Goldman Sachs analyst Christopher Merwin initiated coverage of Cerence (CRNC) with a Sell rating and $17 price target. While Cerence has established itself as a leading provider of artificial intelligence-powered automotive virtual assistants over the past 20 years, larger technology companies like Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) are offering free substitute products for connected services that offer more advanced AI-technology, search functionality, and native smartphone integration, Merwin tells investors in a research note. The analyst believes this competition could pressure Cerence's connected business over time.

Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to report results of the third quarter of its fiscal year 2024 after the market close on Thursday, April 25, with a conference call scheduled for 5:30 pm ET. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

TikTok Policy issued the following statement on the enactment of "the TikTok Ban": "This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired." Publicly traded companies in the social media space that compete with TikTok include Meta Platforms (META), Alphabet (GOOGL), Pinterest (PINS) and Snap (SNAP). Reference Link

Apple saw sales of its iPhones fall 19.1% in the first three months of the year, CNBC's Ryan Browne reports, citing data from Counterpoint Research. Meanwhile, Huawei saw a 69.7% surge in smartphone sales in the country during the same period, Counterpoint said. Reference Link

Meta Platforms (META), the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, Threads and other brands, is scheduled to report first quarter 2024 results after market close on Wednesday, April 24 with a conference call scheduled for 5 pm ET. Here's what to... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Welcome to "Fly Insider," The Fly's weekly recap of notable insider stock transactionsNOTABLE INSIDER PURCHASES: Significant insider purchases reported in the prior week from April 15 through April 19 include:Chairman of Ashford (AINC) Montgomery Bennett purchased 200,000 shares of company stock at $4. 91 per share... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Apple quietly acquired Paris-based AI startup Datakalab on December 17, Challenges' David Pargamin reports. The terms of the transaction could not be learned, but European Commission has been notified of the deal, the author notes. Reference Link

Friday's total option volume of 56.7 million contracts resulted in net open interest growth of 6.01 million calls and 5.28 million puts. NVIDIA (NVDA), Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) saw the greatest growth. Top five new positions opened include 50k Lyft (LYFT) May-24 20 calls, 44k Energy Transfer (ET) 4/26 weekly 16.5 calls, 43k Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Sep-24 41 calls, 23k Tesla (TSLA) 4/26 weekly 162.5 calls and 21k Papa John's (PZZA) Jun-24 57.5 puts.