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.

1423 ET - The sell-off of Western Digital and Seagate Technology shares after a Nikkei report about rival hard-disk drive maker Toshiba boosting its production creates a buying opportunity, Morgan Stanley analysts write in a note. After checks with HDD industry contacts, the analysts write that the extent of Toshiba's supply expansion was overstated, with an aggressive timeline and unrealistic market share targets. Their checks also indicated that Toshiba doesn't seem to be targeting market share gains through pricing, and that neither Western Digital nor Seagate intend to respond with incremental capacity expansions of their own. Meanwhile, HDD demand is accelerating, with favorable pricing for manufacturers. "We'd be aggressive buyers of STX and WDC as Friday's news created an opportunity, not a change in thesis," the analysts write. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1350 ET - Manufacturers of DRAM memory technology like Micron Technology and Sandisk aren't at too much risk even as AI compute companies look for workarounds to the DRAM shortage, Morgan Stanley analysts write in a note. They cite conversations with business leaders including Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about options for working around the DRAM bottleneck, including "de-speccing," or reducing memory capacity on some products. But this is all taking place against a supply-constrained backdrop, the analysts write, adding that the main risk to the memory cycle is an overall deceleration in AI itself. Barring that, the demand for memory will prove resilient, they say, and even if customers "despec" in the near term due to supply constraints, "more supply will be very easily absorbed as we respec to higher levels." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)

1105 ET - Bitcoin's strong year-over-year returns are more linked to single days of strong moves, according to Zach Pandl of Grayscale in a note. Pandl says removing bitcoin's five best trading days reduces its three-year return from 225% to 95%, with the return falling to 27% without its 10 best days. If you remove the top fifteen days, it turns a three-year gain into an 11% loss. By comparison, removing the Nasdaq's fifteen best days reduces its cumulative return from 109% to 21%. "Given BTC's return and volatility profile, investors looking for long-term capital appreciation can avoid trying to time the market and instead seek consistent, long-term exposure to the asset," Pandl says. Bitcoin is down 0.2% to $85,610, while ethereum falls 0.2% to $2,701. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)

0906 ET - BT Group's acquisition of TalkTalk and PlatformX Communications is positive and likely to be approved by the U.K. government, Berenberg analysts write. "The U.K. government will decide on the deal before the end of October, but given the lack of alternatives we would expect it to be approved," they say. The analysts say the deal is positive for a number of reasons, including that it limits market and service disruption for customers, and avoids Openreach revenue and line losses. Berenberg has a buy rating on the stock and 3-pound target price. Shares are up 1.2% at 198.60 pence and 8% higher over the year to date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

0753 ET - Schneider Electric's $22.6 billion deal to buy PTC shouldn't raise major antitrust concerns, but politics could theoretically pose a threat, MKI Global Partners says. "PTC's software is widely used across the U.S. defense industrial base, and the buyer is French at a time when relations between Washington and Paris are poor, strained by disputes over Greenland, tariffs, digital regulation, the Middle East and other matters," MKI says. From an antitrust perspective, there is some overlap between Schneider and PTC's portfolios in industrial augmented reality software and electrical design software, but this is small and could be fixed with a sale, according to MKI. Schneider shares fall 9.8%, while PTC rises 37% in U.S. premarket trading. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0725 ET - Schneider Electric's proposed acquisition of Boston-based PTC marks the latest foray into software for a company that has shown repeated appetite for engineering-software assets, J.P. Morgan analysts say in a research note. "A completed deal would be a rare cross-border software transaction amid a marked sector slowdown as companies assess AI's implications for their business models," the analysts say. The $22.6 billion deal far eclipses the French industrial group's $11 billion purchase of Aveva in 2023 and its $3.1 billion agreement to acquire Cognite in June, the analysts add. For PTC, the price of the deal is in the same region as what was speculated last year with Autodesk, according to JPM. Schneider shares fall 9.9%, while PTC's surge 37% in U.S. premarket trading. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0712 ET - Schneider Electric's proposed $22.6 billion acquisition of U.S. software maker PTC could have strategic merits, even if investors balk at the price, J.P. Morgan analysts say in a research note. "Large-scale [mergers and acquisitions are] typically unwelcome in the first instance by European investors, although Schneider Electric's deals have typically proven strategically astute, if debatable from a valuation standpoint," the analysts say. PTC moves Schneider's own Aveva to the front rank of design and lifecycle software from the periphery, they add. The French group's industrial-automation division--where Aveva resides--required some kind of action to reaffirm its position relative to peers and time will tell whether PTC serves that purpose, JPM says. Schneider shares fall 9.9%, while PTC is up 38% in U.S. premarket trading. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0517 ET - Chinese brands have been major beneficiaries of Asean's EV transition, Bernstein analysts say in a note. Technology and cost leadership, combined with a growing number of competitively priced EVs, have driven adoption, they add. BYD has quickly emerged as the region's EV leader, capturing 26% of Asean EV sales, they say. Nonetheless, Bernstein maintains its cautious outlook for the auto sector overall. The reduction in subsidies has slowed market momentum, following strong demand pulled forward into 2024 and 2025 and a high base of comparison, they say. Berstein rates BYD and Xiaomi at outperform.(jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0459 ET - Schneider Electric is buying U.S. software maker PTC at a reasonable valuation, but the deal leaves the French engineering giant more exposed to investor concerns about the impact of AI on industrial-software assets, RBC Capital Markets' Mark Fielding and Abigail Yee say. The valuations of industrial-software companies have been under pressure due to AI worries, and Schneider's exposure to this concern will grow after the deal, the analysts say in a research note. Moreover, the integration might be complicated, and creating a software and AI portfolio won't be simple either, they add. The debt Schneider will take on might reignite prior market concerns about the company, according to RBC. Schneider shares fall 9.2%. PTC climbs 25% in U.S. premarket trading.(adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0418 ET - ByteDance dominates China's AI short-drama value chain, from video generation tools to distribution platforms, Nomura analysts say in a research note, citing industry experts. AI short dramas cost roughly 50%-90% less to produce than live-action versions, the industry experts estimate. ByteDance's Seedance is the most widely used AI video-generation tool for short dramas in China, they say. However, it costs more than rivals such as Kuaishou's Kling and Alibaba's Wan, one expert says. Studios increasingly turn to cheaper alternatives for less demanding shots to keep costs down, the experts say. ByteDance also leads in distribution with its Hongguo platform ranking as China's largest for short dramas, the analysts note. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)

0309 ET - The artificial intelligence investment opportunity is expanding beyond semiconductors, with demand growing for optical interconnects, advanced materials and power systems, Allianz Global Investors says in a note. While inflation remains elevated in many parts of the world and geopolitical risks continue to warrant caution, the overall investment backdrop remains constructive for investors willing to remain selective and diversified, the asset manager says. In Asia, investors can find opportunities in hardware suppliers and China's AI ecosystem among other themes. Allianz remains overweight equities, with the strongest conviction in emerging markets then Japan, U.S. equities, and Europe, it says.