Dear Reader,

We were somewhere in Delaware, stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic…

Miles from the next rest stop, my 5-year-old son suddenly howled that he had to go.

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Special Report

Can Analog Devices Really Hit $400 This Year?

Authored by Thomas Hughes. Originally Published: 2/18/2026. 

Key Points

• Analog Devices has a strengthening tailwind from end-market normalization and data center demand.
• Guidance is of “wow” quality and is likely to be cautious.
• Analysts are lifting price targets, pointing to fresh highs this year.
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Analog Devices’ (NASDAQ: ADI) share price could top $400 this year, supported by an outlook strengthened by its fiscal Q1 2026 earnings report.

End-market normalization is becoming a robust tailwind as AI drives datacenter and broader semiconductor demand. For ADI investors, this implies sustained, accelerating revenue growth, wider margins, and stronger cash flow to support capital returns.

Analog Devices Reports Fourth Quarter of Accelerating Growth: Guidance Wows

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Analog Devices saw a strong quarter, with growth across all end markets. The company reported $3.16 billion in net revenue, a 30.6% year-over-year increase that outpaced consensus by 130 basis points. By segment, Industrial and Communications (which includes the data center business) led with gains of 38% and 63%, respectively.

Automotive was the weakest link, rising 8%, but it is expected to strengthen over time. The Consumer segment grew an impressive 27%.

Margins improved sharply. GAAP margins widened materially, and adjusted margins improved significantly: adjusted gross margin rose 240 basis points and adjusted operating margin increased 500 basis points, helping drive a 52% increase in adjusted earnings and robust free cash flow.

Operating cash flow improved 43% on a trailing 12-month basis, while free cash flow rose 39% to more than $4.5 billion.

Robust free cash flow is critical because it enables reinvestment and capital returns while maintaining a healthy balance sheet.

Guidance was the market mover. The company’s forecast for Q2 revenue and earnings came in well above consensus even at the low end of its range — implying roughly a 500-basis-point beat at minimum and more than a 1,000-basis-point beat at the high end. Given the quarter’s results and clear momentum, ADI is likely to perform at the high end of its guidance range, if not exceed it.

Analog Devices’ Capital Return Is Moving Toward Dividend Aristocrat Status

Analog Devices’ capital return program is notable, particularly its history of dividend increases. The company announced its 22nd consecutive annual dividend increase with its fiscal Q1 release, maintaining a low-double-digit distribution CAGR and putting it on track to become a Dividend Aristocrat by the end of the decade. (The company’s fiscal year does not align with the calendar year.)

Inclusion in the Dividend Aristocrats index matters because it would likely increase buy-and-hold ownership and reduce volatility. For now, the dividend appears safe: the payout ratio is below 50% of expected earnings and the yield was about 1.15% at the pre-release close.

Share repurchases are equally significant. Q1 buybacks reduced the share count by about 1.4% year over year and are expected to continue at a similar pace. There are no balance-sheet red flags: cash and current assets increased, long-term debt declined, and equity remained steady. Leverage appears manageable — cash is up 16% year-to-date, long-term debt is roughly 2.5 times the cash balance, and about 0.2 times equity.

Analysts’ Trends Drive Analog Devices’ Market Sentiment

The initial analysts’ response to ADI’s FQ1 report was bullish, continuing a recent trend. Price-target increases from Stifel Nicolaus and Cantor Fitzgerald pushed the stock toward the high end of the target range; Cantor’s $400 target sits at the top and implies roughly 18% upside from the pre-release high, which could be reached before the second half of the year.

MarketBeat data shows strong analyst coverage: 29 analysts tracked (up from last year), a firming Moderate Buy consensus, and rising price targets.

Institutional activity also looks constructive. Although institutional selling rose over the past 12 months, quarterly flows remained net bullish through the year and continued into early 2026.

In the first six weeks of 2026, institutions bought about $1.50 for every $1 in sales — a net tailwind for the stock given its roughly 87% institutional ownership rate.

Short interest does not appear to be a material risk. Short interest is low, below 2%, and declining as of early February.

Analog Devices Rockets Higher on Strong Results

Analog Devices’ stock jumped more than 5% in premarket trading following the release. The move reflects the market’s surprise and suggests the rally could continue. The main risk is profit-taking, which could cap near-term gains and lead to consolidation or a short-term pullback before the stock resumes its ascent to fresh highs.

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Special Report

3 Insurance Stocks Hitting 52-Week Highs With More Room to Run

Authored by Dan Schmidt. Originally Published: 2/10/2026. 

Key Points

• Despite markets being near all-time highs, investors have begun rotating out of tech and into safer sectors. 
• Consumer staples and industrials are popular havens for risk-averse investors, but the insurance industry is also starting to look promising due to interest rate tailwinds.
• These three insurance stocks recently broke out to new 52-week highs and appear to have more room yet to run.
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Trade rotation has been the big stock market story so far in 2026. AI hyperscalers are still allocating significant capital toward their goals, but these ambitions aren’t being rewarded as they were in previous years. Instead, money has flowed into more defensive sectors such as consumer staples and industrials as investors digest weak U.S. economic data. Major indices remain within a hair of all-time highs, but this dispersion has given some participants pause since a broadening market can sometimes hide underlying weakness. Today, we’ll look at one industry where the current market environment is actually improving the long-term outlook: insurance.

Interest Rate Tailwinds and Improved Efficiency Boost the Insurance Industry

Insurance stocks lagged in 2025, but several underlying tailwinds point to potential outperformance in 2026. First, monetary policy takes time to work through the insurance industry. Unlike the tech sector, where borrowing costs are always front of mind, insurers don’t fully feel the impact of higher rates until their bond portfolios start rolling over. After many years of near-zero rates, insurers are seeing net investment income (NII) expand as they reinvest premium pools into higher-yielding assets. The Federal Reserve has begun easing rates again, but those higher-yielding bonds will continue to benefit insurers until portfolios are gradually rolled into newer, lower-yielding securities.

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Other tailwinds benefiting the insurance industry include:

• Benign weather: Despite devastating wildfires in California and flooding in Texas, no hurricanes made landfall in the continental U.S. in 2025, which limited catastrophe payouts and boosted underwriting margins.
• Pricing power: Insurers have passed premium increases to both commercial and individual policyholders with minimal pushback. Demand for coverage remains strong amid rising litigation and vehicle repair costs, even as underwriting standards have tightened.
• AI efficiency: There’s an AI story here, too. Insurers have implemented several tools, like CAPE Analytics and Ecopia AI, to deliver personalized, real-time risk assessments. For example, home insurers can instantly review property conditions, surrounding vegetation, drainage patterns and climate risk to give more precise policy recommendations and streamline underwriting.

3 Insurance Stocks Breaking Out to New 52-Week Highs

Defensive areas like consumer staples have been outperforming lately, and insurance stocks are another place where risk-averse investors have started parking cash. These three large insurers quietly reached new 52-week highs in February, and the rallies show few signs of abating.

Travelers Companies: Big Earnings Beat Leads 2026 Tailwinds

Investors in Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) have several reasons for optimism in 2026. The company recorded unusually low catastrophe losses in 2025, which helped boost its Q4 2025 earnings far beyond analyst expectations. Travelers exceeded earnings per share (EPS) ($11.13 vs. $8.34 expected) and revenue ($12.43 billion vs. $11.13 billion expected) projections, and its combined ratio of 80.2% highlights improvements in underwriting efficiency. The company also authorized an additional $5 billion in share repurchases and is prepared to raise its dividend for the 22nd consecutive year.

The stock has been in an uptrend for most of the last 12 months, but the recent breakout has occurred with extra velocity. A bullish MACD crossover has boosted upward momentum, and the stock has strong support at the 200-day simple moving average (SMA). Going forward, investors will be watching whether the 50-day SMA becomes the new support level, which would imply that this bullish momentum has longer-term potential.

Aflac: Dividend Aristocrat Finally Breaks Out

Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) has been range-bound for much of the past year, but the company is finally breaking out following its Q4 2025 earnings report, which showed growth in U.S. premiums and year-over-year expansion in adjusted EPS. More importantly, Aflac remains a consistent capital compounder, announcing another round of buybacks and reporting more than $300 million in dividend payments in Q4. Aflac has raised its dividend for 44 consecutive years, and dividends have grown at a 13% annualized rate over the past five years.

The stock’s previous all-time high was finally surpassed in early February after roughly 15 months of range-bound trading. While Aflac’s earnings weren’t as strong as Travelers’, the breakout appears to have conviction, supported by confirmations on the MACD and relative strength index (RSI). A sturdy dividend plus upside potential in the stock is an attractive combination for risk-averse investors.

The Hartford: New Highs Supported by Earnings and Investment Income

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: HIG) also benefited from a muted catastrophe season and expanding net investment income. The company’s strong Q4 2025 earnings were driven by a nearly 15% year-over-year increase in investment income and 8% premium growth in the Business Insurance segment. After the report, analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on the stock to a Street-high $165, implying nearly 15% upside from current levels.

Like Travelers, The Hartford is signaling a technical breakout on the daily chart. The 200-day SMA has served as support for much of the past year, and a bullish MACD cross now confirms the latest momentum swing.

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