Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

Analysts boosted Snowflake stock, big firms are buying now

photo of snowflake sign and logo

All the market hype is now focusing on the world of technology stocks, especially after the massive run-up in names like Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) and other companies involved with the rise of artificial intelligence trends taking over today's economy and financial markets. There is another trend, however, hiding in plain sight.

For reasons that will become clear in just a minute, the business cycle is about to see a newfound boom and bullish momentum to follow, meaning that the business services sector is likely going to be the one to boom next as more and more firms seek the aid of organization and scalability in this new wave.

This is why businesses like Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW) could soon be the next target for investment dollars to find a home. Currently, this may seem like only an idea. But you will shortly uncover the actual trends showing why this is more a reality than a theory. But more on that later. First, a few pointers to guide you along the way.

All roads lead to Rome

The United States economy is beginning to heat up. You can follow this trend by checking the past few months of employment and business activity data. Businesses are getting ready to get their pre-COVID groove back with all of the efficiency that maybe wasn't present then.

According to the latest employment situation report, the economy added up to 353 thousand jobs in the past month, far from being a stagnant trend of economic activity; this means that companies that enable the employment transition to go smoothly are likely to see a bid higher in their prices.

The best example in this scenario is Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ: INTU), a stock that is now flirting with its former all-time high prices; as businesses need to account for their new expenses and payroll necessities on this new hiring spree, traders took Intuit for a bull ride, one that could spill over into other key names like Snowflake.

Now that the FED is also proposing interest rate cuts for this year, business activity will likely keep expanding to create further demand for these companies. According to the FedWatch tool from the CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME), traders are pricing in these potential interest rate cuts as soon as May of this year.

Because Snowflake has underperformed Intuit by as much as 12% over the past twelve months, relative valuation metrics and price action will show you just how big of a gap this stock could fill shortly.

More than that, it has also outperformed the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLK) by as much as 26.2% over the past six months, meaning that within the world of tech, Snowflake does have preferential treatment from the markets.

Does the market agree?

Starting with Wall Street analysts, those working for Truist Financial Corp. (NYSE: TFC) have upped their price targets up to $250 a share ahead of the coming quarterly earnings announcement from the company, implying that they could be expecting really good things to be revealed by management this time around.

More than that, Snowflake has attracted the attention of other players in the financial industry; investment houses like the Vanguard Group and Berkshire Capital Holdings have added to their already sizeable stakes in the stock by as much as 8% and 39.2%, respectively, as of February 2024.

As an additional check of sentiment in this stock relative to peers who are just as essential in this hiring spree across the economy, you can see how markets are pricing this stock today as a gauge of sentiment.

Signing new hiring documents and other agreements, DocuSign Inc.(NASDAQ: DOCU) could be considered a worthy adversary to take away from Snowflake's spotlight, but markets already made their choice.

Basing your test on the price-to-earnings ratio, it would make sense that markets and investors would be willing to overpay for a good thing, such as the case in Snowflake. With a 206.6x P/E, some would turn away from his "expensive" name. But remember the saying, "It must be expensive for a reason."

Peers like Intuit only trade at a P/E of 67.5x, representing less than half of Snowflake's valuation. Because Intuit already had its run and announced higher earnings, its P/E ratio is now coming down.

Similarly, the high valuation in Snowflake could be a sign of markets expecting to see a boom in earnings followed by a similar advance in the stock price come earnings time.

Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.