Kim Bolton, president & portfolio manager at Black Swan Dexteritas, shares his outlook on Technology Stocks.
Kim Bolton, President & Portfolio Manager, Black Swan Dexteritas
Focus: Technology Stocks
Top picks: Vertiv, Oklo, Arista Networks
MARKET OUTLOOK:
In September, global financial markets advanced as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates. Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offering (IPO) activity accelerated, particularly in sectors emphasizing AI capabilities.
Equity market gains were broad-based and led by large cap emerging market exposures, as investors positioned for easing geopolitical risk, lower rates, and progress on trade and tariff negotiations.
Long-term interest rates declined following the Fed’s policy move, while short-term rates remained little changed amid mixed inflation data.
The U.S. dollar weakened against most major currencies. Commodities posted mixed performance, except for precious metals which added to this year’s gains.
In the past month, the BSD team added to the hardware segment of the AI ecosystem.
There is no doubt that AI has been a driving force for stock market performance over the last couple of years.
Since the release of ChatGPT, according to JP Morgan research, 41 AI related stocks have accounted for 70 per cent of the increase in the value of the S&P 500, while the remaining 30 per cent gain is from 459 stocks.
Also in September, we added to our stable of quantum computing and portable reactor stocks. We continue to expect the AI trade to lead the stock market’s gains in the fourth calendar quarter. The catalyst will be be strong Q3 earnings season reporting positive surprises, driven by resilient enterprise and consumer demand, and huge AI spending. Your BSD Team is proud to be your investment ‘eyes and ears’ in the technology arena.
TOP PICKS:
Kim Bolton’s Top Picks: Vertiv, Oklo & Arista Networks Kim Bolton, president & portfolio manager at Black Swan Dexteritas, shares his top stock picks to watch in the market.
Vertiv (VRT NYSE)
Vertiv is a global provider of critical digital-infrastructure solutions—power, thermal (air & liquid cooling), IT management, and services—for data centers, communication networks, and mission-critical industrial facilities.
Brands include Liebert, NetSure, Geist, Avocent, Energy Labs and more.
End-markets: hyperscale and cloud, colocation, enterprise/core and edge data centers; telecom; commercial/industrial (healthcare, manufacturing, retail, government). Vertiv reports by geography (Americas, EMEA, APAC).
Oklo (OKLO NYSE)
Business: Advanced fission company building compact, liquid-metal-cooled fast reactor “Aurora” powerhouses designed to run on HALEU and eventually recycled fuel.
Public via AltC SPAC; began trading May 10, 2024.
Strategy: Vertical stack across generation (Aurora) → fuel cycle (Fuel Foundry & recycling) → radioisotopes (via Atomic Alchemy). Targeting rapid, modular deployment and long refueling cycles.
Arista Networks (ANET NYSE)
Arista Networks, Inc. is a global leader in cloud networking solutions for large data centers, high-performance computing, and enterprise environments.
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif., Arista is recognized for its high-speed, programmable Ethernet switches and routers, as well as its pioneering network operating system, EOS (Extensible Operating System).
The company has a strong reputation for innovation, reliability, and customer-centric engineering, serving hyperscale cloud providers, financial institutions, media and entertainment, telecommunications, and Fortune 500 enterprises. Arista employs over 4,000 people worldwide and is led by CEO Jayshree Ullal.
PAST PICKS: OCTOBER 28, 2024
Kim Bolton’s Past Picks: Teradyne, Dassault Systèmes & Hyundai Motor Company Kim Bolton, president & portfolio manager at Black Swan Dexteritas, discusses his past stock picks and how they’re doing in the market today.
Teradyne (TER NASD)
Then: US$111.33
Now: US$142.50
Return: 28%
Total Return: 28%
Dassault Systèmes (DASTY ADR)
Then: US$34.31
Now: US$33.76
Return: -2%
Total Return: -0.7%
Hyundai Motor Company (005380 KS)
Then: KRW 226500.00
Now: KRW 220000.00
Return: -3%
Total Return: 2%
Total Return Average: 10%