Benzinga Bulls and Bears: Palantir, Apple, Six Flags
Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.
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Viking Global's Andreas Halvorsen shifts gears in Q2, making an $817M bet on Ferrari while slashing Tesla by 78% and dumping Apple.
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Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors’ favorite stocks over the last week — here’s a look at some of our top stories.
Major tech indices declined on October 16, 2026, as AI-focused software stocks experienced a sharp reversal. The S&P 500 fell 1.07%, the Nasdaq Composite plummeted 2.15%, and the Dow Jones slipped 0.34%. Goldman Sachs reported that hedge funds sold AI stocks at the second-fastest pace in over a year, triggering a tactical rotation away from smaller AI names toward larger, steadier companies and defensive stocks.
Apple stock rose 0.43% to $343.46 on October 16, 2026, following strong demand for its new iPhone Duo foldable smartphone, which sold out within minutes with delivery dates pushed to late January. The broader market declined, with the S&P 500 down 1.09% and Nasdaq down 2.14%, as investors focused on AI-related debt pressure and semiconductor weakness.
Apple has maintained its position as one of the world's most valuable companies at $5 trillion market cap, trailing only Nvidia. Despite taking a cautious approach to AI infrastructure spending compared to competitors, Apple's strong ecosystem, brand recognition, and iPhone dominance have enabled it to generate exceptional free cash flow of $110 billion while remaining competitive. The article argues Apple's economic moat is wider than perceived and the company can afford to integrate AI gradually without rushing.
Bond markets are signaling growing concern about AI infrastructure financing as companies borrow heavily to build data centers. CoreWeave faces severe pressure with bond yields at 16% and record credit default swap spreads of 1,195 basis points. Oracle, Meta, and SoftBank also show rising borrowing costs and credit concerns. The fundamental issue: AI projects require massive upfront capital spending before generating revenue, and it remains unclear whether returns will justify the investments.
Inflection Points Please click here for an enlarged chart of Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (NYSE:SOXL). Note the following: Semiconductors reflect the AI trade, and SOXL is the momo crowd’s