Ethereum 2.0 Deposit Contract Tops $5.5B in Staked Ether

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TipRanks

We are indeed living in interesting times – and in many ways, that’s a good thing. Take the automotive industry, for example. Technology is changing a rapid pace, and when it settles, it will dramatically change the way we drive. In 2030, our concept of ‘car’ will likely be unrecognizable to drivers from 1980. The biggest changes are coming from power systems and artificial intelligence. AI will bring autonomous tech to our cars, making self-driving vehicles a reality. But the power systems changes will hit us first. In fact, electric-drive vehicles are already on our roads, and electric vehicle (EV) companies are proliferating rapidly. For the moment, there are several roads to potential success in the EV market. Companies are working to position themselves as leaders in battery tech, or electric power trains, or to maximize their range and performance per charge. It’s a fact-paced industry environment, offering both opportunity and excitement for investors. Smart investors will look for companies capable of meeting scaling demands, once they have settled on marketable models. Investment firm Morgan Stanley has been watching the EV industry, seeking out innovative new design and production companies that are positioning themselves for gains as the market matures. The firm’s automotive analyst, Adam Jonas, has selected two stocks that investors should seriously consider buying into, saying “As we survey the EV/battery startup landscape, we are prioritizing highly differentiated technology and/or business models with a path to scale at a reasonable level of risk.” Opening up the TipRanks database, we’ve pulled up the details on both of Jonas’ picks to see whether they could be a good fit for your portfolio. Fisker (FSR) First up, Fisker, is based in Southern California, the epicenter of so much of our ground-breaking tech industries. Fisker’s focus is on solid-state battery tech, a growing alternative to the lithium-ion batteries that most EVs depend on. While more expensive that the older lithium-based systems, solid state batteries are safer and offer higher energy densities. Fisker has been busy patenting its moves into solid-state batteries, a sound strategy to lock in its advances in this field. For EVs, solid-state batteries offer faster charging times, longer range per charge, and potentially lower battery weight – all important factors in vehicle performance. Every car company needs a flagship model, and Fisker has the Ocean – an EV SUV with a mid-range price ($37,499) and a long-range power system (up to 300 miles). The vehicle features stylish design and room mounted solar panels to supplement the charging system, and is scheduled to enter serial production for the markets in 2022. The stylish design reflects the sensibilities of the company’s founder, Henrik Fisker, known for his work on the BMW Z8 and the Aston Martin DB9. Fisker entered the public markets through a SPAC merger agreement last fall. Since completing the SPAC transaction on October 29, shares in FSR are up 112%. Morgan Stanley’s Jonas is impressed by this company, describing the ‘value proposition of Fisker’ as “…design, time to market, clean sheet user experience and management expertise,” and saying that the 4Q22 launch schedule for the Ocean is likely to be met. “Fisker is specifically targeting the personal owned/passenger car business as opposed to commercial oriented end markets, where emotive design and user experience matter more. Additionally, the company wants to create an all-digital experience from the website to the app to the HMI in the car and continued customer engagement through its flexible lease product,” Jonas added. In line with his upbeat outlook on the company (and the car), Jonas rates Fisker an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and sets a $27 price target suggesting an upside of 42% for the coming year. (To watch Jonas’ track record, click here) Turning to the TipRanks data, we’ve found that Wall Street’s analysts hold a range of views on Fisker. The stock has a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating, based on 7 reviews, including 4 Buys, 2 Holds, and 1 Sell. Shares are currently priced at $18.99, and the $21.20 average price target implies a one-year upside of ~12%. (See FSR stock analysis on TipRanks) QuantumScape (QS) Where Fisker is working on solid-state batteries in the context of vehicle production, QuantumScape is setting itself up as a leader in EV battery technology and a potential supplier of the next generation of battery and power systems for the EV market. QuantumScape designs and builds solid-state lithium-metal batteries, the highest energy density battery system currently available. The key advantages of the technology are in safety, lifespan, and charging times. Solid-state batteries are non-flammable; they last longer than lithium-ion batteries, with less capacity loss at the anode interface; and their composition allows faster charging, of 15 minutes or less to reach 80% capacity. QuantumScape is betting that these advantages will outweigh the technology’s current higher cost, and create a new standard in EV power systems. The company’s strongest tie to the EV production field is its connection with Volkswagen. The German auto giant put $100 million into QuantumScape in 2018, and an additional $200 million in 2020. The two companies are using their partnership to prepare for mass-scale development and production of solid-state batteries. Like Fisker, QuantumScape went public through a SPAC agreement late last year. The agreement, which closed on November 27, put the QS ticker in the public markets – where it promptly surged above $130 per share. While the stock has since slipped, it remains up 47% from its NYSE opening. For Morgan Stanley’s Jonas, involvement in QS stock comes with high risk, but also high potential reward. In fact, the analyst calls it, “The Biotech of Battery Development.” “We believe their solid state technology addresses a very big impediment in battery science (energy density) that, if successful, can create extremely high value to a wide range of customers in the auto industry and beyond. The risks of moving from a single layer cell to a production car are high, but we think these are balanced by the commercial potential and the role of Volkswagen to help underwrite the early manufacturing ramp,” Jonas explained. Noting that QS is a stock for the long haul, Jonas rates the shares an Overweight (i.e. Buy), and his $70 price target indicates confidence in an upside of 28% for one-year time horizon. Granted, not everyone is as enthusiastic about QS as Morgan Stanly. QS’s Hold consensus rating is based on an even split between Buy, Hold, and Sell reviews. The shares are priced at $54.64 and their recent appreciation has pushed them well above the $46.67 average price target. (See QS stock analysis on TipRanks) To find good ideas for EV stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

Latest Ethereum price and analysis (ETH to USD)

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InvestorPlace

Ethereum (CCC:ETH-USD) is trading over $1,800 as I write this early on Feb. 11. It’s up 150% year-to-date (YTD). A similar story is told about Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD), the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Source: Shutterstock InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips When it comes to stocks and other investments, generally, I’m not particularly eager to write about them unless I’m bullish about their prospects. I’ll never short a stock as a result. It’s just not in my nature to recommend someone sell a particular investment, especially when they’ve bought for the long haul. Sure, I’ll make sell calls based on valuation, but more often than not, it’s for stocks I like that have gotten ahead of themselves. What’s happening in the markets at the moment is unsettling to me. Not because I’ve never lived through a major correction; I’ve lived through many in my adult life (I’m 56). I know from experience that markets always recover. Some, however, take longer than others. 8 Cheap Stocks Under $20 That Could Double It’s a big reason why you might want to consider taking profits on your Ethereum bet. Let me explain. History Is a Good Teacher If You Own Ethereum Successful investors are generally interested in history. That’s because so much of what happens in the world repeats itself, over and over, and over. The markets are no different. History gives us perspective. Ben Carlson, one of my favorite financial bloggers anywhere, wrote a piece for his blog, A Wealth Of Common Sense, in March 2019 that discussed the worst entry point in stock market history. I recommend that you read it. Carlson plays with total returns in the markets over various 35-year periods. In one example from 1965 through 1999, the S&P 500 delivered an annual return of 12.4%. In another period from 1984 through 2018, the annual return was a respectable 10.7%, including the 1987 crash. I was one year into a financial services career at that point and figured the world as we knew it was over and done. It wasn’t. Carlson compared the 1965 to 1999 period to the performance of the index from 2000 through 2018. That delivered an annual return of 4.9%, or about one-third of the performance over the 35 years. However, that’s not his best argument. He points out that to generate a 12.4% return over 35 years from 2000 through 2034, an investor would need to achieve an annual return of 22% between 2019 and 2034 to generate the identical 35-year performance. So, the question you want to ask yourself as you sit on your significant unrealized gains YTD is whether, in 35 years, $1,800 will be considered the worst entry point in the cryptocurrency’s history or one of the best. What you do with this analysis should determine whether you bail on your Ethereum bet or not. The Bitcoin Parallel InvestorPlace’s Josh Enomoto recently wrote a piece that explained why he had unloaded most of his Bitcoin investment as his personal wall of worry got too hot to handle. Bitcoin is up 60% YTD and 358% over the past year as I write this. In May 2020, Josh discussed the concept of Bitcoin halving. He owned Bitcoin at the time. He held it at the end of 2019. At the beginning of 2019, he owned it. In 2018, he owned Bitcoin, arguing that investors had an opportunity to buy before the price really took off. Using the dates when each of these articles was published, Bitcoin traded at approximately $10,000 (February 2018), $3,800 (January 2019), $7,200 (December 2019), $4,900 (May 2020) and $37,000 (beginning of February). I can’t tell you if Josh bought once in February 2018 and held through February 2020, or if he averaged down through 2019 and 2020, but what I can tell you is that $37,000, give or take a few thousand to account for the actual timing of the sale, was his time to bail. “You see, when all your money is tied up in volatile investment markets, it’s difficult to get any peace. While I’d never take such outlandish risks, I did have a sizable profit in Bitcoin,” Josh wrote on Feb. 10. “But as the price kept ticking higher and higher, the pressure got to me. Knowing how wild Bitcoin trading is, I could hold on for dear life and risk losing everything or I could get out while the going was good and take something, anything out of this experience.” As Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force, “A man’s [or woman] got to know his limitations.” Indeed he or she does. I could continue with clichés and quotes for the next several hours. The point is, my colleague, who writes about investments for a living — and has for many years — chose to exit most of his Bitcoin position for a sizable gain after it had appreciated by 329% over the past year. By comparison, Ethereum is up 547% over the same period. Take from this what you will. On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he’s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. More From InvestorPlace Why Everyone Is Investing in 5G All WRONG Top Stock Picker Reveals His Next Potential Winner It doesn’t matter if you have $500 in savings or $5 million. Do this now. #1 Play to Profit from Biden’s Presidency The post Hereâs Why You Might Want to Bail From Your Ethereum Bet appeared first on InvestorPlace.

Here’s Why You Might Want to Bail From Your Ethereum Bet

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A stack of ether or ethereum coins on a gold background.

Source: Shutterstock

InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips

When it comes to stocks and other investments, generally, I’m not particularly eager to write about them unless I’m bullish about their prospects. I’ll never short a stock as a result. It’s just not in my nature to recommend someone sell a particular investment, especially when they’ve bought for the long haul.

Sure, I’ll make sell calls based on valuation, but more often than not, it’s for stocks I like that have gotten ahead of themselves.

What’s happening in the markets at the moment is unsettling to me.

Not because I’ve never lived through a major correction; I’ve lived through many in my adult life (I’m 56). I know from experience that markets always recover. Some, however, take longer than others.

It’s a big reason why you might want to consider taking profits on your Ethereum bet.

Let me explain.

History Is a Good Teacher If You Own Ethereum

Successful investors are generally interested in history. That’s because so much of what happens in the world repeats itself, over and over, and over. The markets are no different.

History gives us perspective.

Ben Carlson, one of my favorite financial bloggers anywhere, wrote a piece for his blog, A Wealth Of Common Sense, in March 2019 that discussed the worst entry point in stock market history. I recommend that you read it.

Carlson plays with total returns in the markets over various 35-year periods. In one example from 1965 through 1999, the S&P 500 delivered an annual return of 12.4%. In another period from 1984 through 2018, the annual return was a respectable 10.7%, including the 1987 crash.

I was one year into a financial services career at that point and figured the world as we knew it was over and done. It wasn’t.

Story continues

Carlson compared the 1965 to 1999 period to the performance of the index from 2000 through 2018. That delivered an annual return of 4.9%, or about one-third of the performance over the 35 years.

However, that’s not his best argument.

He points out that to generate a 12.4% return over 35 years from 2000 through 2034, an investor would need to achieve an annual return of 22% between 2019 and 2034 to generate the identical 35-year performance.

So, the question you want to ask yourself as you sit on your significant unrealized gains YTD is whether, in 35 years, $1,800 will be considered the worst entry point in the cryptocurrency’s history or one of the best.

What you do with this analysis should determine whether you bail on your Ethereum bet or not.

The Bitcoin Parallel

InvestorPlace’s Josh Enomoto recently wrote a piece that explained why he had unloaded most of his Bitcoin investment as his personal wall of worry got too hot to handle.

Bitcoin is up 60% YTD and 358% over the past year as I write this.

In May 2020, Josh discussed the concept of Bitcoin halving. He owned Bitcoin at the time. He held it at the end of 2019. At the beginning of 2019, he owned it. In 2018, he owned Bitcoin, arguing that investors had an opportunity to buy before the price really took off.

Using the dates when each of these articles was published, Bitcoin traded at approximately $10,000 (February 2018), $3,800 (January 2019), $7,200 (December 2019), $4,900 (May 2020) and $37,000 (beginning of February).

I can’t tell you if Josh bought once in February 2018 and held through February 2020, or if he averaged down through 2019 and 2020, but what I can tell you is that $37,000, give or take a few thousand to account for the actual timing of the sale, was his time to bail.

“You see, when all your money is tied up in volatile investment markets, it’s difficult to get any peace. While I’d never take such outlandish risks, I did have a sizable profit in Bitcoin,” Josh wrote on Feb. 10.

“But as the price kept ticking higher and higher, the pressure got to me. Knowing how wild Bitcoin trading is, I could hold on for dear life and risk losing everything or I could get out while the going was good and take something, anything out of this experience.”

As Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force, “A man’s [or woman] got to know his limitations.”

Indeed he or she does. I could continue with clichés and quotes for the next several hours.

The point is, my colleague, who writes about investments for a living — and has for many years — chose to exit most of his Bitcoin position for a sizable gain after it had appreciated by 329% over the past year.

By comparison, Ethereum is up 547% over the same period. Take from this what you will.

On the date of publication, Will Ashworth did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he’s appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger, and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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