Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 01/28/2025

What’s going wild? Meta’s (NASDAQ: META) got the mettle in 2025’s AI-obsessed market. Fortinet’s (NASDAQ: FTNT) has been choppy, but it’s got an edge in a competitive space. 

Far more mild: Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) drops on weaker-than-expected guidance, while MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) drops on bitcoin uncertainty. Here’s what we’re tracking in the market right now: 

📈 Want more? Check out the biggest winners and biggest losers on WSZ. 

🔥 HOT: Don’t let Fortinet’s (NASDAQ: FTNT) choppy trading of late fool you; the California-based cybersecurity company is a sleeper pick early in 2025. FTNT is only up 1.6% YTD, but it’s returned an impressive 48.9% year-over-year in an increasingly competitive space. The company has recently made inroads in the finance and healthcare sectors, which give it new avenues for growth that could propel it past its competitors. What’s more, FTNT has an airtight balance sheet and substantial momentum from positive word-of-mouth. We’re excited about what the company could do in 2025 and give it an A Zen Rating and a Strong Buy recommendation.

🥶 NOT: Shares of Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) dropped by 7.5% on weaker-than-expected guidance for the first quarter during its latest earnings call. The company’s EPS and revenue numbers for the fourth quarter of 2024 were both in line with expectations, but its outlook for 2025 painted a picture of narrowing margins and evaporating demand. TXN is now down 15.8% since its 2024 high point and has lost around 2% since the start of the year. On longer time horizons, TXN is doing alright, returning 8.3% over the last year. We give TXN a C Zen Rating and a Hold recommendation for now.

🔥 HOT: Meta’s (NASDAQ: META) stock rose by 1.7% on Friday as the battle of who can invest the most in AI technology and infrastructure continues. Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta plans to invest between $60 and $65 billion in 2025, a significant uptick from the $38 to $40 billion it allocated for 2024. Meta continues to be a leader in cutting-edge AI research and virtual reality tech and has gained 66.0% over the last year. The company’s continued slow but steady growth and solid financials earn it a Zen Rating of B and a Buy recommendation.

🥶 NOT: MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) lost 5.2% on Friday as fears continue to grow over the proposed tax on unrealized gains. The company has amassed an enormous $48 billion position in Bitcoin over the last several years, and around $18 billion of it is unrealized gains. If the tax on unrealized gains comes to pass, companies like MSTR are going to take a major hit as they would be forced to sell a chunk of their position to cover the tax burden. Even without this problem, we’re not very bullish on MSTR right now. We give the company an F Zen Rating due to its tenuous financial position, stagnating growth, and the largely negative sentiment surrounding it right now.

🔥 HOT: A massive "Tariff Superboom" is already sending shockwaves through boardrooms across America. - CEOs are aligning with President Trump's bold vision for economic independence and the Wall Street Journal reported "This U.S. Industry is Pushing Trump for Even More Tariffs". The Wall Street Journal reported "This U.S. Industry is Pushing Trump for Even More Tariffs." Smart investors know these "counter-intuitive" opportunities can deliver the biggest payoffs. Want to know a company that could lead this Tariff Superboom? Here's the full name and ticker symbol.

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