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Luke Kawa

AppLovin jumps after CapitalWatch announces “significant revisions” to negative report but says stance on company “remains unchanged”

AppLovin is trading to the upside again in premarket trading on Tuesday, after a financial research agency yesterday issued a “correction and apology” regarding some of the claims in its negative report on the company and its principals.

Shares of the ad tech firm tumbled in January as CaptialWatch called it “the ultimate monument to 21st-century new-type transnational financial crime.”

But after “a rigorous internal review,” CapitalWatch determined that the allegations of money laundering directed at one of AppLovin’s largest shareholders, Hao Tang, were based on a judicial document that was interpreted erroneously, and that his connections with other parties in the report “were inaccurate and failed to meet our publication standards.”

However, the outlet still argues that it’s right on the company, but just didn’t have enough evidence to single out Tang individually. Per CapitalWatch:

“Our review concluded that while the macro data and transaction structures highlighted in the original report warrant market scrutiny, the information currently available is legally insufficient to attribute these complex capital operations directly and exclusively to Mr. Tang. We have chosen to retract the allegations directed at Mr. Tang personally out of strict adherence to evidentiary principles, not as a denial of the objective market phenomena observed.”

“Our stance regarding the complex financial structure of AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP) remains unchanged.”

AppLovin forcefully denied the original report, saying it was “rife with false, misleading, and nonsensical allegations.”

The firm, like most in the software space, has floundered recently amid potential disruptive threats from AI tools and new entrants.

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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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