Early Look

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

U.S. futures are flat overnight, getting a small sentiment boost as oil prices extend recent declines, with Brent falling below $100 per barrel despite more tough talk from both the U.S. and Iran. Notwithstanding the crude oil price pullback in recent days, the US political pain is intensifying as midterm election races ramp up. At the same time, U.S. stock markets are once again knocking on the door of all-time highs as the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) posted a record close, but failed to eclipse the June 3^rd all-time highs. The PHLX semiconductor index (SOX) has surged over 14% the last 5 trading days since the Fed rate cut and the QQQ’s have spiked from lows of $700 to above $747 on Tuesday during this same stretch in what has been a remarkable rise in technology stocks. The S&P 500 index (SPX) is also around 1% from its all-time bests as Wall Street turns back to AI growth trade. President Trump and Chinese leader Xi are set to meet this week and are likely to discuss AI safety amid fears over increasingly capable autonomous models. U.S. and Chinese officials have floated an AI dialogue for national security-related incidents. Export controls on advanced Nvidia chips and claims of AI “distillation” remain major sticking points. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index remained closed for holiday for a third day as part of “Silver Week” and reopens tomorrow, the Shanghai Index fell -15 points to 3,936, and the Hang Seng Index dropped -253 points to 24,834. In Europe, the German DAX is down -105 points to 25,473, while the FTSE 100 is up 5 points to 10,715.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -185.14 points, or 0.36%, to 51,863.69
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 122.18 points, or 0.45%, to 27,244.28
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 14.56 points, or 0.51% to 2,889.92

• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Sept-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Services PMI, Sept-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Composite PMI, Sept-flash
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $70B in 5-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: FUL NEOV SFIX

• Bank America Global Healthcare Conference 2026, 9/22-9/23, in New York
• Benchmark Nuclear Summit, 9/23, in Knoxville, TN
• Bernstein 3rd Annual Healthcare Forum, 9/23-9/24, in New York, NY
• DA Davidson 25th Annual Diversified Industrials & Services Conference, 9/23-9/26, in Nashville, TN
• Deutsche Bank Private Software & AI Summit, 9/23 in New York
• Jefferies AI Summit, 9/22-9/23, in San Francisco, CA
• Sidoti Smallcap Conference, 9/23-9/24 (virtual)
• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX
• Truist Healthcare Technology & Digital Health West Coast Bus Tour, 9/23-9/24, in San Francisco, CA

• Michael Burry said he increased short positions in Micron (MU), Nebius (NBIS), the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), and Palantir (PLTR), describing the additions as being made “in some size.” He also added to QXO (QXO), Build-A-Bear Workshop (BBW), Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), Birkenstock (BIRK), and MercadoLibre (MELI), calling the latter five full positions.

• Royal Caribbean Group (RCL) said it had agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Caribbean resorts operator Sandals Resorts International for $3 billion, expanding the cruise company's presence in land-based vacation experiences.
• Six Flags Entertainment (FUN) shares rose modestly ahead after The Wall Street Journal reported last night that activist investor Jana Partners was pushing the theme-park company towards a sale.

• Spire Global (SPIR) awarded $33.2M NOAA contract for Satellite weather data to enhance weather forecasting; says contract potential total value of $66M if all options exercised.
• Voyager Technologies (VOYG) announces intention to offer $350M convertible Senior notes due 2032 and expects to grant option to purchase up to $52.50M additional notes.
• Worthington Enterprises (WOR) Q1 adj. EPS $0.82 vs. est. $0.75; sales $343.9Mm vs. est. $331.3Mm; adj. EBITDA $74.0Mm vs est $69.57Mm; trade & Specialty Solutions net sales rose 8.3% to $128.8M, while Building Performance Solutions sales increased 16.4% to $215.1M.

• Editas Medicine (EDIT) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim
• InnovAge (INNV) announces offering of 10M shares of common stock for holders.
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) is open to considering a direct NYSE listing, replacing the ADR structure U.S. investors use today. CEO told the FT a direct listing could help raise Novo’s U.S. profile, where it generates more than half its revenue.

• CGI Partners (GIB) with D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) to expand enterprise Quantum Computing adoption. CGI entered a strategic partnership with D-Wave Quantum to speed enterprise adoption of Quantum Computing.
• Meta (META) holds its Connect conference today at 7PM ET and is expected to show smart glasses with no camera, per Reuters, as the privacy backlash against face-worn AI devices builds.
• IonQ (IONQ) announced a major milestone in fault-tolerant quantum computing. Researchers demonstrated the development and successful testing of the industry's first end-to-end real-time quantum error correction decoder that runs on a single standard off-the-shelf central processing unit.
• Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel and raised tgt to $575 from $530 saying “open-weight model advancement has boosted management’s LLM-agnostic strategy” as Azure & Copilot keep scaling. The firm states it is increasingly comfortable with the company's ability to sustain mid/upper teens revenue growth.
• Qualcomm (QCOM) unveiled its newest Android phone chipsets, which will be tuned for on-device artificial intelligence and will compete with Apple’s (AAPL) A20 Pro in iPhones. The new chips, under the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 brand name, will be built on Taiwan Semi (TSM) 2-nanometer manufacturing process, and will be included in premium smartphones from companies including Motorola, Xiaomi and ZTE, Qualcomm said

Mid-Morning Look

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

U.S. stocks were mostly flat overnight after the Nasdaq 100 closed at a record and the S&P 500 remains not far off its record highs, but a bounce in oil prices and Treasury yields (10-yr back to 5.04% and the U.S. 2-year yield soars 7bps above 4.85%, a 2-year high) after stronger S&P Global PMI figures renewed concerns about higher interest rate concerns/inflation sending stocks lower. The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) posted a record close on Tuesday, but failed to eclipse the June 3rd all-time highs. The PHLX semiconductor index (SOX) has surged over 14% the last 5 trading days since the Fed rate cut and the QQQ’s have spiked from lows of $700 to above $747 on Tuesday during this same stretch in what has been a remarkable rise in technology stocks. But the rally has been very concentrated as half of Tuesday’s rise in the Nasdaq was attributable to four chipmaking companies: MU, SNDK, AMD and NVDA. Over the last week, the NDX is up 6.4% with half the gain is from FIVE STOCKS (MU, AMD, NVDA, INTC and META). Agentic proliferation remains the big theme around AI amid the Muse momentum (and META Connect keynote this evening) with the Street and financial press highlighting (and debating) early winners and losers. Energy prices remain a big deal as the proposal to ban US exports of diesel has gained traction in some corners of Congress and from the President…but the concept is also seeing broad pushback from analysts, economists, and industry officials. The American Petroleum Institute (API) argued export restrictions would wreak havoc on fuel markets, destabilize refinery operations, and create a global crisis that could ultimately pressure US prices higher. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a state visit today, with President Trump hosting a roster of US corporate leaders though no Chinese business delegation is expected. Gold and silver prices are dumping on spike in US dollar and Treasury yields while energy prices rebound after oil fell for last 5 days.

• Leisure sector: RCL said it had agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Caribbean resorts operator Sandals Resorts International for $3 billion, expanding the cruise company's presence in land-based vacation experiences. FUN shares edged higher after the WSJ reported that activist investor Jana Partners was pushing the theme-park company towards a sale. EXPE announced it would allow Muse to access its platform, permitting users to plan trips through Meta’s personal AI agent.
• Restaurant sector: MCD held Investor Day today saying they plan to raise operating margins, launch a new multi-year employee training program and spend billions of dollars supporting franchisees’ equipment and tech upgrades. The plans are part of the fast-food giant’s new growth strategy, called McDonald’s > NEXT. CBRL reported Q4 revs fell -2% y/y to $849.3M but topped consensus of $832.7M while EPS of $0.99 came in above y/y thanks in part to tariff refunds; guided 2027 revs $3.32B-$3.4B, in line with expectations and sees EBITDA of $180M-$200M above ests of $180M.
• Consumer Lending/Financial Services: Several Wall Street firms defended the sector, which declined sharply on Tuesday on renewed AI-disintermediation fears tied to Meta's Muse agent. Davidson said the sentiment driven sell off in names like EVER, QNST, TREE, MAX was overdone. The firm said When asked to find an auto policy, Muse routed to a third-party marketplace (Insurify) rather than returning quotes, evidence it lacks direct carrier rating access. The impact was felt across the entire financial services sector yesterday including banks, brokers and insurance (ALL, PGR, SCHW, etc.)

• IONQ +4%; after the quantum platform and foundry said it had achieved a major breakthrough by developing and testing the first real-time quantum error correction decoder.
• META +2%; holdings its annual conference today, as CEO Zuckerberg delivers his Connect keynote tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
• MSFT +1%; upgraded to Buy at Stifel and raised tgt to $575 from $530 saying “open-weight model advancement has boosted management’s LLM-agnostic strategy” as Azure & Copilot keep scaling.
• SMCI +2%; after saying it is now shipping NVDA NVL72 racks, which include 72 Rubin graphics processors and 36 Vera central processors in a liquid-cooled rack; racks include SMCI's in-row cooling distribution units and optional rear-door heat exchangers to capture residual heat load
• WLDN +5%; agreed to acquire Mantis Intermediate Holdings, a Texas-based building controls company, for $285 million in cash; said the addition of Mantis will expand its presence in industries including data centers, healthcare, and food and beverage.

• IMVT -4%; after saying it plans to discontinue development of IMVT-1402 in cutaneous lupus erythematosus after drug fails to achieve statistical significance on the study's main goal.
• INNV -11%; after prices 10,000,000 share secondary offering at $9.25 per share.
• KBH -2%; reported Q3 adj. EPS of $1.09, above consensus of $0.89 as outperformance was primarily driven by the HB EBIT margin 63bps along with interest and JV Income. Negatively, homebuilding revs fell -20% y/y (units -19%, Asp -1%) were in line and unit orders fell -12% y/y vs. consensus -2%.
• MCD -4%; Investor Day today saying they plan to raise operating margins, launch a new multi-year employee training program and spend billions of dollars supporting franchisees’ equipment and tech upgrades. The plans are part of the fast-food giant’s new growth strategy, called McDonald’s > NEXT
• PAYX -6%; missed Q1 revenue estimates at its largest segment, management solutions, reported at $1.21B vs. est. $1.23B, sending shares lower; overall Q1 revs $1.63B was in-line with consensus and EPS of $1.34 just above ests $1.23; expects fiscal 2027 total revenue growth of 5% to 6%.
• RCL -4%; said it had agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Caribbean resorts operator Sandals Resorts International for $3 billion, expanding the cruise company's presence in land-based vacation experiences
• VOYG -12%; after announced a $350M convertible debt deal

Closing Recap

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

U.S. stocks slumped on Wednesday as Treasury yields resumed their upward rise, hitting around 20-year highs (again) on stronger economic data and ever increasing expectations of additional FOMC rate hikes in coming months (including October). Soaring energy prices (diesel, oil) is not helping the inflation picture and weighed on sentiment again today. Nearly all eleven S&P sectors finished in the “red” today, outside of Energy (XLE) on the higher prices while Utilities (XLU) and REITs (XLRE) fell the most, dividend paying sectors that are most impacted by soaring bond yields. META shares helped the Nasdaq, holding its annual conference today, as CEO Zuckerberg delivers his Connect keynote tonight at 7 p.m. ET, while Dow component MCD shares sunk to 4-year lows after comments/outlook at its Investor Day.

U.S. shares dropped while benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit the highest level since 2007, rising over 15ps topping 5.12% after data showed that US business activity raced to a more than five-year high in September, fueled by a surge in new orders. The 5-yr Treasury yield rises further after weak auction, up about 19bps on day to 5.031% and the 2-year yield soared as well to 4.93%. S&P Global said its flash US Composite PMI Output Index, which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors, increased to 58.4 this month. That was the highest level since July 2021 and followed a reading of 56.0 in August.

The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) posted a record close on Tuesday, but failed to eclipse the June 3rd all-time highs. The PHLX semiconductor index (SOX) prices pulled back 1% today but has surged over 14% the last 5 trading days prior since the Fed rate cut and the QQQ’s have spiked from lows of $700 to above $747 on Tuesday (down to 740 today) during this same stretch in what has been a remarkable rise in technology stocks. But the rally has been very concentrated as half of Tuesday’s rise in was attributable to four chipmaking companies: MU, SNDK, AMD and NVDA. Over the last week, the NDX is up 6.4% with half the gain is from FIVE STOCKS (MU, AMD, NVDA, INTC and META).

Interesting stats: 1) @Barchart noted on X, “S&P 500 now has the highest number of stocks with a negative beta in history. This means that individual stocks are doing the opposite of what the index is doing at the highest ever seen.” 2) @Barchart also noted on X, “More than 51% of S&P 500 stocks are now trading below their 200-day moving averages, the worst market breadth since early April.” 3) @bespokeinvest noted on X, “Oil and the S&P have moved in the same direction on fewer days over the past 200 sessions than at any time since 2008.”

• Mortgage rates hit highest level since 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed mortgages rose to 7.12% from 6.97% for conforming loan balances of 832,750 or less, the MBA said. Mortgage and refinance applications fell, while the share of applications for adjustable-rate mortgages rose. ARMs can carry a fixed rate for up to 10 years but then adjusts based on where the market is at that time.

• December gold fell -$58.00 or -1.33%, to settle at $4,318.40 an ounce while December silver falls -$1.57, or -2.35%, to finish at $64.96 an ounce, both falling as the U.S. dollar gains amid higher U.S. interest-rate expectations. The dollar index (DXY) has been holding above 100 amid rising rate hike fears as October hike odds stand above 50% given further hawkish signals ahead of the October meeting could extend the current pressure.
• Signs that the Fed will press ahead with interest-rate hikes are boosting the U.S. dollar as well as markets have taken note of comments from Fed officials citing the need for more rate increases to tame inflation following last week's hike, the first in three years. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin suggested yesterday that one hike was not enough to curb inflation. Futures traders anticipate a 53% chance of a rate increase in October, according to CME Group data. The euro dropped below the 1.14 level to lowest levels since late July and the British Pound fell as well.

• However a weaker Treasury auction further pushed yields high as the US sold $70B 5-year notes at high yield 5.033% (highest since 2006), vs. 5.00% when issued prior (3bps tail) with a very weak bid-to-cover ratio 2.21, as primary dealers take 15.77% of U.S. 5-year notes sale, direct 29.92% and indirect 54.31%. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit the highest level since 2007, rising over 15ps topping 5.13% (before paring gains) after data showed that US business activity raced to a more than five-year high in September, fueled by a surge in new orders. The 5-yr Treasury yield rises further after weak auction, up about 19bps on day to 5.031% (but ended below 5%) and the 2-year yield soared as well to 4.93% (but finished under 4.9%).

• Restaurant sector: MCD held Investor Day today as shares fell after saying they plan to raise operating margins, launch a new multi-year employee training program and spend billions of dollars supporting franchisees’ equipment and tech upgrades. The plans are part of the fast-food giant’s new growth strategy, called McDonald’s > NEXT. The CEO said they expect industry traffic growth in our wholly owned markets will be flat, while inflation remains elevated CBRL reported Q4 revs fell -2% y/y to $849.3M but topped consensus of $832.7M while EPS of $0.99 came in above y/y thanks in part to tariff refunds; guided 2027 revs $3.32B-$3.4B, in line with expectations and sees EBITDA of $180M-$200M above ests of $180M.
• Leisure sector: RCL said it had agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Caribbean resorts operator Sandals Resorts International for $3 billion, expanding the cruise company's presence in land-based vacation experiences. FUN shares edged higher after the WSJ reported that activist investor Jana Partners was pushing the theme-park company towards a sale. EXPE announced it would allow Muse to access its platform, permitting users to plan trips through Meta’s personal AI agent.
• Homebuilding sector: KBH reported Q3 adj. EPS of $1.09 (ex-impairments), above consensus of $0.89 as outperformance was primarily driven by the HB EBIT margin 63bps along with interest and JV Income. Negatively, homebuilding revs fell -20% y/y (units -19%, Asp -1%) were in line and unit orders fell -12% y/y vs. consensus -2% while management noted a deterioration in conditions as the quarter progressed with the geopolitical and rate backdrops weighing on consumer sentiment

• Energy sector: BP was upgraded from Neutral to Overweight at JPMorgan saying macro tailwinds and Micro renewal present a major opportunity to lower macro procyclicality and high-grade fundamentals into 2028. DVN shares active after CNBC David Faber reported activist Toms Capital is urging Devon Energy to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. Refining stocks have benefitted from surging crack spreads in diesel while they ran plants near full utilization, are among the best gainers in 20206, but prices of VLO, PBF, PSX, MPC, DK, DINO have pulled back the last few days as diesel has made headlines. Diesel cracks hit $100–$118+/bbl at peaks and have since pulled back (versus a more typical $20–30 historically).
• Utility sector: PCG was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS due to the growing risk of inaction on wildfire liability reform this year and the company's rescinding the long-term EPS growth rate guidance coincident with the strategic review announcement on 9/2.

• Private credit: APO said investors in Apollo Debt Solutions sought to withdraw roughly 14.7% of shares in the latest tender offer, compared with 16.8% in the prior quarter, according to a regulatory filing. The Apollo fund said repurchase requests declined sequentially across both US onshore and offshore investors, and most of them were investors resubmitting unfulfilled requests from prior quarters.
• Consumer Lending/Financial Services: Several Wall Street firms defended the sector, which declined Tuesday on renewed AI-disintermediation fears tied to Meta's Muse agent. Davidson said the sentiment driven sell off in names like EVER, QNST, TREE, MAX was overdone. The firm said when asked to find an auto policy, Muse routed to a third-party marketplace (Insurify) rather than returning quotes, evidence it lacks direct carrier rating access. The impact was felt across the entire financial services sector yesterday including banks, brokers and insurance (ALL, PGR, SCHW, etc.)
• Payments sector: PAYX missed Q1 revenue estimates at its largest segment, management solutions, reported at $1.21B vs. est. $1.23B, sending shares lower; overall Q1 revs $1.63B was in-line with consensus and EPS of $1.34 just above ests $1.23; expects fiscal 2027 total revenue growth of 5% to 6% and raises fiscal 2027 PEO and Insurance Solutions revenue growth outlook to 7% to 8%.

• BMEA shares fell after the drug developer terminated its previously announced common stock offering and delayed a Phase 1 trial readout for its obesity candidate BMF-650.
• CRDL announced enrollment progress and plans to expand MAVERIC, the Company's pivotal Phase III randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial evaluating CardiolRx for the reduction in risk of recurrence in patients with recurrent pericarditis
• EDIT was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim as updating its model to reflect EDIT-401, which represents a novel approach to Gene editing for severe hypercholesterolemia.
• GRAL shares were halted ahead of an FDA advisory committee meeting to discuss the diagnostic company's proposed multi-cancer blood test. Grail is seeking FDA approval of Galleri, a blood test that aims to catch cancers before symptoms appear (shares never traded today).
• IMVT announces topline results from proof-of-concept study of IMVT-1402 in cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Immunovant's proof-of-concept study of IMVT-1402 did not achieve statistical significance on the primary endpoint.
• INNV prices 10M share secondary offering at $9.25 per share (from $10.66 closing price).

• Space & Telecom sector: SPIR awarded $33.2M NOAA contract for Satellite weather data to enhance weather forecasting; says contract potential total value of $66M if all options exercised; VOYG shares fell after announcing intention to offer $350M convertible Senior notes due 2032 and expects to grant option to purchase up to $52.50M additional notes.

• Metals & Mining: broad weakness in gold and silver prices as the US dollar extends gains vs the euro and British pound amid the hawkish FOMC outlook for added rate hikes; shares of gold and silver miners were broadly lower down 3% or more for AEM, AG, B, CDE, FSM, HL, NEM, PAAS.

• SpaceXAI's Grok Bot AI agent has reached over 400,000 weekly users within a month of launching, Edward Ludlow of Bloomberg reports. By September 14, the Grok Bot hit 418,000 users, which was up 24% from the week prior, according to a presentation viewed by Bloomberg
• Media sector: DIS is raising prices on several of its streaming subscriptions, with users being notified as early as Wednesday, Bloomberg reported. The price of the flagship Disney+ streaming service, without ads, will rise 13% to $21.49 per month.
• AI Infrastructure: UBS initiated coverage with Buy ratings on five data center stocks (HUT, WULF, APLD, CORZ, CIFR) positioned for rapid growth as Ai adoption ramps and model developers' ability to meet demand remains constrained. Time to power remains the gating factor in scaling compute and their crypto-miner legacies with favorable Grid access has already translated into ~5GW of leased capacity (~$125B in contracted revs), with expansion opportunities for an additional ~12GW. Power pipelines provide an enviable position with Ai infrastructure requirements set to triple to UBSe ~260GW of new data center capacity globally from '28-30E. UBS's price targets imply 36% upside potential on average.

• Software sector MSFT was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel and raised tgt to $575 from $530 saying “open-weight model advancement has boosted management’s LLM-agnostic strategy” as Azure & Copilot keep scaling. In gaming software, APP shares slipped after Edgewater said Q3 Gaming feedback split relatively evenly between studios seeing improving, stable and softer spend scale in Q3

• QCOM unveiled its newest Android phone chipsets, which will be tuned for on-device artificial intelligence and will compete with Apple’s A20 Pro in iPhones. The new chips, under the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 brand name, will be built on TSM 2-nanometer manufacturing process, and will be included in premium smartphones from companies including Motorola, Xiaomi and ZTE.
• SMCI said it is now shipping NVDA NVL72 racks, which include 72 Rubin graphics processors and 36 Vera central processors in a liquid-cooled rack; racks include SMCI's in-row cooling distribution units and optional rear-door heat exchangers to capture residual heat load

Street Recommendations

Wednesday, September 23, 2026

• KBH Barclays lowered the firm's price target on KB Home to $49 from $57 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following the earnings report. The firm says market pressures are "overwhelming" the company's built-to-order mix shift benefits.
• NKE Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih lowered the firm's price target on Nike to $48 from $52 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares as part of a fiscal Q1 earnings preview. Nike's turnaround is following the classic "margins before sales" recovery, and its path to return to sales growth "will not be linear," the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• TEL Bernstein initiated coverage of TE Connectivity with an Outperform rating and $243 price target. TE is an industrial company with data center exposure, not the other way around, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes concerns on the copper versus optical debate are overdone. Optical adoption could very likely be pushed out beyond 2028, contends Bernstein. It sees an attractive valuation at current share levels.

• AZO BMO Capital lowered the firm's price target on AutoZone to $3,500 from $4,000 but keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The stock rose after the company's Q4 earnings as the management highlighted an improved same-store sales exit rate despite quarterly comps missing on DIY pressure, the analyst tells investors in a research note. AutoZone is positioned to continue gaining share while gaining operating leverage as stores mature, the firm added.

• CNI BofA analyst Ken Hoexter lowered the firm's price target on CN to $143 from $146 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Q3-to-date revenue ton miles are up 4.6% year-year, above the firm's prior up 2.8% target, notes the analyst, who cites a group multiple reset on rising margin pressure for the firm's lowered price target.
• FSLY BofA raised the firm's price target on Fastly to $22 from $20 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. Fastly, which used its investor day to reposition the story from a CDN turnaround toward a unified edge platform, has seen three consecutive quarters of 20%-plus revenue growth, the analyst tells investors. While "warming to the high-level positives from agentic traffic tailwinds," the firm awaits more details around the agentic traffic contribution, monetization, and AI product differentiation, the analyst added.

• ORIC BTIG analyst Jeet Mukherjee initiated coverage of Oric Pharmaceuticals with a Buy rating and $26 price target.

• MU Citi analyst Atif Malik raised the firm's price target on Micron to $1,300 from $1,150 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm upped its August and November quarter estimates for Micron citing better than expected DRAM pricing. Citi expects the stock to rally into SEMICON West, saying equipment makers will talk about DRAM shortages. Micron should report upside to fiscal Q4 estimates as the DRAM and NAND markets remain undersupplied, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• LGND Citi raised the firm's price target on Ligand to $397 from $390 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm cites the company's acquisition of a royalty interest in myopia eye drop Ryjunea for the target boost.
• GS Citi lowered the firm's price target on Goldman Sachs to $1,050 from $1,200 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm updated the company's model ahead of the Q3 report. Citi's base case for interest rates assumes a Federal Reserve hikes in September and December.

• AZO Guggenheim analyst Steven Forbes lowered the firm's price target on AutoZone to $3,750 from $4,000 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Though AutoZone's Q4 operating results were "slightly disappointing," the fact that both sales channels sequentially accelerated in August combined with management's fiscal 2027 guidance "color" leads the firm to believe domestic comps have likely bottomed during Q4, setting the stage for a sequential re-acceleration as early as Q1, the analyst tells investors.
• DPZ Guggenheim analyst Gregory Francfort lowered the firm's price target on Domino's Pizza to $325 from $440 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm, which is lowering its 2027 EPS estimate to $19.90 from $20.85, notes that is about $1 below consensus, adding that half of the delta is driven by interest expense from refinancing and the other half from underlying sales and margin assumptions.
• CMPX Guggenheim lowered the firm's price target on Compass Therapeutics to $4 from $8 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the FDA recommended that Compass conduct a trial to demonstrate a survival benefit prior to submitting a BLA for tovecimig, which the firm calls "disappointing news." The firm is updating estimates, reflecting increased approval risk of tovecimig in second-line BTC and potential U.S. launch timing moving to 2028 from 2027.

• BFAM Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on Bright Horizons to $66 from $68 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. Despite there being strong demand for care, the firm sees affordability and availability as the two main structural drivers of weaker enrollment and views near- and mid-term enrollment headwinds to be persistent, the analyst tells investors.

• ONON Needham raised the firm's price target on On Holding to $40 from $37 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Amid a challenging athleticwear environment, On provided a compelling multi-year roadmap, with 3-year financial targets that exceeded Street expectations, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The management seems to have threaded the needle nicely and offered an outlook that is both bullish and believable, the firm added.

• CRMD Oppenheimer analyst Les Sulewski initiated coverage of CorMedix with an Outperform rating and $15 price target. Investors appear "overly focused" on DefenCath's near-term post-TDAPA revenue decline and "underappreciate" resilient utilization, expanding large dialysis organization access, the diversified Melinta portfolio, and Rezzayo prophylaxis optionality, the analyst contends. Rezzayo could become the next major growth driver following potential FDA action in the first half of 2027, the analyst added.
• PCRX Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Pacira with an Outperform rating and $32 price target. The firm believes Exparel is entering a "stronger commercial phase." Expanding separate reimbursement, outpatient procedure migration, and group purchasing normalization should improve the conversion of volume gains into reported sales, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Oppenheimer believes the Fresenius settlement on generic Exparel with volume limits creates a "manageable" generic transition beginning in 2030.
• COLL Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Collegium Pharmaceutical with an Outperform rating and $50 price target. The market continues to value Collegium as a mature pain company despite its transition toward a scalable, self-funding CNS growth platform, the analyst tells investors. Jornay PM and Azstarys provide two differentiated, patent-protected ADHD assets capable of driving above-market growth through the next decade, the analyst added.
• ANIP Oppenheimer analyst Les Sulewski initiated coverage of ANI Pharmaceuticals with a Perform rating and $85 price target. The firm views the company's Cortrophin Gel as an attractive, durable rare disease asset. However, the stock's valuation increasingly reflects sustained elevated growth despite management's recent 5% reduction to the midpoint of its 2026 guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• VTRS Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Viatris with an Outperform rating and $25 price target. The market continues to value Viatris as a declining generics and established-brands company, overlooking an improving base business, cost savings, and a late-stage pipeline with two potential blockbuster assets, the analyst tells investors. Greater China, new products, and value-added medicines should support revenue growth, while improving mix and share repurchases should drive faster EBITDA and EPS growth, the analyst added.
• TEVA Oppenheimer analyst Les Sulewski initiated coverage of Teva with an Outperform rating and $50 price target. The company is entering the acceleration phase of its transformation, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says this is supported by $3.7B of expected 2026 sales from Austedo, Ajovy, and Uzedy, improving margins, and a "multi-year innovative launch cycle." Oppenheimer sees "meaningful earnings upside potential and further valuation expansion" for Teva.
• AMRX Oppenheimer initiated coverage of Amneal Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating and $27 price target. The firm believes Amneal is at a "fundamental inflection." The company's "differentiated" launches, vertically integrated biosimilars, and specialty growth will reshape its earnings profile, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Oppenheimer says the Kashiv acquisition creates a scaled biosimilars platform targeting $1B-$1.3B of revenue by 2030, while the Crexont, Brekiya, and recently launched Lanreotide provide multiple near-term growth drivers for Amneal.
• VNDA Oppenheimer analyst Les Sulewski initiated coverage of Vanda Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating and $10 price target. Fanapt is benefiting from strong bipolar I disorder adoption, while Bysanti supports a transition toward improved Medicaid economics and extends the psychiatry franchise's intellectual property runway into 2044, says the analyst, who believes the market underappreciates the company's transition from a three-product commercial business into a diversified specialty pharma platform.
• INVA Oppenheimer assumed coverage of Innoviva with an Outperform rating and $35 price target. The market is valuing Innoviva as declining respiratory royalty company while assigning limited credit to its "fast-growing" critical care and infectious disease platform and strategic healthcare assets, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes continued execution can shift investor perception from a royalty vehicle to a diversified specialty pharma platform.

• HUT UBS analyst Ryan Gravett initiated coverage of Hut 8 with a Buy rating and $143 price target. Hut 8's contracted leased portfolio provides a combination of attractive economics with high credit quality tenants, while mitigating risk to the downside through relatively less exposure to delivery penalties and construction cost overruns, says the analyst, who sees upcoming catalysts that include final Base Load designation and initial energization at Beacon Point, execution against initial capacity deliveries and progress towards new lease announcements.
• WULF UBS initiated coverage of TeraWulf with a Buy rating and $24 price target. Transactions signed to date have established attractive economics and "a repeatable blueprint for future growth," the analyst tells investors. Recent deals create an estimated $12M of equity value per megawatt, implying up to $30 per share of value creation from the full lease-up of the current development portfolio, the analyst added.
• CIFR UBS analyst Ryan Gravett initiated coverage of Cipher Mining with a Buy rating and $23 price target. The firm believes the data center infrastructure stocks are positioned for "rapid growth" as AI adoption ramps and model developers' ability to meet demand remains constrained. Uncertainty on the timeline to power in Texas has pressured Cipher shares recently, creating a favorable risk/reward, the analyst tells investors in a research note. UBS sees catalysts for the company in the near-term from capacity deliveries, greater pipeline clarity and incremental lease announcements.
• APLD UBS initiated coverage of Applied Digital with a Buy rating and $38 price target. The platform has already demonstrated credibility across lease signings and delivery of AI data center capacity at scale, says the analyst, who sees new lease signing potential in the near-term through tenant expansion options that should also bring improved economics.

Rating abbreviations…

***OP = Outperform

***SP = Sector Perform

***UP = Underperform

***OW = Overweight

***EW = Equal-weight

***UW = Underweight

***Report powered by thefly.com***

What’s on Tap Weekly Calendar

• Earnings After the Close: ABVX

• 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 10:00 AM ET                 Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for September
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $78B in 2-year notes
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: KBH WOR

• Bank America Global Healthcare Conference 2026, 9/22-9/23, in New York
• Barrington Virtual Fall Investment Conference, 9/22
• Jefferies AI Summit, 9/22-9/23, in San Francisco, CA

• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Sept-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Services PMI, Sept-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Composite PMI, Sept-flash
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $70B in 5-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: FUL NEOV SFIX

• Bank America Global Healthcare Conference 2026, 9/22-9/23, in New York
• Benchmark Nuclear Summit, 9/23, in Knoxville, TN
• Bernstein 3rd Annual Healthcare Forum, 9/23-9/24, in New York, NY
• DA Davidson 25th Annual Diversified Industrials & Services Conference, 9/23-9/26, in Nashville, TN
• Deutsche Bank Private Software & AI Summit, 9/23 in New York
• Jefferies AI Summit, 9/22-9/23, in San Francisco, CA
• Sidoti Smallcap Conference, 9/23-9/24 (virtual)
• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX
• Truist Healthcare Technology & Digital Health West Coast Bus Tour, 9/23-9/24, in San Francisco, CA

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Current Account Balance for Q2
• 10:00 AM ET                 New Home Sales M/M for August
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data
• 11:00 AM ET                 Kansas City Fed manufacturing for September
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $44B in 7-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: COST LGCY SCHL

• Bernstein 3rd Annual Healthcare Forum, 9/23-9/24, in New York, NY
• DA Davidson 25th Annual Diversified Industrials & Services Conference, 9/23-9/26, in Nashville, TN
• Oppenheimer Insurance Summit 9/24 (virtual)
• Sidoti Smallcap Conference, 9/23-9/24 (virtual)
• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX
• Truist Healthcare Technology & Digital Health West Coast Bus Tour, 9/23-9/24, in San Francisco, CA

• 8:30 AM ET                   Durable Goods – Less Transports for Aug
• 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan Confidence, Sept-final
• 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX