International Business Machines (IBM) topped a list of patent assignees in the United States for a 25th straight year in 2017, data by analytics firm IFI Claims showed.
IBM shares closed higher for a sixth consecutive trading session on Tuesday. The stock edged up 0.22% ($0.36) to $163.83, after touching an intraday high at $164.53, or a price level not seen since April 18th 2017 ($171.69).
In the week ended on January 7th the shares of the tech giant added 5.91% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked a second consecutive period of gains. It has also been the strongest performance since the week ended on October 22nd.
The stock has extended its advance to 6.79% so far during the current month, following a 0.36% dip in December. The latter has been a second straight month of losses.
For the entire past year, the shares of the NYSE-listed tech company retreated 7.57% following a 20.61% surge in 2016.
IBM had a record 9 043 patents during the past year, out of which 1 900 were used in cloud-related technology, 1 900 in artificial intelligence and 1 200 in cybersecurity.
IBM has already reached a milestone of 100 000 patents in the United States that were issued between 1993 and 2017.
“For the past 25 years, IBM’s patent leadership has changed the way the world works with advancements critical to the modern era of computing”, Ginni Rometty, IBMs chairman, president and CEO, was quoted as saying in a press release.
“Today, nearly half of our patents are pioneering advancements in AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, blockchain and quantum computing – and all are aimed at helping our clients create smarter businesses.”
According to IFI Claims, other companies ranked within the top 10 US patent assignees include Samsung Electronics Co Ltd with 5 837 patents, Canon KK with 3 285, Intel Corp with 3 023, LG Electronics Inc with 2 701, Qualcomm Inc with 2 628, Google LLC with 2 457, Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC with 2 441 and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) Ltd with 2 425.
According to CNN Money, the 21 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding IBM’s stock price, have a median target of $160.00, with a high estimate of $200.00 and a low estimate of $125.00. The median estimate is a 2.34% decrease compared to the closing price of $163.83 on January 9th.
The same media also reported that 16 out of 27 surveyed investment analysts had rated IBM’s stock as “Hold”, while 7 – as “Buy”. On the other hand, 3 analysts had recommended selling the stock.
Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels
With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the IBM stock are presented as follows:
R1 – $163.96
R2 – $164.10
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $164.23
R4 (Long Breakout) – $164.63
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $165.09
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $165.29
S1 – $163.70
S2 – $163.56
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $163.43
S4 (Short Breakout) – $163.03
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $162.57
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $162.37
By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for International Business Machines (IBM) are presented as follows:
Central Pivot Point – $159.64
R1 – $165.75
R2 – $169.00
R3 – $175.11
R4 – $181.21
S1 – $156.39
S2 – $150.28
S3 – $147.03
S4 – $143.77
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