Top 5 Pure Play AI Stocks

 Please note: Our primary website https://WStNN.com is currently down and we hope to have it up shortly. This site has some of the relatively recent articles.

by Fred Fuld III

You’ve seen it on TV, you’ve read about it on news websites. Artificial Intelligence, commonly referred to as AI, is now the hottest industry. Stocks that are involved in this industry are taking off. 

I originally wrote about a form of artificial intelligence back in October of 2021 in an article called The Future of Artificial Intelligence: Can You Invest In It Now?

So you may be wondering what companies are the purest plays.

WHAT AI IS

Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short, refers to the ability of machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem solving, and decision-making. AI algorithms are designed to analyze data, recognize patterns, and make predictions or recommendations based on that analysis.

In other words, AI is a way to teach machines to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, and to improve their performance over time based on the data they analyze. This technology has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our lives, from healthcare to transportation to entertainment. AI is even being used to write articles and books. 

WHAT CHAT AI IS

One of the most popular types of AI services is Chat AI. 

Chat AI refers to the use of artificial intelligence technologies, such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning, to enable machines to communicate with humans via chat interfaces, such as chatbots or virtual assistants.

Chat AI is used in a variety of settings, such as customer service, where chatbots can be used to answer frequently asked questions, provide information, or help customers troubleshoot issues. Chat AI can also be used in healthcare to provide personalized support and advice, in education to assist with learning, and in business to streamline operations and improve customer engagement.

The key advantage of Chat AI is that it enables organizations to provide 24/7 support to their customers, without the need for human intervention. Additionally, Chat AI can help organizations save costs by automating routine tasks and reducing the need for human labor.

To enable effective Chat AI, developers must ensure that the algorithms are capable of understanding and interpreting natural language, as well as providing appropriate responses to user queries. This requires a combination of NLP and machine learning techniques, as well as ongoing training and improvement of the chat AI system.

Overall, Chat AI is an increasingly popular technology that has the potential to transform the way we interact with machines and automate routine tasks in various industries.

CREATING IMAGES WITH AI

Yes, artificial intelligence is now being used to create images, such as book covers, logos, album covers, and many other purposes. You just need to type in a simple description, and a picture will automatically be created. One of the most popular AI image services is called DALL-E.

DALL-E is an artificial intelligence system developed by OpenAI that is capable of generating images from textual descriptions. The name “DALL-E” is a combination of the artist Salvador Dali and the Pixar character Wall-E.

The DALL-E system uses a combination of machine learning techniques, including natural language processing and computer vision, to interpret textual descriptions and generate corresponding images. It is capable of creating images of objects and scenes that do not exist in the real world, such as a teapot made of giraffe or a snail-shaped harp.

THE BIG PLAYERS

The DALL-E system was trained on a dataset of text-image pairs, which enabled it to learn the relationship between textual descriptions and their corresponding visual representations. The system was trained on a massive amount of data, including images from the internet and text descriptions from a variety of sources.

The potential applications of DALL-E are numerous, including in the fields of art, design, and advertising. It has the potential to streamline the creative process and help artists and designers bring their ideas to life more quickly and easily. However, there are also concerns about the potential misuse of this technology, such as the creation of fake images or the propagation of harmful stereotypes.

First, let’s get the large stocks out of the way. There are many companies involved in AI, ranging from startups to large corporations. However, some of the biggest companies involved in AI are:

Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is known for its search engine, but it’s also heavily invested in AI, with products like Google Assistant, Google Photos, and Google Translate all utilizing machine learning.

Amazon (AMZN) is using AI in many areas, such as its recommendation engine, its Alexa voice assistant, and its Amazon Go stores, which use computer vision to enable a checkout-free shopping experience.

Microsoft (MSFT) has been investing heavily in AI and has developed several AI-powered products, including Cortana, Skype Translator, and Microsoft Cognitive Services.

IBM (IBM) has a long history of developing AI technologies, and its Watson platform is one of the most well-known examples of AI in action.

Meta/Facebook (META) uses AI in a variety of ways, including facial recognition technology for tagging photos and content moderation.

Apple (AAPL) has been incorporating AI into many of its products, including Siri and Face ID.

NVIDIA (NVDA) is a leading manufacturer of GPUs, which are essential for training and running AI models.

Baidu (BIDU) is a Chinese search engine that is heavily investing in AI, with projects ranging from self-driving cars to voice recognition.

Tesla (TSLA) is using AI in its autonomous driving technology and is working to develop a fully self-driving car.

Alibaba (BABA), the Chinese e-commerce company, is investing in AI to improve its recommendation engine and other areas of its business.

THE PURE PLAYS

Now let’s get to the purer plays in artificial intelligence.

C3.AI

C3.ai, Inc. (AI) is a software company, located in Redwood City, California, that provides enterprise AI solutions for a variety of industries, including energy, healthcare, and finance. The company was founded in 2009 by Dr. Thomas M. Siebel, who is also the CEO of the company.

Before founding C3.ai, Dr. Siebel was the founder and CEO of Siebel Systems, a leading enterprise software company that was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2006. After the acquisition, Dr. Siebel focused on developing AI-based solutions for the enterprise market and founded C3.ai.

Initially, C3.ai focused on developing predictive maintenance and energy management solutions for the energy industry. The company’s first product, C3 Energy Management, was designed to help utilities optimize their energy generation and distribution systems using machine learning algorithms.

Over time, C3.ai expanded its focus to other industries, including healthcare, financial services, and manufacturing. The company’s current product offerings include C3 AI Suite, which is a platform that enables organizations to develop and deploy AI applications, and C3.ai Ex Machina, which is an AI-powered data science platform for data scientists and developers.

C3.ai has received funding from several prominent investors, including Breyer Capital, TPG Growth, and the Rise Fund. In December 2020, the company went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “AI,” raising $651 million in its initial public offering.

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion. This debt-free company has $6.76 in cash per share.

SOUNDHOUND AI

SoundHound AI, Inc. (SOUN) is a Silicon Valley-based technology company that specializes in developing sound recognition and voice-enabled AI solutions. The company was founded in 2005 by Dr. Keyvan Mohajer, who is also the CEO of the company.

Initially, the company started as a music recognition app called “Midomi,” which allowed users to hum or sing a song, and the app would identify the song. Later on, the company expanded its focus to voice-enabled AI technology and changed its name to SoundHound Inc.

In 2015, SoundHound Inc. launched its flagship product, Hound, which is an AI-powered voice assistant. Hound uses a natural language processing (NLP) technology that enables users to speak complex and specific queries in a conversational manner. The Hound voice assistant is available as a mobile app and can be integrated into other devices and applications.

In addition to Hound, SoundHound AI, Inc. also offers a suite of AI-based products and services, including sound recognition technologies for speech-to-text and music identification, and voice-enabled AI solutions for automotive, hospitality, and other industries.

The company has received funding from several prominent investors, including NVIDIA, Samsung, and Tencent Holdings. By 2021, SoundHound AI, Inc. had raised over $250 million in funding.

SoundHound has a market cap of $580 million. The company is debt-free and quarterly sales increased by over 79% year-over-year.

BIGBEAR.AI

BigBear.ai Holdings, Inc. (BBAI) is a technology company that develops and provides artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for defense and intelligence organizations, as well as for commercial customers. The company was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

BigBear.ai’s technology solutions use AI and machine learning to help customers make sense of large and complex data sets, as well as to automate decision-making processes. The company’s AI-driven solutions are designed to improve situational awareness, increase operational efficiency, and support decision-making across a range of industries and applications.

The company’s solutions cover a range of capabilities, including computer vision, natural language processing, and data analytics. BigBear.ai’s solutions are used in a variety of applications, such as intelligence analysis, threat detection, predictive maintenance, and supply chain optimization.

BigBear.ai has a broad customer base that includes government agencies and commercial customers in various industries. The company has received funding from several venture capital firms, including Riverside Partners, Chart National, and Blu Venture Investors.

In 2021, BigBear.ai announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to merge with GigCapital4, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in a deal that valued the combined company at $1.57 billion. The merger was completed in August 2021, and the combined company is now publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “BBAI” as “BigBear.ai”.

This debt-free company has a market cap of $458 million. 

T STAMP

T Stamp Inc. (IDAI) is an identity authentication software company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to develop solutions for government, enterprise partners, and peer-to-peer markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Malta.

T Stamp’s AI-powered solutions leverage biometric science, cryptography, and data mining to deliver identity and trust predictions, protect sensitive user information, and extend the reach of digital services through global accessibility. The company’s solutions include converting biometric and other identifying data into an Irreversibly Transformed Identity Token that serves as a secure tokenized identity. T Stamp also offers solutions for privacy and data protection, document validation, identity verification, geolocation, duplicate detection, and biometric capture.

T Stamp’s solutions serve a variety of industries, including banking/fintech, humanitarian and development services, KYC/AML compliance, government and law enforcement, P2P transactions, social media, and sharing economy, and real estate, travel, and healthcare. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Overall, T Stamp’s mission is to provide secure and scalable identity authentication solutions that leverage AI and advanced technologies to protect user privacy and combat identity fraud.

This is a microcap stock with an extremely low market cap of $18 million, and should therefore be considered extremely speculative. 

MARPAI

Marpai, Inc. (MRAI) is a software company that specializes in developing and deploying artificial intelligence (AI) systems for the enterprise market. The company was founded in 2016 by a team of experienced entrepreneurs and AI researchers, including CEO and Co-founder Mark Sears.

Marpai’s platform, called “Cortex,” is designed to help businesses leverage AI to automate processes, extract insights from data, and improve decision-making. Cortex uses advanced machine learning algorithms to analyze large amounts of data and provide actionable insights to users.

The company has received funding from prominent venture capital firms, including Bain Capital Ventures, Crosslink Capital, and SVB Capital, among others. In May 2021, Marpai announced that it had raised $30 million in a Series A funding round led by M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, with participation from other investors.

Marpai has a range of customers across different industries, including finance, healthcare, and retail. The company’s solutions are used for a variety of applications, such as fraud detection, customer service automation, and supply chain optimization.

Overall, Marpai’s mission is to democratize AI and make it more accessible to businesses of all sizes, by providing a scalable and user-friendly platform for deploying AI solutions.

The stock is debt-free and quarterly revenue growth year-over-year was 28.8%. This is another microcap stock with an extremely low market cap of $40 million, and should therefore also be considered extremely speculative.

AI SUMMARY

According to Fortune Business Insights, “The Artificial Intelligence market is projected to grow from $387.45 billion in 2022 to $1394.30 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 20.1%.”

Just remember, that there are many ups and downs in new industries, and all the pure play stocks in this list should be considered speculative. Remember, no recommendations are expressed or implied. 

If you want to learn more about artificial intelligence, you should get the book Artificial Intelligence: What AI Is and How You Can Use It to Make Your Life Easier: A Guide to AI for Beginners, available in both paperback and Kindle.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written. Some of these stocks are very low cap and should therefore be considered extremely speculative. This article contains Amazon affiliate links whereby a small commission would be paid on any book sale through those links at no additional cost to you.

Online Meeting & Video Conferencing Stocks that Should Benefit from the Corona Virus

Please note that this is a sister publication of WallStreetNewsNetwork ( https://WStNN.com ) and eventually everything on this site will be transferred over there.

by Fred Fuld III

Businesses across the country have been changing their travel policies. Over the last several years, many companies with diverse geographical footprints have moved towards video conferencing instead of meetings in person, in order to save on travel, hotel, and car rental costs.

Now companies are stepping up their online meetings for the health and safety of their employees, due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

There are several companies that will benefit from this massive change in how company employees interact with other employees, vendors, customers, suppliers, and others.

One example is Cisco Systems (CSCO), the large hardware and software network company. The company owns the web conferencing applications WebEx and Jabber. However, these divisions are only a small part of Cisco’s business. In the last month, the stock has dropped by over 22%. It trades at 13.5 times trailing earnings, and pays a dividend yield of 3.9%.

In terms of the purer plays, there are a couple stocks to choose from. LogMeIn (LOGM) is a collaboration service company that owns the popular GoToMeeting product, along with Join.me. However, the company has agreed to be acquired for $4.3 billion by the private equity companies Francisco Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital Corp., with the closing taking place sometime this year.

Then there is Zoom Video Communications (ZM), the remote conferencing company which offers its Zoom conferencing product. The company is generating earnings but has a nosebleed high forward price to earnings ratio of 256.

Other companies in this industry are similar to Cisco, in that the video conferencing makes up a small portion of their business. These include Alphabet’s (GOOG) (GOOGL) Google Hangouts, Microsoft’s (MSFT) Skype and Teams, Adobe (ADBE) Connect, and RingCentral (RNG).

Let’s hope the Coronavirus is eliminated quickly. But in the meantime, at least we have a way of communicating with each other without meeting in person.

Disclosure: Author owns MSFT.

Try the Warren Buffett-style Stock Analyzer for FREE!

Top Dividend Stocks
Top 100 Dividend Stocks, Ex-dividend Ratings, High Yield Ratings, Monthly Reports And More

The Yummies are Causing the All-Time Stock Market Highs

Many have wondered why the stock market continues to make all-time highs, almost every day. This exceptional rise may be due to the Yummies, the Young Upwardly Mobile Millennials. Yes, the Millennials, also known as Generation Y. Many traits have been ascribed to this generation, but you don’t ever hear the members referred to as being invetor-oriented.

So let’s look at the facts. Legg Mason Global Asset Management, the 20th largest asset manager in the world, produced the 2017 Global Investment Survey, and the Summary of U.S. Results are very enlightening.

For example, did you know that Millennials invest more in non-cash investments than the Generation X or the Baby Boomers? As a matter of fact, 77% of Yummies apply their funds toward these assets, versus 75% for Gen x and 69% for Baby Boomers.

Let’s look at some definitions before continuing. Legg mason consideres Millennials to be between the ages of 18 and 35, Gen X at age 36 to 52, with Baby Boomers ranging from 53 to 71 years old.

Some other interesting factoids about the Yummies. They invest three times as much as Boomers in non-traditional investments. Plus, a far greater percentage of Yummies put their money into investment real estate than the Baby Boomers.

But what is most amazing is the fact that 11% of the Yummies invest in gold and precious metals versus only 7% of the Gen Xers and a measly 2% for the Baby Boomers.

When the respondents were asked which investment categories they believe offer the best opportunities over the next 12 months, 46% of the Yummies said domestic stocks, with Gen X and Boomers closely agreeing, both at 42%. International stocks came in second as an investment opportunity in the opinion of the Millennials.

Finally, 87% of Yummies have saivings, investments, or both but only 81% of Boomers have these assets, and just 75% of Millennials.

Many wonder why the FAANG stocks, Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google (GOOG), continue to rise. So now you know. If you are wondering who is driving up the price of stocks and cryptocurrency, you need look no further than the Yummies.

by Fred Fuld III

Disclosure: Author owns AAPL and AMZN.

Over 30 Virtual Reality Stocks - Which are the Purest Plays?

Virtual reality is the creation of an artificial environment that looks very realistic, through the use of computer technology. Virtual reality, or VR as it is commonly referred to, is one of the fastest growing industries in the areas of electronic gaming, entertainment, medical services, and military applications.

The key product utilized in the VR world is the headset, originally prohibitively expensive, but currently dropping in price. As a matter of fact, you can buy a D-scope Pro Google Cardboard 3D Virtual Reality Kit for less than $20.

Historically, one might consider the stereoscope as the first step towards virtual reality. It was invented in the 1800's and consisted of a viewer which allowed the left and right eyes to view two separate but identical pictures, giving a three dimensional effect.

The more modern version is the View-Master, created in 1939, which gave the users the same effect but gave the ability to click through a series of pictures.

Of course, Oculus is considered to be one of the largest virtual reality technology companies, with its popular Oculus Rift, a virtual reality head-mounted display for video gaming. Mark Zuckerberg saw the writing on the wall and Facebook ended up paying $2 billion for the company in 2014.

Many other companies are involved in virtual reality and augmented reality, such as Adobe (ADBE), Alphabet/Google (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), and Sony (SNE), but it is currently only a small part of their business. A list of over 30 virtual reality and augmented reality stocks can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

However, although there are no truly pure plays, there are a few smaller companies where the VR business can bring a substantial amount of money to their bottom line.

One example is Immersion (IMMR) which is working on force feedback for virtual reality. Force feedback, also called haptic technology and kinesthetic communication, is the creation of the sense of touch to the user, through the use of vibrations or motions.

Immersion is one of the leaders in haptic technology. The stock has a nosebleed high trailing price to earnings ratio of 901, but a more reasonable forward P/E of 26. The company is debt free and has $2.11 in cash per share.

Kopin (KOPN) develops, makes, and markets virtual and augmented reality gaming, training and simulation products. The company is currently generating negative earnings but is debt free with $1.42 in cash per share.

Microvision (MVIS) makes PicoP scanning technology for three-dimensional sensing and image capture. This company, like Kopin, also generates negative earnings, but is also debt free. It has 22 cents in cash per share. On the positive side, Macrovision's quarterly revenues jumped 311% year over year.

These three companies are small cap, and should therefore be considered very speculative. Many other VR stocks can be found at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Hopefully a virtual reality stock will make your profits a reality.

By Stockerblog.com

Disclosure: Author owned AAPL and MSFT at the time the article was written.

Modern picture courtesy of Pixabay.

The Yahoo Annual Meeting

Me and Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!

I have attended a lot of annual shareholder meetings over the last several years when they are located within a reasonable driving distance, including the meetings for Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS), and Twitter (TWTR). Today, I attended the Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) annual meeting today, held at the Santa Clara Marriott in Santa Clara, California. I have been a shareholder of Yahoo! for many years.

One of the first things I noticed when driving into the parking lot was a bunch of protestors. I'm not exactly sure what they were protesting since the signs said something about Yahoo! and whales and ivory, which Yahoo! has nothing to do with.

There were almost 100 attendees at the meeting. After the introductions and formal business, Marissa Mayer, the CEO, first showed a video then went over the company's status, progress, and future. She first talked about how the company had over 400 feature launches and 30 major launches. She pointed out that there was an 8% increase year-over-year in GAAP revenues, and a 45% increase in Mavens (Mobile Video Native Social) GAAP revenues. The number of mobile users is in excess of 600 million, tripling the number from 2012.

Some of the goals she discussed were:
1. Play to Strengths to Increase User Engagement
2.  Drive Mavens Revenue Growth
3. Simplify the Business to Improve Execution
4. Efficiently Align Resources

The company is selling off over 4,000 non-strategic patents, exiting six offices around the world, and reducing workforce by 15% by the end of 2016.

Mayer mentioned that Yahoo! now has 1 billion users, one of only three companies to reach this level, the other two being Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOGL).

The meeting ended with a question and answer session.

You can see the entire annual meeting here:



Disclosure: Author owns YHOO, AAPL, DIS, and TWTR,

How to Invest Like a Billionaire

Have you ever wondered how the richest people in the world became so rich? In many cases, it is due to one stock, often for a company they founded. If the stock made them rich, why not you?

On March 21 of this year, Forbes Magazine came out with the 2015 Billionaires Edition, which contains a list of the richest people on the planet.

Although, many of these billionaires may own stocks in several companies, there is usually only one company that put them on the billionaire map. The following is a list of the richest people and the stock that made them rich.

Bill Gates

1. Bill Gates, Microsoft (MSFT)

2. Amancio Ortega, Inditex (ITX.MC)

3. Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA)

4. Carlos Slim Helu, América Móvil (AMX) (AMOV)

5. Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com (AMZN)

6. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook (FB)

Warren Buffett

7. Larry Ellison, Oracle (ORCL)

8. Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg L.P. (private)

9. and 10. Charles & David Koch, Koch Industries (private)

11. Liliane Bettencourt, L'Oreal (LRLCY)

12. and 13. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google (GOOG) (GOOGL)

14. Bernard Arnault, LVMH (LVMUY) (LVMHF)

If you like interesting stock lists like this, make sure to check out many of the free lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.


Book now available: Buying Dividends Revised and Expanded

Book now available: Stock Market Trivia Makes a Great Gift!

What Stocks the Presidential Candidates Own

This has probably been the wildest election year in the history of the United States. What makes it interesting from a financial standpoint is that the candidates file an OGE Form 278 Public Financial Disclosure Report. By seeing what they own, maybe you can glean what will happen to these stocks if they get elected. Here are the investment holdings as of the candidates' latest filings.

Hillary Clinton (Democrat)

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton has a couple of Northwestern Mutual cash value whole life insurance policies, plus a universal life policy through AIG (AIG). She also has over $5,000,000 in cash in a J.P Morgan (JPM) account. In addition, she owns over $5,000,000 of the Vanguard 500 Index Fund (VFINX).

And that's basically it in terms of investment assets. However, she has received millions of dollars in honorariums from numerous companies, many of which are publicly traded, such as eBay (EBAY), Qualcomm (QCOM), and Salesforce.com (CRM).

Donald Trump (Republican)

Donald Trump

Donald Trump's form seems to go on forever, pages and pages of stock holdings. Instead of listing every one of them (around 600 listings), I've decided to list just a few of the stocks that he owns.

Agrium
AT&T (T)
Bank of Montreal
CenturyLink
Freeport-McMoran
General Electric (GE)
GlaxoSmithKline
Halliburton
International Paper
Mosaic
Pepsico (PEP)
Raytheon
Seadrill
Transocean
Verizon (VZ)
Wal Mart (WMT)
Apple (AAPL)
Caterpillar (CAT)
VISA
Gilead
Waste Management
Yahoo
Amgen
Philip Morris
UPS
MasterCard
Pfizer
Amazon (AMZN)
Costco
Disney (DIS)
Google (GOOGL)
Microsoft (MSFT)
Nike (NKE)
and the list goes on and on

Bernie Sanders (Democrat)

Bernie Sanders

It appears that Bernie Sanders doesn't own any stocks or investments. However, his wife owns over a dozen VALIC mutual funds. She also owns four Vanguard funds, each amounting to somewhere between $1,000 and $15,000 each.

Gary Johnson (Libertarian)

Gary Johnson

The financial statement for Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate and former Governor of New Mexico, is not as up-to-date as the other three candidates. He owns lots of real estate including interests in motels and office buildings. In addition, he owns over 509,000 shares of Cannabis Sativa Inc. (CBDS).

If you want to see the real forms, you can check them out at OpenSecrets.org.

If you like interesting stock lists like this, be sure to check out many of the free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com

The ABCs of Google Using the XYZ Domain

In case you haven't heard, there is a relatively new top level domain that is starting to become popular, and is called .XYZ. This is in addition to the common ones, such as .COM, .ORG, .and NET, and even the country domains and exotic domains such as .CO, .LY, ME, .XXX, and .TRAVEL. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of these domains.

Well, Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) has taken the lead with the .XYZ domain, by registering ABC.XYZ. Why ABC you might ask?

Google is creating a new parent company called Alphabet and will become a publicly traded entity. According to Larry Page on the Alphabet website:

"Alphabet Inc. will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity and all shares of Google will automatically convert into the same number of shares of Alphabet, with all of the same rights. Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet. Our two classes of shares will continue to trade on Nasdaq as GOOGL and GOOG."

Stocks that the Billionaires Own

Last month, Forbes Magazine published its Richest People in America issue which ranked the top 400 wealthiest people in the United States. Investors might want to take a look at what stocks the billionaires own, to get some stock purchasing ideas. It made them rich, maybe they will make you rich. Here is a list of some of the wealthiest Americans and the stocks they own.

Bill Gates - Microsoft (MSFT)

Warren Buffett - Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) (BRK-A)

Larry Ellison - Oracle (ORCL)

Christy, Jim, Alice, and Robson Walton - Wal-Mart (WMT)

Mark Zuckerberg - Facebook (FB)

Sheldon Adelson - Las Vegas Sands (LVS)

Larry Page - Google (GOOG)

Sergey Brin - Google (GOOG)

Jeff Bezos - Amazon (AMZN)

Carl Icahn - Icahn Enterprises (IEP)

Steve Ballmer - Microsoft (MSFT)

What is interesting about this list, is that most of the people on it started a business which is now a publicly traded company, which made many investors wealthy who invested at the beginning. If you like interesting stock lists like this, check out the stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Italy PM Visited Tech Execs: Should We Be Looking at Italian Stocks?

Last week, the Prime Minister of Italy, Matteo Renzi, visited the top executives at Google (GOOGL), Yahoo (YHOO), and Twitter (TWTR), including Dick Costolo, Marissa Mayer and Larry Page. He also met with the Italian heads of startups.

Comparing the iShares MSCI Italy ETF (EWI) to the S&P 500, you would find that the Italy stocks have underperformed the S&P by over five percentage points. Do you think it is time for Italy to catch up?

Eyeglasses

One of the most famous Italian companies is Luxottica  (LUX), the largest eyeglass manufacturer in the world with more than 80% of the market. The company has even been featured on 60 Minutes a couple times. The stock trades at  33.6 times trailing earnings and 23.8 times forward earnings. Quarterly earnings went up by 11.0% on a 2.1% rise in revenues. The stock pays a yield of  1.3%.

Power

ENI (E), which was lucky enough to get one of the one-letter stock symbols, is in the energy, gas and power, and chemicals industries. The stock has a 12.7 price to earnings ratio and a forward PE of 13.9. Earnings for the latest quarter spiked by 139% on a slight drop in sales. The company pays a fat dividend of 4.7%.

Furniture

A more speculative stock is Natuzzi (NTZ) which make upholstered furniture, both leather and fabric. The stock trades for slightly above two dollars a share. Revenues were down slightly and earnings were negative for the latest quarter.

 For a free list of Italian stocks, which includes the price to earnings ratio and yield, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Ciao!

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written and has no plans to do so in the next 72 hours.

By Stockerblog.com