The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

1418 ET - Everpure's boost to its fiscal 2028 guidance above Wall Street's consensus may actually be conservative, Bank of America analysts say in a note, raising their price target on the stock to $180 from $150. Everpure guided for FY28 revenue about 10% higher than consensus and operating income around 40% higher, assuming no new hyperscale customers beyond the two already doing business with the company. Everpure has an "idiosyncratic opportunity" to expand its market toward hyperscale and neocloud customers, the analysts say. "We see relative upside across both the core business (25% growth) and implied New Business ($1.6bn), based on our assumptions for overall new business monetization rates," they say. Everpure surges 13% at $124.97, on track for an all-time closing high. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1407 ET - Litecoin remains up over 21%, at nearly $74. Reasons behind the uptick, the largest among major cryptocurrencies, are unclear. "I don't see one clear fundamental catalyst that fully explains the move," says Lacie Zhang of Bitget Wallet. "It looks more like a combination of unusually strong network activity, a technical breakout, and a short squeeze." Nearly $5 million in LTC positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass--with $2.2 billion in volume traded in that timeframe, up 144%. The uptick brings the token to its highest level since January. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1233 ET - Litecoin is up 21.2% to $73.78, bringing the altcoin back to its highest level since mid-January. Trading volume has more than doubled over the past 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass, with over $2B traded in that time period. Litecoin is one of the oldest altcoins that still has an active blockchain, and enacted privacy features in 2022 similar to other privacy coins like Zcash, which has had a strong year gaining 193% year-to-date. Litecoin remains down 3% year-to-date. Bitcoin is up 0.1% to $84,307, ethereum rises 0.4% to $2,682, and XRP is up 2.4% to $1.52. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

1136 ET - BlackBerry's cautious trim to its Secure Communications segment outlook is precautionary, says CEO John Giamatteo. BlackBerry revised its full-year revenue forecast for the segment to $260 million to $270 million and adjusted Ebitda outlook to be between $50 million and $58 million, down from $270 million to $280 million, and $57 million to $65 million, respectively. Giamatteo pointed to broader geopolitical uncertainty and U.S.-Canada trade tensions, noting that much of the segment relies on government contracts. "We just felt putting a little bit of caution into the forecast was the right thing to do versus surprising Wall Street," he says, but that "we haven't seen a material impact or lost deals." (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

1045 ET - Bitcoin is up 0.7%, managing to mitigate pressure coming from higher Treasury yields. After posting a big surge earlier this week, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general got squeezed due largely to the stronger U.S. dollar and those higher yields. "With global bond yields at elevated levels, non-yielding assets like bitcoin remain under increased pressure," says Inki Cho of Exness in a note. "Looking ahead, the outlook increasingly hinges on whether bond markets find some relief." Calming of the fighting in the Middle East may be a key step in providing that relief, Cho says. Ethereum is up 0.8%, XRP climbs 2.8%, and solana is up 2%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

0932 ET - Trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada are weighing on BlackBerry's Secure Communications segment. In a call with investors, CFO Tim Foote defines the trade tensions between the two neighbors as "already dynamic" and that its substantial footprint with the U.S. government is being "further complicated by recent geopolitical developments." BlackBerry is revising the full year revenue forecast for Secure Communications segment to $260 million to $270 million and adjusted Ebitda outlook to be between $50 million and $58 million, down from $270 million to $280 million, and $57 million to $65 million, respectively. "We consider it appropriate to be cautious as we head into the second half," he says. Still, the company raised its full full-year targets on the back of strength in its embedded software unit, QNX. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0921 ET - Institutional demand for Bitcoin remains remarkably resilient despite some immediate pressures that have pulled it back from a recent rally, XS.com's Simon-Peter Massabni says in a note. Bitcoin is trading down after touching 8-month highs twice this week. The pullback reflects macroeconomic pressures, primarily a shift in interest rate expectations from the Federal Reserve's recent tightening, along with pessimism around the conflict in Iran, Massabni says. But net inflows for Bitcoin ETFs have surged, positioning the funds for their strongest weekly performance since October of last year, Massabni says. The heavy institutional buying establishes a firm price floor, he says. (dean.seal@wsj.com)

0813 ET - BlackBerry's embedded software division leads a beat-and-raise F2Q. The QNX division sees revenue grow 27% to $80.3 million, while adjusted gross margin rose 4 percentage points to 87%. CEO John Giamatteo calls it a record performance, and cites "strength in our core automotive business." And QNX still has more to give. He notes its first win for Alloy Kore in the quarter, its middleware software for commercial vehicle fleet hardware, "the largest design win in QNX history marks an important commercial milestone," and adds over $100 million to the QNX royalty backlog. The segment's performance drove total growth above expectations in 2Q, and anchors a full-year guidance raise. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0732 ET - EssilorLuxottica's new smart eyewear launches with Meta are a sign of confidence in growth opportunities and the group's ability to maintain leadership in the category, Equita SIM's Domenico Ghilotti says. The companies will launch new lines and models featuring artificial intelligence and intend to expand the category into other markets. "[EssilorLuxottica's] commercial response to the market's fears related to the growth opportunities of the category and the growing competition seems very clear and strong," the analyst writes in a research note. Shares in EssilorLuxottica are down 2%. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0708 ET - London-listed software group RELX is one of the few media companies well-placed to benefit from the rollout of consumer-focused AI agents, Bank of America's David Amira and Adrien de Saint Hilaire write. Agents like Meta's Muse can automatically make purchases on consumers' behalf and recommend different products, making it more likely consumers will switch providers of products like insurance and phone contracts more frequently. Around 15% of RELX's revenue comes from sales to insurance companies, with the majority of the insurance business based on one-off transactions, the analysts say. As a result, RELX would benefit from more consumers shopping around for insurance--something that "could prove a multiyear tailwind," for the company, they say. RELX shares slip 0.2%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0646 ET - EssilorLuxottica's new product launches with Meta should help increase consumer awareness, analysts at J.P. Morgan say in a note. The Franco-Italian eyewear group and the Facebook owner unveiled new glasses featuring artificial intelligence and revealed plans to expand into more markets. The launches, category expansions and new feature additions should be seen as positive for the smart glasses category, the analysts say. The new products could attract new consumers to the segment at both the higher end and the less expensive level, they add. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0643 ET - European classifieds stocks are falling over investor fears around competition from Meta's Muse AI agent, but the market reaction runs counter to what we know about Muse, Jefferies' Giles Thorne and Weng Lum Khoo write. Stocks like real estate online marketplaces Rightmove and Scout24 have fallen sharply following the successful release of Muse. Investors fear that AI agents will make online market intermediaries redundant. But rather than devaluing the sector, Muse should be seen as a positive for classifieds, the analysts write. Proprietary data and strong brand trust make the classifieds resilient, while agentic AI will make companies better. Rightmove and Scout24 fall 4.5% and 1.8% Thursday, after the pair dropped 3.4% and 5.2%, respectively, in the last session. Auto Trader drops 2.5%.