Five Shares To Buck The Bear And Ride The Bull

As I hope is clear from recent posts, Palantir has one of the most exciting stories I have ever encountered. It is set to play a key role in the way the world conducts warfare in the 21st century, and it is using that same technology to transform the way that enterprises and governments use AI to transform their operations. It is using its own company to provide a vivid example of how AI can transform the way a company operates.

Palantir Technologies PLTR is rewriting the rules of corporate IT and investors should pay attention. In a recent interview, CIO Jim Siders revealed that Palantir has slashed its IT headcount from over 200 to fewer than 80, all while accelerating growth and maintaining operational edge. The move isn’t just cost-cutting it’s strategic. By leveraging its own AI-powered Foundry platform, Palantir has embedded IT functions directly into business units, replacing legacy silos with agile, federated systems. It’s a radical shift that reflects a bigger cultural mindset inside Palantir: challenge everything, especially structures that no longer serve the mission.

Siders credited an MIT professor’s push to abolish the IT department as a wake-up call and Palantir ran with it. The result? Faster decision-making, tighter feedback loops, and lower operational drag. It’s a clean break from the bloated IT departments most corporates are still clinging to. Instead of centralizing tech, Palantir pushes it to the edge closer to the teams that actually need it. With AI doing more of the heavy lifting, the company is proving that leaner can also mean smarter, faster, and more scalable.

This evolution comes as Palantir approaches $4 billion in annual revenue and rides a wave of commercial momentum. While others scramble to right-size in an AI-driven world, Palantir is already operating like the future has arrived. For investors, this could signal something bigger than internal efficiency it’s a blueprint for modern enterprise architecture that could expand margins and unlock new value as AI adoption accelerates.

GuruFocus, 27 March 2025

What Palantir is doing is way beyond my ken, but listen to what others are saying.

For growth investors looking to ride the next wave of Gen AI, Palantir (NASDAQ: PLTR) has something to offer them. With its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), Palantir aspires to change code development as we know it. Launched in April 2023, AIP is in the process of putting a fork in the road of code development with its mercurial deployment of LLMs [large language models] via the Ontology framework. And the marvels of AIP cast a bright future for Palantir and its shareholders. Based on holistic and comprehensive projections, deeply woven by the engineering calibre of Palantir, the stock lays out an incredible upside for investors.

GuruFocus, 9 April 2025

Palantir introduced AIP in 2023, and its growth rate has accelerated dramatically. Below is a flavour of what AIP can do.

Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) has transformed code development by condensing third-party software products into just a few lines of code. AIP has been consistently integrated into platform toolkits and allowed LLMs to embed into the privately owned networks. In practice, it implies that AIP essentially allows enterprises to effectively eradicate specialized software platforms, and by extension support staff.

GuruFocus , 9 April 2025

The chart is incredibly strong. Palantir is almost unique among major technology companies in still having a rising Coppock Curve. The next hurdle is $100; through that, and the sky is the limit. The valuation seems insane, but that is what creates the opportunity. If a stock as exciting as Palantir was cheap, that would be a major red flag.

I am a big fan of the streaming giants, Netflix and Spotify, and subscribe to both. In a difficult market, their charts remain positive.

Netflix recently revealed ambitious targets for 2030.

Netflix says it’s setting its sights to join Apple, Microsoft, and other major Wall Street giants valued at  $1 trillion within the next five years by doubling its revenue and tripling its operating profits, according to a Wall Street Journal report. 

Despite concerns of a recession and President Donald Trump’s whipsaw trade policies effectively putting the stock market on a rollercoaster, Netflix executives remain optimistic about the company’s projected growth prospects.

During an annual business review meeting last month, Netflix executives reportedly emphasized lofty goals for revenue, ad sales, and operating income by 2030, people in attendance told the Journal. In five years, the streaming platform plans to double last year’s $39bn in revenue and triple its operating income to $30bn, according to the Journal.

Additionally, the streamer aims to grow its ad sales to $9bn within the same timeframe. While Netflix does not disclose its ad sales, the company is estimated to exceed $2.15bn this year in advertising sales, according to research firm eMarketer cited by the Journal. 

Last quarter Netflix added more than 18.9m subscribers globally; it had more than 300m at the end of last year. The company aims to reach roughly 410m subscribers by the end of 2030, according to a Bank of America analyst note. 

“These targets underscore ample runway for continued growth driven by subscriber adds and further monetization opportunity,” BofA analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich said in the note. 

Executives will plan to increase subscriptions overseas, especially in markets with high broadband penetration like India and Brazil, people said. 

Additionally, Netflix reportedly has a strong win-back curve for those users who cancel their subscriptions. In 2023, 50% of customers who cancelled their subscriptions resubscribed 6 months later, according to data from the research firm Antenna cited by Business Insider. Within a year, 61% of former subscribers were back streaming on the platform. 

During Netflix’s meeting last month, prior to Trump announcing his steep reciprocal tariffs, executives acknowledged the possibility of a recession, but reportedly said streaming could be less impacted if people stay home to stream their content rather than going out to dinner or the movies. 

“Amid recent market volatility, Netflix’s strong subscription model with critical entertainment (which historically has performed well in a recession) has made the stock a defensive choice for investors and driven outperformance versus other technology/Mag 7 companies,” Ehrlich said. 

Netflix has taken steps to increase its nearly $400bn market capitalization in recent years by mitigating account sharing, raising prices, and implementing ads. The company’s ad-supported tier, which debuted in November 2022, has picked up steam recently: 43% of U.S. customer sign-ups in February were for the ad-supported tier, growing from 40% the month prior, according to another Antenna report cited by the Journal. 

“Further, Netflix’s advertising business, which is nascent, should be an incremental positive, not negative, even in a more challenging advertising backdrop,” Ehrlich said.

Fortune magazine, 15 April 2025

The company recently reported strong results and outlined exciting plans for the future.

There is no Coppock message in the chart, certainly nothing negative. The price action is extremely positive and compatible with a move to higher levels.

Spotify is the audio counterpart to Netflix and is branching out from music to podcasts and audiobooks. It has a similar subscription or free with ads business model and a growing global footprint. It is due to report on 29 April, which may lead to turbulence in the share price, but the longer-term trend looks strongly positive.

My engagement with Spotify could hardly be greater with approaching 8,000 songs on my liked list, which I can consume using my phone or my laptop, in my room, in my car or through AirPods. I am upgrading my AirPods to an even better pair and considering adding another mega Bose speaker in case I want to listen to my music alone in Wembley Stadium.

Apparently, the effect of two uber-powerful speakers is amazing. I have to be careful that I don’t end up deaf. My latest discovery on the music front is a guy called Oscar Harris. He was doing his thing a long time ago and sadly, is now dead, but I love his voice. Almost every week, I discover someone new. Last week, it was a saxophonist whose gorgeous playing I heard in Portobello Market being streamed by a stallholder. I have forgotten his name, and with so many songs, it is hard to find it.

My main impression of Spotify is that although it is a big business, it could be much, much bigger. Who wouldn’t want the service if you are into music and podcasts, and audiobooks come as a bonus, which I don’t use.

The first thing to notice about this chart is that Coppock has turned down from a massively high level. The message is that shares in GeneDx are losing momentum, but the previous momentum was incredible. Since November 2023, the shares have risen by some 88 times. The shares can lose momentum, as reflected in the falling Coppock, and continue to climb strongly.

The chart message is that the shares have been consolidating for six months despite a negative overall stock market. This is a promising performance.

GeneDx has all the characteristics to capture investor imaginations. Listen to their comments on a just-made acquisition.

GeneDx (Nasdaq: WGS), a leader in delivering improved health outcomes through genomic insights, today announced its plans to acquire Fabric Genomics, a pioneer in AI-powered genomic interpretation. The transaction enables GeneDx’s leadership in the next phase of genomic medicine: decentralized testing with centralized intelligence.

“Healthcare is at an inflection point where integrating genomic insights into standard care is becoming essential – both for better clinical outcomes and for saving the healthcare system valuable dollars. To achieve this, we must evolve and provide adaptable solutions so this information can be used more proactively and without geographic constraints. Adding Fabric Genomics and their talented team moves us closer to that future, enabling our partners to deliver groundbreaking genomic insights to patients across the globe,” said Katherine Stueland, President and CEO of GeneDx.

As DNA sequencing continues to become more accessible, decoupling interpretation services from the physical reliance on a wet lab allows for more flexibility to seamlessly integrate with provider and health system workflows, both in the United States and the rest of the world. Fabric Genomics has proven its leadership in scaling complex interpretation services, and its advanced AI-driven platform has powered the interpretation of challenging genetic disease cases in support of patient diagnosis at some of the largest health systems, academic centers, and research partners around the globe.

Health systems will have the ability to utilize GeneDx’s centralized lab or perform sequencing at their institutions and then have access to the company’s industry-leading data asset through Fabric Genomics’ AI-powered interpretation platform. Ultimately, this model will accelerate faster and earlier diagnosis of genetic diseases, delivering improved outcomes for patients and reducing unnecessary costs for healthcare systems in the United States and globally.

“This marks an exciting new chapter for Fabric Genomics. By joining forces with GeneDx, we’re combining two of the most powerful engines in genomic medicine, our AI-driven interpretation platform and GeneDx’s unparalleled rare disease data set,” said Martin Reese, PhD, Co-Founder, President, and CEO, Fabric Genomics. “Together, we’ll make genome interpretation faster, more scalable, and more impactful, enabling clinicians to deliver precise answers and care to patients worldwide. This combination accelerates our founding mission to end the diagnostic odyssey and bring the full promise of genomic medicine into everyday healthcare and expedite the delivery of life-changing treatments.”

GeneDx news, 16 April 2025

The stunning revival at GeneDx began with the arrival of Katherine Steuland as CEO in January 2021.

In June 2021, Katherine was named President and CEO of GeneDx (Nasdaq: WGS), a company that emerged from the National Institutes of Health and today is transforming healthcare through genomic insights with a mission to end the diagnostic odyssey. GeneDx delivers personalized and actionable health insights to inform diagnosis, direct treatment and drug discovery. Since joining GeneDx, she focused the business on its industry-leading exome and genome testing and interpretation products, fueled by one of the world’s largest rare disease data sets. Under Katherine’s leadership, GeneDx has nearly tripled its sequencing capacity, completing over 750,000 exomes and genomes while achieving profitability and a market cap of nearly $3 billion.

Recognized for these achievements, Katherine was named to the 2025 CNBC Changemakers: Women Transforming Business List, and Fast Company recently named GeneDx one of its Most Innovative Companies of 2025. She is nominated for the Maryland Tech Council’s ICON Awards for Life Sciences CEO of the Year and GeneDx is nominated for Life Sciences Company of the Year. In 2023, Fierce Pharma recognized Katherine as one of the most influential people in biotech.

GeneDx website

The company is on fire with exome and genome test revenue growing 101% in Q4, 2024, to $78.8m out of total revenue of $95.6m.

This company looks phenomenally exciting to me.

Root Inc., a company I have waxed lyrical about many times, is a disruptor in the insurance industry, which looks ripe for disruption. The Coppock indicator has been drifting lower since July 2024, while the shares have consolidated higher. Like GeneDx, the behaviour of Coppock is distorted by the incredible share price momentum. Since March 2023, the shares have risen 44-fold. They can lose momentum and keep climbing.

2024 was a landmark year for Root. Within 10 years of our founding, we achieved a gross combined ratio of 94.7% on $1.3 billion of gross premiums written, generating GAAP net income of $31 million and adjusted EBITDA of $112 million. In 2024, we delivered our first profitable year in our company’s history. We grew policies in force 21%. We more than doubled our new writings in our Partnerships channel. We delivered a best-in-class gross loss ratio of 58.9%. We dramatically reduced our reinsurance costs and we cut our interest expense approximately 50% on a run rate basis. This was an excellent year. This year was only possible because of the hard decisions we made in 2022 and 2023 to control our own financial destiny. These years created the foundation for 2024’s incredible results. With this foundation in place, we drove significant growth at our target unit economics while accelerating our investments in our pricing and underwriting technology and delivering increased operating efficiency. This has created momentum that we intend to continue.

At Root, it’s all about the long-term. That means we invest our capital to drive intrinsic value creation, based on an economic framework over the life of the customer, not calendar period results. At times, this framework can be at odds with being a public company. However, we believe this creates a tremendous opportunity for long-term investors.

Root Inc, Shareholders Letter, Q4 2024, 26 February 2025

Share Recommendations

Palantir. PLTR

Netflix. NFLX

Spotify. SPOT

GeneDx. WGS

Root Inc. ROOT

Strategy – Buy And Keep Buying

These shares are not playing by the bull and bear market rules. Driven by stunning fundamentals, they are heading higher, maybe into the stratosphere. The risk lies in not owning these shares.