Tag: IRBT

Top Robotics Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

The future business potential of robotics is significant and far-reaching. The use of robots in various industries has been growing rapidly, and this trend is likely to continue in the coming years. Here are some key areas where robotics is expected to have a significant impact on business:

  1. Manufacturing: Robotics has already revolutionized manufacturing, making it faster, more efficient, and more accurate. As the technology continues to improve, it is likely that more manufacturing processes will be automated, leading to even greater efficiency gains.
  2. Healthcare: Robots are already being used in healthcare for tasks such as surgery, rehabilitation, and even patient care. In the future, we can expect to see even more use of robots in healthcare, particularly in areas such as telemedicine and medical logistics.
  3. Logistics and Warehousing: Robotics has the potential to transform logistics and warehousing, making it faster and more efficient. With the growth of e-commerce and the increasing demand for fast delivery, the use of robots in logistics and warehousing is likely to increase significantly.
  4. Agriculture: Robots are already being used in agriculture for tasks such as planting, harvesting, and crop monitoring. As the world’s population continues to grow, the demand for food will also increase, and robotics could play a key role in meeting this demand.
  5. Construction: Robotics has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry, making it faster, safer, and more efficient. Robots can be used for tasks such as excavation, bricklaying, and even 3D printing of buildings.
  6. Education and Research: Robotics can be used in education and research to help students learn about robotics, programming, and automation. Additionally, robots can be used in research to collect data and perform experiments in dangerous or inaccessible environments.

Overall, the future business potential of robotics is enormous, and we can expect to see robots being used in many different industries and applications in the coming years. As the technology continues to improve, it is likely that we will see even more innovative uses of robotics in business.

In terms of investing in this field, there are a few pure plays, which include:

Teradyne (TER)
iRobot (IRBT)
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)

Each of these companies target specific markets.

For example, Teradyne is involved in the development and marketing of collaborative robotic arms, autonomous mobile robots, and advanced robotic control software.

The company’s markets include industrial, defense, memory testing, and wireless testing.

The stock has a $16 billion market cap. It trades at 24 times trailing earnings and 19 times forward earnings. The yield is 0.43%.

iRobot serves the home consumer market selling such products as the Roomba floor vacuuming robots.

The stock is currently generating negative earnings, however it is debt free and has $4.38 in cash per share.

Intuitive Surgical makes robots for the medical industry. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 64 and a forward P/E of 37. Earnings per share growth for next year is anticipated to be 17%.

One or more of these stocks may provide some automated growth to your portfolio.

Disclosure: Author didn’t;t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Tech Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tanked by around 1200 points, the biggest drop since June 2020. The technology stocks were heavily hit.

This may create a buying opportunity for tech stocks that are heavily shorted.

Do short squeeze stocks actually go up?

On August 22, 2022, I posted an article about meme related short squeeze stocks, and pointed out Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) after it had its big run-up. In exactly one week after the article was posted, the stock jumped by more than 43%.

Another stock that was described was Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ICPT), which increased by almost 5% in just two days.

The stock with the biggest short ratio (days to cover), at 14.3, was Heron Therapeutics, Inc. (HRTX). It rose by 9.5% in three days.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

The following are some heavily shorted tech stock that may be worth considering.

CompanySymbolShort % of FloatShort % ChangeShort Interest Ratio
Asana, Inc.ASAN20.59%15%4.3
Avaya Holdings Corp.AVYA33.68%57%1.5
Ebix, Inc.EBIX24.67%-1%11.2
iRobot CorporationIRBT25.60%10%7

The first stock on the list, Asana (ASAN), a San Francisco based work management software company, has over 20% of its float shorted, an increase of 15% over last month. This is considered a daily substantial amount.

The short interest ratio is 4.3, which means that it would take the short sellers more that four days to cover their position, based on recent average volume.

The Massachusetts based robot maker iRobot (IRBT) is even more heavily shorted with in excess of 25% of the float shorted. It will take seven days for the short sellers to cover their positions.

Just keep in mind that just because a stock has good earnings ratios and is heavily shorted, doesn’t mean that the stock will go up, especially in a bear market. Also, stocks that are significantly shorted may be shorted for a reason.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Top Tech Short Squeeze Stocks

by Fred Fuld III

Many technology stocks are making all time highs, whereas others are sinking. Several of these tech stocks are heavily shorted.  When stocks rise quickly in price for whatever reason, short sellers scramble to cover their positions by buying shares, and causing the price of the stock to increase even more.

Traders and investors can make money on the long side from short squeezes. One technique that stock traders utilize is buying short squeeze stocks, companies have been heavily shorted. Here is a more extensive explanation of  short squeezes.

When you short a stock, it means that your goal is to make money from a drop in the price of a stock. Technically, what happens is that you borrow shares of a stock, sell those shares, then buy back those shares at a hopefully lower price so that those shares can be returned. This all happens electronically, so you don’t actually see all the borrowing and returning of shares; it just shows up on your screen as a negative number of shares.

Short sellers can be profitable, but sometimes when the stock moves against them, and begins to rise, the short sellers jump in right away to buy shares to cover their positions, creating what is called a short squeeze. When a short squeeze takes place, it can cause the share prices to increase fast and furiously. Any good news can trigger the short squeeze.

Some traders utilize this situation by looking for stocks to buy that may have a potential short squeeze. Here is what a short squeeze trader should take into consideration:

Short Percentage of Float ~ The float is the number of freely tradable shares and the short percentage is the number of shares held short divided by the float. Amounts over 10% to 20% are considered high and potential short squeeze plays.

Short Ratio / Days to Cover / Short Interest Ratio -This is probably the most important metric when looking for short squeeze trades, no matter what you call it. This is the number of days it would take the short sellers to cover their position based on the average daily volume of shares traded. This is a significant ratio as it shows how “stuck” the short sellers are when they want to buy in their shares without driving up the price too much. Unfortunately for the shortsellers, the longer the number of days to cover, the bigger and longer the squeeze.

Short Percentage Increase ~ This is the percentage increase in in the number of short sellers from the previous month.

Here is one example from the list below.  Ebix Inc. (EBIX) is a stock that is heavily shorted. As a matter fo fact, 32% of the float is shorted. Plus, the short interest ratio is 11.7. That means it would take the short sellers over eleven days to cover their positions, based on the number of shares that trade each day on average.

So what technology stocks are heavily shorted that may be worth a closer examination? Check out the following list, but be aware, that often some stocks are heavily shorted for a reason.

All these stocks have significant short metrics, but they also have price to earnings ratios less than 15 and price to earnings growth ratios of less than 2..

Possibly a short squeeze will cause a few of these to rise sharply, turning lemons into lemonade.

Stock Symbol % of Float Days to Cover
3D Systems DDD 31% 14
Ebix EBIX 32% 11.7
Inseego INSG 34% 5.1
iRobot IRBT 32% 8.1

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Robots Are Changing The Business Landscape: Top Robotics Stocks

As we all know, the world is changing around us, each and every day. Some would say for the better, and some would say in a negative manner. On the positive side, all of the technology that is out there is only going to help the world and make things easier in the long run. Technology can be used for the greater good when it is implemented correctly and for the right causes and purposes. Under the right circumstances and the right situation, it can really make a difference.

When it comes to businesses, companies are recognizing how robotics can help people and make things more trouble-free for their customers and consumers. It is all about convenience and making things as easy for people as possible.

One area that is really changing the business landscape is consumer robotics. These are actual robot vacuum cleaners and they function just as well as a human being, if not better. There are a lot of people out there that dread vacuum cleaning. Let’s face it: no one likes to do household chores. It is something that has to be done and not something anyone enjoys doing. With these robot vacuum cleaners, they can do the job efficiently for the customer.

Robots are even making their way into the medical industry with robot surgery to make sure there are better results. Lots of people are scared to get surgery or go under the knife. However, many people that need surgery feel a lot safer knowing their chances of a successful surgery would be higher with a robot in charge.

Robotics is extensively used in the manufacturing industry. The benefits are that they run 24-hours a day, they reduce accidents in the workplace, and they save money.

The possibilities are endless and they are only getting started with ways to help not only end users but businesses as well. In fact, robots are even helping people that are in pain and suffering. There are exoskeletons, which can help people with spinal cord injuries. Whatever kind of robot someone is looking for, it is only a matter of time before one is developed.

The point is, many companies are jumping on the robotics bandwagon. As an example, according to the free list of robot stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over 50 companies involved in robotics to some extent.

IRobot’s Household Robots May Replace Housecleaners  

The purchases on Main Street can affect the value of a stock on Wall Street. Therefore, monitoring what everyday consumers will be purchasing in the future is a must. iRobot (IRBT) manufactures and markets a number of robots that are growing in popularity among middle-class shoppers including the Roomba vacuum cleaning robot and the Scooba floor washing robot. So if you’re looking to invest in robotics, iRobot is a company you should be investigating. iRobot trades at 28 times trailing earnings and 23 times forward earnings. This debt free company has $173 million in cash, amounting to $6.38 in cash per share. Quarterly earnings tanks 34% for the latest quarter, on flat revenues.

Intuitive Surgical: Building Machines to Save Lives 

No matter how healthy people get, operations will continue to be necessary on occasion. Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is using robotic technology to take modern medicine farther than its ever gone before. The company created the Da Vinci Surgical System, which brought robotic surgery into the mainstream, Intuitive Surgical is one of the global leaders in building surgical robots. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 39, and a 28 forward PE ratio. This is another debt free stock with $56.73 in cash per share. For the latest quarter, earnings rose 37% on a 15% increase in sales.

Teradyne: Collaborative Robots 

Teradyne (TER) makes and markets automatic test equipment and its industrial automation division produces collaborative robots for manufacturing processes. The stock trades at 15 times forward earnings and is debt free with over $4 per share in cash. For the latest quarter, revenues were up 3.7%.

Humanoid Robots

In 2010, I wrote about the world’s most realistic female robot. You can see below the video I posted at that time. Since then, the female humanoid robots have become even more life-like, if you can believe that.

 

Adding any or all of these stocks to your portfolio have the possibility of providing potentially large profits over the long term. The Robot Revolution is here and it’s up to you to decide whether you want to invest in it or sit on the sidelines while others benefit. If you want a free list of dozens of robot stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author has a neutral position (both bullish and bearish) in IRBT at the time this article was written. 

By Stockerblog.com