| Written by Sam Quirke 
Shares of SAP SE (NYSE: SAP), the German software giant, have had an incredible run over the past couple of years. The rally that started in late 2022 has shown no signs of slowing down, with shares gaining 230% since then, including a 75% surge last year alone. This momentum repeatedly propelled SAP to fresh all-time highs throughout 2024, and there are plenty of reasons to think the story isn't over. The German-headquartered SAP specializes in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and can boast of a 53-year history that has seen it acquire a market cap north of $300 billion. With just three weeks gone of the new year, 2025 is already shaping up to be another banner year for the company. Let's jump in and take a look. SAP's Fundamental Performance Starting with fundamentals, it has to be said that SAP's performance throughout 2024 was a mixed bag. Surprisingly, given the stock's stellar gains, its quarterly earnings weren't the consistent blowouts one might expect. For example, in October, SAP missed revenue expectations, while April's report fell short on both revenue and earnings. However, those misses didn't deter investors. Heading into SAP's first report of 2025 next week, expectations are high. Investors will be watching closely for another record revenue print and, ideally, beats on both headline numbers. The company can say that its revenue growth hit record highs during the year, and management's bullish stance, supported by multiple increases to forward guidance, suggests that the rally should continue gaining momentum from this. Is SAP Still a Buy? Analysts See Upside as 2025 Begins On the analyst's side, updates on SAP have been surprisingly sparse for a stock that has delivered such consistent gains, though still overwhelmingly bullish. The last notable updates came in October 2024, when a flurry of Overweight and Outperform reiterations followed the company's earnings. Since then, it's been quiet - until last week. SAP just received two fresh upgrades, with the teams over at Kepler Capital Markets and TD Cowen both upgrading their ratings from Hold to Buy. The results from a recent survey were singled out, as they suggested increasing demand for cloud-based ERP solutions, with AI advancements accelerating enterprise migrations. TD Cowen's new price target of $305 is well worth considering; from where the stock closed last night, that's a targeted upside of some 20%. All-Time Highs: Should Investors Be Cautious About SAP Stock? It can be scary, though, to buy into a stock that's trading at an all-time high. Despite its stellar performance, the company has struggled to consistently beat analyst expectations in its earnings report, a factor that would normally weigh heavily on a stock with such a strong rally behind it. In another company, this inconsistency might have triggered a pullback. For SAP, though, bullish momentum and investor confidence have helped it dodge these pitfalls so far. That said, with shares trading at highs, new investors face the risk of being exposed to a potential earnings miss next week. At the same time, however, the increasing demand for ERP solutions and the recent upgrades suggest SAP is well-positioned for continued growth, and any pullback could be considered a solid entry opportunity. SAP’s Technical Setup Suggests More Room to Run From a technical perspective, SAP's setup provides yet another reason for optimism. The stock's Relative Strength Index (RSI) currently sits at 66, a bullish signal suggesting there's strong momentum with plenty of room for it to run before hitting overbought levels. All in all, SAP is in a good spot heading into 2025. Wall Street was able to look past the inconsistent beats last year and focus instead on management's optimistic outlook, a trend that will be hard to change. The stock is also continuing to enjoy bullish ratings and updates from the analysts, with the fact that last week saw two teams remove their Hold ratings especially pertinent. Investors should look for SAP shares to continue rallying into next week's report, with a beat likely to fuel further gains and a miss potentially setting up an attractive entry opportunity for those who are happy to buy into the company's longer-term potential.  Read This Story Online | Juan has never had a losing trade on Bitcoin. And he booked gains of 312% on Chainlink …
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| Written by Leo Miller 
So far in 2025, the financials sector has been among those outperforming the overall market as of the Jan. 17 close. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA: XLF), which tracks the performance of financial stocks in the S&P 500, is up nearly 4%. That is double the 2% return of the S&P 500 itself. Although down on the year, one stock that has helped contribute to this sector's outperformance recently is BlackRock (NYSE: BLK). It is up over 5% in the past week. The world’s largest asset manager broke records with its latest quarterly results. The company posted record revenues, as well as record assets under management (AUM). After these results, Wall Street analysts grew more bullish on the firm. Analysts at Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank increased their price targets. The average of the two implies an upside of 22% in the company’s shares. That’s solid, especially considering shares rose 26% in 2024, beating the market. Below, I’ll break down the company’s earnings reports and explain why the firm still has significant room for growth. I’ll also point out two other stocks to watch that can benefit from the same trends I see helping BlackRock. Fink Calls BlackRock’s Success “Just the Beginning” In Q4, BlackRock grew its AUM by $281 billion, bringing its overall AUM to $11.6 trillion. The company’s yearly asset inflows also topped the previous record, coming in at $641 billion. The 23% gain in revenue from the previous year's quarter helped bring the company’s total 2024 revenue to $20.4 billion. This is also a record. After noting BlackRock's annualized total return of 21% since its 1999 initial public offering, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Larry Fink called it “just the beginning.” That return, far and away, exceeds the 8% total annualized return of the S&P 500 over the period. He said, “BlackRock enters 2025 with more growth and upside potential than ever." Considering the massive size BlackRock has already achieved, this is quite a bullish statement. At the same time, it’s not showing signs of slowing down. The company’s ability to grow its AUM briskly, even after becoming the largest player in the space, shows its competitive strength. But can it really keep this up? BlackRock’s Private Markets Opportunity and the Trump Bump Most know BlackRock for its low-cost ETFs. They let investors easily track market indexes. Clients have invested trillions in these strategies. However, strong competition and a lack of product differentiation mean BlackRock must charge very low fees for them. BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: IVV) has an expense ratio of just 0.03%. One reason to believe in Fink’s message is that BlackRock has and is currently pursuing a big area for growth. This area is private market investment products. This includes funds that invest in private equity and private credit. With private market investment products, companies often charge 2% fees. There are also extra fees if returns exceed certain targets. As it stands today, private markets AUM make up only 2% of the company’s total AUM. Yet, it makes up 11% of the firm’s base fee revenue. This ratio of revenue versus AUM far exceeds any other BlackRock product, making assets in the area more valuable and at a higher margin. Given the low percentage of the company’s total assets that private assets represent, there is significant room to grow this area of the business. It is already making big moves to grow its private markets business. It acquired Global Infrastructure Partners, a private market infrastructure investment company. It also acquired HPS Investment Partners, a private credit investor. Some expect private market AUM to grow at twice the rate of public markets through 2032, making this a good time for BlackRock to invest more in this space. Additionally, analysts see merger and acquisition (M&A) activity increasing substantially during the Trump administration. A rise in M&A activity is good for private markets. It allows them to sell their private assets more easily and realize profits. Overall, I see private markets as a strong long-term growth driver for BlackRock. Two Other Stocks to Watch Two other firms that can benefit from the same trends include State Street (NYSE: STT) and KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR). State Street wants to launch the first ETF that allows anyone to invest in private assets, looking to benefit from this growing market. KKR is one of the world’s largest private asset management firms and stands to benefit from increased deal-making under the Trump administration. Read This Story Online | Did you miss out on the 1000%+ gains of Bitcoin over the past 5 years?
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| Written by Jea Yu 
Meeting the insatiable demand for energy has been accentuated by the rapid growth of AI data centers. By 2030, it is estimated they will consume 9% of all the electricity generated domestically. This is driving many electric companies to turn to nuclear reactors and various sorts of renewable and clean energy options. Two major players in the utilities sector are Duke Energy Co. (NYSE: DUK) and NRG Inc. (NYSE: NRG). The two electric companies cover over 15 million customers and are spread throughout more than 20 states. The most obvious distinction between the two is that Duke Energy is a regulated utility while NRG is engaged in the competitive deregulated energy markets. For investors, the question is which stock can provide more gains in 2025? Here’s a breakdown of both companies to help you decide. Duke Energy: A Classic Utility Business Model When you think of a classic utility company, Duke Energy should come to mind. Its core business is its regulated electric and natural gas utilities. Duke owns and operates power plants, transmission lines, and distribution networks that deliver electricity and natural gas to its 8.2 million customers, primarily in the South. Duke is targeting net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company is relatively low risk with the exception of its exposure to hurricane season in Florida. In fact, Duke expects hurricane restoration costs of up to $2.9 billion for the 2024 hurricane season, which saw devastation from Milton, Debby, and Helene. The company had to restore 5.5 million outages during the historic storm season. The stock is a dividend aristocrat currently paying a 3.82% annual dividend yield. At the current PE of 20.10, the stock trades at a discount to its 2023 and 2024 PE of around 31. Flat Q3 2024 Results and Reaffirmed Guidance Utilities are generally boring stocks generating predictable, stable, and steady revenues. Duke Energy didn’t disappoint in breaking the mold in Q3 2024. The company reported EPS of $1.62, beating consensus analyst estimates by 7 cents. Revenues rose 2.1% year-over-year (YoY) to $8.16 billion, beating the $8.06 billion consensus estimates. Management reaffirmed guidance for the full year 2024 with EPS between $5.85 to $6.10 versus $5.98 consensus estimates. They also confirmed their long-term adjusted EPS growth rate of 5% to 7% through 2028 and of the 2024 midpoint of $5.98. Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good commented, “As we look ahead to 2025 and beyond, we have strong momentum driven by our track record of constructive regulatory outcomes, including our recent IRP approvals in the Carolinas, as well as our robust growth in our attractive jurisdictions. These tailwinds give us confidence in our long-term outlook, and we are reaffirming our 5% to 7% EPS growth rate through 2028, up the midpoint of our 2024 range.” Duke Energy stock has gone up 12.84% in the last 12 months. NRG Energy: Surfing the Deregulated Markets NRG operates primarily in deregulated electricity markets, where there is competition among energy providers. Regulated markets typically have a single major utility that controls the electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, like Duke Energy. Deregulated markets have market-based pricing determined by supply and demand, as energy suppliers can access existing transmission and distribution infrastructure owned by the utility company. While consumers can often enjoy lower prices in these markets, anomalies can occur during extreme weather, sending prices to sky-high levels. This was the case during the blizzard of 2021 in Texas when consumers who signed up for wholesale variable rate plans saw their electric bills surge to $5,000 during the weeklong storm. Volatility Is the Norm: Raising Guidance NRG Energy reported Q3 2024 EPS of $1.90, missing consensus analyst estimates by 10 cents. Revenue fell 9.1% YoY to $7.22 billion versus a single analyst’s estimate of $9.38 billion. The company announced a $1.36 billion capital allocation, upping its stock buyback program by $1 billion to $3.7 billion through 2025. NRG also raised full-year 2024 EPS guidance to $5.95 to $6.75, up from earlier guidance of $5.00 to $6.30, versus $6.36 consensus analyst estimates. NRG stock has gone up 104% in the last 12 months. Read This Story Online | I want to let you in on what may be the hottest crypto discovery of all time…
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