KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Shares of Bavarian Nordic are surging in Danish trading after the company with the only approved mpox vaccine in the U.S. and Europe posted a quarterly revenue beat.
• Bavarian Nordic also announced a contract with an undisclosed European country to supply 440,000 doses of smallpox and mpox vaccine.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency last week.

Shares of Bavarian Nordic are surging 12% in Danish trading after the company with the only approved mpox vaccine in the U.S. and Europe posted a quarterly revenue beat and announced a huge vaccine order.

Bavarian Nordic, which reported second-quarter revenue of 1.43 billion Danish kroner ($212.9 million) that beat analysts’ consensus estimates, said it had signed a contract with an undisclosed European country to supply 440,000 doses of smallpox and mpox vaccine.

WHO Recently Declared Mpox Outbreak Global Health Emergency

Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the mpox outbreak in Africa a global health emergency after a surge in recent cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo and some neighboring countries.

The order by the unnamed European country was “anticipated as part of the 2024 guidance,” Bavarian Nordic Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Paul Chaplin said, adding it “has no impact on the remaining vaccine capacity.”

Bavarian Nordic shares are up more than 45% in the past month.

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Shares Slumped 8% in Extended Trading on Wednesday

Key Takeaways

• Shares in cloud data-warehouse software company Snowflake dropped 8% in extended trading on Wednesday after a widening net loss and rising costs overshadowed quarterly results that came in ahead of expectations. 
• The share price broke out from a falling wedge pattern earlier this month, but that move looks to be tested following the stock’s projected post-earnings fall.
• Snowflake shares may find buying interest on the chart at key price levels including $123, $108, and $95.

Shares in cloud data-warehouse software company Snowflake (SNOW) dropped 8% in extended trading on Wednesday after a widening net loss and rising costs overshadowed quarterly results that came in ahead of expectations. Moreover, despite the firm raising its annual revenue outlook, it left its gross margin forecast unchanged, also possibly contributing to after-hours weakness.

The Bozeman, Montana-based company’s stock, which has tumbled around 43% from its 2024 high through Wednesday’s close, remains out of favor with investors after naming a new CEO in February and disclosing a cyberattack in late May in which data of several high-profile clients, including telecom giant AT&T (T) and TicketMaster-parent Live Nation (LYV), was compromised.

Below, we take a closer look at Snowflake’s chart and use technical analysis to identify important price levels to watch out for amid the stock’s projected post-earnings sell-off.

Falling Wedge Breakout Put to Test

Since topping out in early February, Snowflake shares formed a falling wedge, a chart pattern that signals a potential upward price movement. 

Indeed, the stock broke out from the wedge earlier this month following a rally from its lower trendline, with volume inching higher ahead of the company’s quarterly results, indicating investors were positioning for a post-earnings move. However, that move looks to be lower, as shares fell 8% to $124.23 in after-hours trading.

Amid a post-earnings fall, investors should monitor three lower chart levels where Snowflake shares could attract buying interest.

Lower Price Levels to Monitor

The first sits around $123, an area where the shares may encounter support near the June swing low, which also corresponds with a range of recent prices situated close to the falling wedge pattern’s top trendline.

A failure to hold this level could see the shares slide to the $108 region, where they may attract buying interest near the wedge pattern’s low, which also marks the stock’s 52-week low.

Finally, if the stock makes a similar downward trending move to its most recent leg lower from early July to early August, the price could fall to the wedge’s lower trendline around $95. We project this by taking the bars pattern from the down trending move and positioning it from Wednesday’s high.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

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Key Takeaways

• CrowdStrike reports fiscal second-quarter earnings next Wednesday, Aug. 28.
• Analysts expect the cybersecurity company to report revenue and profit growth from the year-ago period.
• CrowdStrike will also likely provide updates about the impact of last month’s global outage spurred by the company’s faulty software update.

CrowdStrike (CRWD) will release its second-quarter results for fiscal 2025 after the bell next Wednesday, Aug. 28, its first earnings report since a faulty software update it launched caused a global outage, with investors looking to gauge the impact of the incident.

Analysts expect revenue to grow to $957.6 million from $731.63 million a year ago, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Net income is projected to be $49.42 million, or 20 cents per share, a jump from the year-ago period.

Key Metrics: Outage Impact on Full-Year Outlook

CrowdStrike could update its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance, giving investors greater insight into the near-term impact of the July global outage on sales.

Citi analysts said that CrowdStrike won’t come out of the incident “unscathed” given higher discounts, lower negotiating leverage, and litigation costs it now faces. However, the analysts did say that they believe the company “can gradually overcome unavoidable headwinds” in the long term.

Analysts expect the full-year fiscal 2025 revenue outlook to be about $3.96 billion, according to consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha, which would be slightly below the low end of the company’s previously provided guidance of between $3.98 billion and $4.01 billion, issued in early June before the global outage.

Business Spotlight: Post-Outage Litigation Efforts

CrowdStrike could face legal action from customers affected by the outage, with some estimates indicating it could cost the affected companies several billion dollars in losses.

Delta Air Lines (DAL), which said the incident cost the airline at least $500 million, has threatened legal action against CrowdStrike. However, the cybersecurity company and Microsoft (MSFT) have disputed Delta’s claims on how the events unfolded.

CrowdStrike may provide updates about the potential litigation and its expectations for legal costs when it reports earnings Aug. 28.

CrowdStrike shares have gained about 7% since the start of the year, at $273.21 as of Wednesday’s close.

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Key Takeaways

• The U.K.’s antitrust watchdog closed investigations into Alphabet’s Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
• The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it expects concerns to be considered under a new digital markets competition regime instead. 
• Google also faces scrutiny from regulators in the U.K., the European Union, and the U.S. for its artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships.
• U.S. regulators are investigating Apple for similar grounds to the CMA case.

The U.K.’s antitrust watchdog agency closed investigations into Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google Play Store and Apple’s (AAPL) App Store, though the tech giants’ app stores could still face regulatory security under new rules.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it expects concerns to be considered under a new digital markets competition regime instead, the U.K.’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA).

Concerns To Be Considered Under UK’s DMCCA

The U.K.’s DMCCA mirrors the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), with a focus on preventing large online platforms from abusing their market position to limit competition.

The agency opened its investigation into the Apple App Store in 2021 and its case into the Google Play Store in 2022 due to concerns that the companies were abusing their market positions to set “unfair” terms for developers and users. The U.K.’s DMCCA became law in May, shortly after the EU’s DMA took effect.

Closing the case doesn’t prevent the CMA from reopening an investigation into the app stores’ impact on competition in the future, and the CMA suggested it may do so.

“Once the new pro-competition digital markets regime comes into force, we’ll be able to consider applying those new powers to concerns we have already identified through our existing work,” CMA Executive Director for Digital Markets Will Hayter said in a release.

Google and Apple Face Other Antitrust Cases in Europe and the US

The CMA is investigating Google, as well as Amazon’s (AMZN) artificial intelligence (AI) partnership with Anthropic. Several big tech companies’ AI partnerships are under scrutiny from antitrust regulators in the U.K., the U.S., and the European Union.

The U.S. is also investigating Apple for potential antitrust violations under similar grounds to the CMA case after settling with the EU.

Alphabet shares were down 1%, while Apple shares were little changed in early trading Wednesday. The stocks have gained 18% and 17%, respectively, since the start of the year.

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Shares Rose on News of Strong Ad Sales

Key Takeaways

• Netflix shares hit a new record high on Tuesday after the streaming giant reported a huge jump in advertising sales, bolstered by robust ad demand on its upcoming films, series, and live events.
• The Netflix share price has traded within an ascending channel since January last year, though the latest bullish move has occurred on lackluster trading volume, potentially indicating a lack of institutional investing.
• Investors should monitor lower price levels on the chart at $638 and $545, while also keeping an eye on higher price levels at $724 and $743.

Netflix (NFLX) shares minted a new record high on Tuesday after the streaming giant reported a huge jump in advertising sales, bolstered by robust ad demand on its upcoming films, series, and live events.

The Californian-based company, which launched its cheaper ad-supported tier in November 2022, has placed an emphasis on ramping up its advertising business in recent quarters in an effort to score more ad dollars from premium live sports and help offset the costs of creating original content in a saturated streaming market.

Below, we take a look at the Netflix chart, while using technical analysis to identify key price levels to watch out for.

Shares Remain in Ascending Channel

Netflix shares have traded within an ascending channel since January last year. More recently, this month’s broad-based equity market sell-off on Aug. 5 marked the end of a 13% correction in the stock.

Since then, the price has recovered to reclaim the 50-day MA, and it gained 1.5% Tuesday to close at its record high of $698.54.

However, it’s worth noting that the bullish move has occurred on lackluster trading volume, potentially indicating a lack of institutional investing.

Looking ahead, investors should eye several important chart areas where Netflix shares could attract interest.

Lower Price Levels to Watch

An initial area that may come into play during retracements sits around $638. This level could see buyers defend a horizontal line linking a range of comparable trading levels between March and early August.

A breakdown below this area could instigate a decline to lower support at $545, a location on the chart where investors may seek entry points near the Jan. 24 breakaway gap close and April swing low. This region also currently sits in the vicinity of the ascending channel’s lower trendline.

Higher Price Levels to Monitor

Short-term upward momentum could see the shares test the $724 level, where they may encounter selling pressure near the ascending channel’s upper trendline. Moreover, there’s an increased chance of profit-taking around this area, given the relative strength index (RSI) sits in overbought territory above the overbought 70 threshold.

To forecast a potential upside target above the stock’s record high, we can use a bars pattern. We do this by extracting the trending move in the shares from May to July and apply the pattern from the August low, which predicts a price target of around $743.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

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Key Takeaways

• Fed officials are weighing in on the outlook for possible interest rate cuts, ahead of an eagerly anticipated speech on Friday by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
• Fed Gov. Michelle Bowman urged for more ‘caution’ before cutting rates, while another Fed official said that a September cut wasn’t a ‘certainty.’
• Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari downplayed making cuts larger than a quarter percentage point at the September meeting of the central bank’s policy committee.

As market participants await highly anticipated remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, his colleagues have been providing their own thoughts on interest rates and economic conditions. 

Many economists expect Powell, who speaks at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday, to once again signal that the Fed could cut the influential fed funds rate soon. They predict he will echo comments from after the last Fed meeting in late July, when he said a September rate cut was on the table.

For more than a year, the Fed has held its benchmark interest rate at its highest levels in more than two decades, raising borrowing costs for businesses and consumers in an effort to discourage spending, balance supply with demand, and, in turn, fight inflation. 

But with inflation falling and the labor market weakening, some economists say it’s time to move on interest rates. Not all Fed officials are singing the same tune.

Bowman, Goolsbee Raise Questions on Timing 

In remarks Tuesday, Federal Reserve Gov. Michelle Bowman said she still sees risks to inflation from issues such as geopolitical tensions and housing demand. These risks, along with uncertainty over how well the labor market is performing, make her want to see more data before committing to an interest rate cut in their next meeting on Sept. 18, she said.

“I will remain cautious in my approach to considering adjustments to the current stance of policy,” Bowman told a group of Alaskan bankers.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee also said Tuesday he was waiting for more data.

“I don’t think it’s a certainty,” Goolsbee said when asked by CBS News whether the Fed was set to cut interest rates in their next meeting.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it was appropriate to have a debate about interest rate cuts in September in light of the weakening labor market. However, Kashkari told the paper he didn’t see the need for a cut larger than a quarter point.

His comments come as some economists have argued the Fed needs to make more aggressive cuts to counter further deterioration in the labor market.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michael Barr, Governor Christopher Waller and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic didn’t weigh in on interest rates during speaking engagements this week.

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Key Takeaways

• The European Commission, the European Union’s enforcement arm, on Tuesday announced updated import tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), with Tesla’s cut to 9% from a provisional 20.8%.
• The updated tariffs are the result of the EC’s investigation into China’s subsidizing domestically produced EVs.
• Tesla previously had warned that it could have to raise prices in Europe to respond to the tariffs.

The European Commission (EC), the European Union’s (EU) enforcement arm, on Tuesday announced updated import tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs), with Tesla’s (TSLA) cut significantly from a provisional rate announced last month.

On top of an existing 10% tariff for Chinese imports, China-made Tesla vehicles will face a 9% tariff, while competitors BYD (BYDDY), Volvo parent Geely (GELYF), and state-owned SAIC will have to pay tariffs of 17%, 19.3%, and 36.3%, respectively. Other companies that participated in the EC’s investigation into Chinese subsidies will pay a tariff of 21.3%, while non-cooperating manufacturers will pay a 36.3% tariff.

Tesla’s 9% tariff is not only less than those of its Chinese competitors, it’s also significantly lower than it would have had to pay under a provisional version of the plan announced last month, when it was included in the cooperating producers group at 20.8%.

Tesla had previously warned customers that prices of its Chinese-made models sold in Europe could be forced higher because of the tariff. European regulators initially launched the probe into EV tariffs over concerns that subsidies from the Chinese government were allowing EV makers in the country to export cars at prices low enough to harm competition in European markets.

China Says ‘No Sufficient Evidence’ Its EVs Harm European Market

The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) said in a statement in response to the tariffs that there is “no sufficient evidence” that Chinese EVs harm the European market. The CCCEU also said things like industrial scale and supply-chain advantages are a bigger factor than governmental subsidies in the competitiveness of the vehicles.

Tesla shares were up 1.5% to $226.09 as of 10 a.m. ET Tuesday.

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Shares Jumped More Than 4% on Monday

Key Takeaways

• Advanced Micro Devices jumped Monday on news the chipmaker beefed up its AI portfolio with a $4.9 billion purchase of data center infrastructure provider ZT systems.
• AMD shares have recently trended higher from the lower trendline of a descending channel, though trading volumes have remained below-average throughout the majority of the move, indicating a lack of conviction by larger market participants.
• AMD shares may find support at key chart levels including $150 and $122, but encounter resistance around $184 and $211.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) jumped more than 4% Monday on news that the chipmaker had beefed up its artificial intelligence (AI) portfolio with a $4.9 billion cash and stock purchase of data center infrastructure provider ZT systems.

Since reaching their record closing high in early March, AMD shares have lost about a quarter of their value, in part over concerns that the chipmaker wasn’t capitalizing on the booming AI chip market, currently dominated by rival Nvidia (NVDA).

Below, we take a closer look at AMD’s chart and use technical analysis to zone in on important price levels investors will likely be watching.

Stock Trades Within Descending Channel 

AMD shares have oscillated within a descending channel since a bearish engulfing pattern marked the stock’s record high in early March. More recently, the price has trended higher after finding buying interest around the channel’s lower trendline, though trading volumes have remained below-average throughout the majority of the move, indicating a lack of conviction by larger market participants.

It’s also worth pointing out that the 50-day moving average (MA) crossed below the 200-day MA last week to form an ominous death cross, a chart pattern that predicts lower prices.

Looking ahead, investors should monitor several key support and resistance price levels on AMD’s chart that may come into focus.

Support Levels to Monitor

An initial support area to watch sits around $150, just 3% below Monday’s closing price. This area may attract buyers seeking entry points near a trendline connecting several peaks and troughs between December and July.

A deeper retracement could see shares fall to the $122 area, a location on the chart where investors may look for buying opportunities near the November high, which also closely aligns with this month’s low.

Resistance Areas to Watch

Ongoing buying could drive a rally up to the $184 region just above the channel’s upper trendline, where the price would likely run into overhead resistance near a horizontal line linking a range of comparable trading levels between January and April with the prominent July swing high.

A more bullish move could see the stock climb to around $211, an area on the chart where sellers may look to lock in profits near a range of similar prices just below the record high.

AMD shares gained 4.5% Monday to close at $155.28.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

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Supreme Court Could Weigh In On Dispute Between Federal and State Governments

Key Takeaways

• Legal challenges to the SAVE plan have left borrowers struggling to keep up with new developments.
• So far, much of the legal wrangling has been about whether the SAVE plan can continue while the challenges to the program are litigated.
• It’s unclear where the cases will go next, as the Supreme Court has been asked to rule on them.

The latest legal back-and-forth over student loan debt relief could once again end up in the Supreme Court, whose conservative majority blocked President Joe Biden’s previous efforts.

For the past several months, the Saving for a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan has been in limbo as two cases—initially led by the attorneys general of Missouri and Kansas, respectively—work their way through federal courts. These cases have resulted in a back-and-forth for borrowers that ultimately resulted in forbearance for all those enrolled in the income-driven plan until the legal issues can be resolved.

This has left borrowers with an unclear path ahead as the complicated court proceedings leave the Department of Education and the states that are suing to block the repayment plan to interpret rulings and file a web of legal actions.

Last week, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s ruling that had blocked the SAVE plan until the Missouri case is resolved. The filing from the Department of Justice also asked the high court to deny an appeal filed in the Kansas case.

Here’s what you need to know about the legal battle surrounding the SAVE plan.

Who Are the Players?

Two parallel and similar court cases were filed by a contingency of Republican-led states in the spring. These cases seek to block the SAVE plan, arguing that the eventual cost is so high that only Congress—not the White House on its own—should be allowed to authorize the expenditure.

The plan is more generous to borrowers, who would only be required to pay 5% of their discretionary income and have the remaining balance forgiven after 20 or 25 years. Implementing the plan would cause a $475 billion hit to the federal budget over 10 years because of lower student loan payments and more debt forgiveness, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania estimated last year.

“The President is unilaterally trying to impose an extraordinarily expensive and controversial policy that he could not get through Congress,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement earlier this year when he launched one of the lawsuits against the plan.

However, according to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, student loan debt is a crisis the administration is committed to mitigating.

“It wasn’t so long ago that a million borrowers defaulted on their student loans every single year, mainly because they couldn’t afford the payments,” Cardona said in a statement. “The SAVE plan is a bold and urgently needed effort to fix what’s broken in our student loan system and make financing a higher education more affordable in this country.”

How Did We Get Here?

The states and the Federal government haven’t even made arguments about the actual merits of the case yet—many of the squabbles thus far have been about what to do with the program until the court case is resolved. That hasn’t kept it from being complicated.

“We’re at the string board point of the litigation,” said Persis Yu, deputy executive director and managing counsel of the Student Borrower Protection Center.

The first order of business for judges has been a legal concept called Standing, which has been important in many student loan-related cases. For judges to rule on the merits of a case, a plaintiff must prove they have been harmed by the defendant’s law-breaking and the court can fix it. In the Kansas case, the judge ruled that a majority of the states in the coalition (including Kansas) did not have reason enough to bring a case against the SAVE Act.

The next was whether the program would be able to move forward while the cases were being litigated. Judges had different thoughts on how the implementation of the plan could proceed, causing headaches for borrowers trying to keep up.

In the Missouri case, an appeals court has blocked the implementation of the SAVE plan until the case can be resolved. In the Kansas case, lawyers are awaiting for the appeals to be settled by the Supreme Court.

Although it is a moot point because of the block in the Missouri Case, Alaska appealed the court ruling that allowed changes to move forward on July 1 in the case originally brought by Kansas. That case has been appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court.

What’s Ahead in the Cases?

While the appeals only pertain to what happens to the plan while the case is disputed, the Supreme Court could choose to take on the case in its entirety. In fact, the Texas Solicitor General as a part of Kansas’ original case has asked that the highest court do just that—and to go even further and not hear oral arguments.

The highest court in the nation stuck down a broad student loan forgiveness plan last summer in a case that echoes some of the beats in the cases around the SAVE plan.

If the Supreme Court does not take up the case, both cases will continue to play out in federal courts and will move on to making arguments about whether the Biden administration has the authority to implement the SAVE Act.

No matter how the case plays out, borrowers are caught in the middle of a legal drama that may drag on for an extended amount of time, experts said.

“The best advice I can give borrowers right now is to not make any drastic decisions,” said Betsy Mayotte, President of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors. “This situation is truly uncharted territory and it’s going to take the Department of Education and the courts some time to work this through.”

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Shares Gained 9% Last Week

Key Takeaways

• Shares in Atlassian gained 9% last week and have recovered a chunk of the big losses posted after the collaboration software maker issued a disappointing revenue outlook earlier this month.
• Since recording its 2024 high in January, Atlassian shares have traded within an orderly descending channel, a chart pattern that indicates a downward trend, but can also signal a trend reversal upon a breakout.
• Atlassian shares may test higher chart levels around $168, $187, and $215, while finding support during retracements near $130 and $116.

Shares in collaboration software maker Atlassian (TEAM) will remain in focus on Monday following last week’s gain of 9%.

Still, the company’s shares trade down more than 35% on the year, with the price plumbing a 52-week low earlier this month after the company issued a soft revenue outlook below Wall Street estimates and announced the departure of Chief Sales Officer Kevin Egan. However, the stock’s recent momentum shift suggests concerns over sales growth and executive changes may be mostly baked in the cake.

Below, we analyze Atlassian’s chart and turn to technical analysis to identify key price levels that investors will likely be watching.

Shares Trade Within Descending Channel

Since recording its 2024 high in January, Atlassian shares have traded within an orderly descending channel, a chart pattern that indicates a downward trend, but can also signal a trend reversal upon a breakout.

More recently, the stock has climbed around 14% from its recent post-earnings 52-week low, registering four consecutive days in the green between Tuesday and Friday last week. 

The stock gained 5% on Friday to finish at $154.21.

Higher Price Levels to Watch

Looking ahead, investors should monitor three key higher price levels that Atlassian stock could test amid strengthening price momentum.

The first sits around $168, an area on the chart that finds a confluence of resistance from the prominent November 2023 swing low, the channel’s upper trendline, and the downward sloping 50-day moving average.

A move above this level could see the shares test $187, where they may encounter selling pressure near a trendline joining multiple peaks and troughs from February last year to July this year.

Ongoing buying could fuel a move up to $215, a location where sellers may be happy to take profits near a horizontal line linking three peaks that formed on the chart between September 2023 and April.

Support Areas Worth Monitoring

Despite the recent bullish price action in the stock, it’s also worth monitoring several important support areas.

An initial retracement from current levels could see the shares revisit the $130 area, a region where they may attract buyers seeking entry points situated around the May 2023 swing low.

A failure to hold this level raises the possibility for a retest of $116 near the channel’s lower trendline, where the price would likely find major support from three key troughs that formed on the chart between November 2022 and January 2023.

The comments, opinions, and analyses expressed on Investopedia are for informational purposes only. Read our warranty and liability disclaimer for more info.

As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.

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