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A “Pokémon” game similar to “Animal Crossing” is selling out at US retailers, boosting Nintendo shares

“Pokémon Pokopia,” a Switch 2 exclusive game in the vein of “Animal Crossing,” has become something of a sleeper mass hit for Nintendo, sending the gaming giant’s shares climbing. The stock closed up more than 8% in Japan on Wednesday. US ADRs are up 5% in premarket trading.

Physical editions of “Pokopia” are currently out of stock on Walmart’s website, and earlier this week Amazon temporarily hiked the price of the game to $80 as demand surged.

“Pokopia” falls into a category of cozy games that have become a major industry category. “Animal Crossing” is the second-most-popular title on the original Switch and has sold more than 49 million copies. The 10-year-old “Stardew Valley” has sold more than 50 million copies across consoles and PC.

The Switch 2 is seeing a momentum boost from the “Pokémon” exclusive, Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a recent note. That’s helping to offset investor fears around the growing issue of memory prices.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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