Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.

Stocks dipped on Friday as traders digested new economic data showing slowing inflation and better-than-expected consumer sentiment figures. The markets wrapped up a strong first half of 2024, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both hit new all-time intraday highs before pulling back.

The Federal Reserve’s Personal Consumption Expenditure price index dropped to its lowest level since March 2021, hitting an annual rate of 2.6%, which aligned with economist expectations and solidified market expectations for interest rate cuts.

Following the first presidential debate, Donald Trump‘s win probabilities surged to about 60% as President Joe Biden‘s performance was widely seen as disappointing, with economists criticizing both candidates’ policies as inflationary and inadequate in addressing the U.S. economy’s fiscal and debt issues.

Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week’s most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

The Bulls

“7 Reasons Why Nvidia Stock Will Hit $200: ‘AI Begins And Ends With Nvidia’”, by Adam Eckert, outlines an analyst’s bullish forecast for Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) based on CEO Jensen Huang‘s leadership, high market entry barriers, dominant market share in AI chips, a strong product roadmap, and robust earnings growth.

“Congressman Matt Gaetz Introduces Bill To Allow Federal Tax Payments In Bitcoin,” by Murtuza Merchant, details how Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has proposed legislation to allow federal tax payments using Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), marking a significant step toward integrating cryptocurrency into the U.S. financial system.

“Elon Musk Thinks Tesla Can Hit $24 Trillion Market Capitalization By 2034 Thanks To Robotaxis And Optimus Robots, Predicts Being Mocked,” by Anan Ashraf, details Elon Musk‘s prediction that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) will reach a $24 trillion market cap by 2034 due to advancements in robotaxis and Optimus robots, despite anticipating skepticism from legacy media.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:

Gold Prices Set To Climb To $3,000 On Fed Rate Cuts, Geopolitical Tensions, Bank of America Says

Rivian Investor Day Highlights: CEO Scaringe Focuses On Amazon, Tesla Partnerships, Says EV Charging Network Will Open Up This Summer

Jim Cramer: Amazon Is The ‘Secret Weapon’ Of The Stock Market

The Bears

“Elon Musk Takes A Dig At Dave Calhoun Amid Boeing’s Starliner Crisis: ‘CEO Of An Aircraft Company Should Know How To Design Aircraft, Not Spreadsheets,’” by Anan Ashraf, reports on Musk’s criticism of Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) CEO Dave Calhoun‘s management, attributing Boeing’s Starliner issues to a lack of technical expertise in leadership, amid ongoing technical delays and legal challenges.

“‘The Easy Days’ In Crypto Are Over And Meme Coins Have Contributed To This, Says Trader,” by Khyathi Dalal, discusses a crypto trader’s perspective that the crypto market has shifted from long-term investments to speculative bets on meme coins like Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), driven by the collapse of FTX and volatile tokenomics.

“EU Charges Microsoft with Anti-Competitive Practices Over Teams Bundling,” by Anusuya Lahiri, reports that the European Union has accused Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) of anti-competitive behavior for bundling its Teams app with its Office suite, claiming it harms competitors like Slack and Zoom.

For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:

‘Stock Market Has A Bad Breadth Problem Again,’ Veteran Wall Street Investor Warns

Broadcom Pulls A Nvidia As Shares Reverse, Appear Likely To Refill Gap: Chart

Nike Analysts Sour On Retailer’s Short-Term Prospects Following Poor Outlook: ‘No Quick Rebound’

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image generated using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.