began," Tesla analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note. If the 2018 plan is ultimately approved after legal battles, the recent $29 billion package will be thrown out to prevent double dipping, the board said. How does Musk's pay compare to other chief executives? The pay package brought to court in 2018 was the largest potential compensation plan for an executive of a publicly traded company, McCormick said, worth 250 times as much as the median peer pay. The new plan is still the highest executive compensation package by far. Blackstone Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman earned $1.39 billion in 2008, compared to the $29 billion interim package for Musk. Another top earner, Palantir CEO Alexander Karp, earned $1.10 billion in 2020. In 2018, Musk agreed to forgo a cash salary for his work at Tesla and instead receive stock options based on his ability to meet company milestones. Board members argue that the value Musk brings to the company is worth hefty compensation. "We can all agree that Elon has delivered the transformative and unprecedented growth that was required to earn all milestones of the 2018 CEO Performance Award," the board's special committee wrote. "Retaining Elon is more important than ever before." Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Business Insider
6 hours ago
- Business Insider
Charged: Tesla ordered to pay $329M in crash case, Musk gets big stock grant
Institutional investors and professional traders rely on The Fly to keep up-to-the-second on breaking news in the electric vehicle and clean energy space, as well as which stocks in these sectors that the best analysts on Wall Street are saying to buy and sell. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. From the hotly-debated high-flier Tesla (TSLA), Wall Street's newest darling Rivian (RIVN), traditional-stalwarts turned EV-upstarts GM (GM) and Ford (F) to the numerous SPAC-deal makers that have come public in this red-hot space, The Fly has you covered with 'Charged,' a weekly recap of the top stories and expert calls in the sector. Click here to check out Tesla's recent Media Buzz Sentiment as measured by TipRanks. AUTOPILOT CRASH CASE: A jury in Miami ordered Tesla pay $329M to victims of a crash involving the company's autopilot driver assist technology, Bernard Condon and David Fischer of Associated Press report. The jury held Tesla significant responsible for the fatal accident because its technology failed, according to the AP. AWARD OF 96M SHARES: In a regulatory filing, Tesla stated, 'As previously disclosed in its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2025, the board of directors of Tesla, Inc., a Texas corporation, established a special committee to consider certain compensation matters involving Elon Musk, the company's Chief Executive Officer. The Special Committee is comprised of disinterested directors Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson. On August 3, 2025, the company approved an award of 96 million shares of restricted stock to Mr. Musk under the Company's 2019 Equity Incentive Plan. The shares underlying the 2025 CEO Interim Award will be issued upon termination or expiration of the waiting period or periods under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended. The 2025 CEO Interim Award was recommended by the Special Committee on August 1, 2025, and approved by the Board, with Mr. Musk and Kimbal Musk recusing, on August 3.' EV SALES: Tesla's sales of China-made electric vehicles fell 8.4% in July from a year earlier, reversing a small increase in June, amid rising competition from rivals offering lower-priced new models, Reuters reports. Deliveries of Tesla's China-made Model 3 and Model Y vehicles, including exports to Europe and other markets, reached 67,886 cars last month, down 5.2% from June, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed on Monday. BUY NIO: Macquarie upgraded Nio (NIO) to Outperform from Neutral with a $5.50 price target. The firm believes the L90 will be Nio's most competitive offering. The L90 is a six-seat large SUV near the price of the five-seat Tesla Model Y, Mcquarie tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the L90 offers better value versus Li Auto's (LI) recent i8, offer a 17% lower entry price and many similar features. It sees potential for the L90 to sell between 8,000-12,000 units per month, solving Nio's core problem of low volumes. JULY DELIVERIES: Nio announced its July delivery results. The company delivered 21,017 vehicles in July. The deliveries consisted of 12,675 vehicles from the company's smart electric vehicle brand Nio, 5,976 vehicles from the company's smart electric vehicle brand Onvo, and 2,366 vehicles from the company's small smart electric car brand Firefly. Cumulative deliveries reached 806,731 as of July 31. XPeng (XPEV) stated, 'XPENG achieved a new record monthly deliveries of 36,717 Smart EVs in July, representing a year-over-year increase of 229% and marking the Company's ninth consecutive month surpassing 30,000 deliveries. This brings the Company's cumulative total deliveries to over 800,000 units as of July 2025. In the first seven months of 2025, XPENG delivered 233,906 Smart EVs, a 270% increase compared with the same period last year. In mid-July, XPENG launched the 2025 versions of XPENG G6 and G9 in European markets and announced the XPENG P7+'s upcoming launch in Europe, bolstering XPENG's robust growth trajectory in this region. With the XPENG brand entering the UK, Italy, Ireland and other new markets in the first half of 2025, XPENG has now established a presence across 46 countries and regions worldwide. XNGP achieved a monthly active user penetration rate of 86% in urban driving in July 2025. XPENG recently rolled out the latest version of Tianji XOS, introducing its human- AI co-pilot experience, customized self-parking feature, enhanced AEB and more. Meanwhile, Li Auto announced that it delivered 30,731 vehicles in July. As of July 31, Li Auto's cumulative deliveries reached 1,368,541. The company officially launched Li i8, a six-seat battery electric family SUV, on July 29 and expects to begin deliveries on August 20. Zeekr also announced its delivery results for July. In July, Zeekr Group delivered a total of 44,193 vehicles across its Zeekr and Lynk & Co brands, representing increases of 19.7% year-over-year and 2.7% month-over-month. This achievement was made possible by the trust and support of over 2M cumulative users. Specifically, the Zeekr brand delivered 16,977 vehicles, while Lynk & Co delivered 27,216 vehicles.
