Early Look

Friday, August 28, 2026

U.S. stock futures are mixed this morning as attention turns from tech and retail earnings to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s closely watched keynote speech at the Jackson Hole symposium later this morning. Meanwhile, renewed uncertainty over U.S.-Iran negotiations and persistent pressure in energy markets kept broader risk appetite in check ahead of the opening bell. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index gained 273 points to 66,405, the Shanghai Index slipped -4 points to 3,952, and the Hang Seng Index edged higher 19 points to 25,584. In Europe, the German DAX is up 150 points to 26,516, while the FTSE 100 rises 20 points to 10,812. Overnight another small barrage of tech/retail earnings moving names as shares of AFRM in lending, GAP in retail and ESTC in tech, jump on earnings results. On the flip side, shares of ADSK, IREN, MRVL, RBRK, S and WDAY slide after their results just a day after semis and software pushed markets higher. U.S. stock markets finish higher across the board on Thursday, paced by technology as the Nasdaq Comp climbed +1.57%, boosted by semis and software as NVDA, CRM, CRWD, OKTA, VEEV all surged following better earnings and guidance. With Nvidia results out, investor attention turns to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's first Jackson Hole address on Friday for hints on the central bank's stance on the latest inflation data and the U.S. Treasury's efforts to tame yields.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 104.67 points, or 0.20%, to 53,568.55
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 411.16 points, or 1.57%, to 26,541.35
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 8.46 points, or 0.28% to 3,014.36

• 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations, Aug-final
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing that Lake Ontario be renamed "Lake America," adding another point of friction with Canada amid the ongoing trade dispute. The lake is one of North America's five Great Lakes and borders New York and Canada's Ontario province.

• Rivian Automotive (RIVN) announced that Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough has decided to step down from her role to pursue a new opportunity and relocate to the East Coast to be closer to her family. McDonough will remain in her role as CFO over the next two months to ensure a seamless and thorough transition.
• Ulta Beauty (ULTA) Q2 EPS $6.55 vs. est. $6.20; Q2 sales $3.03B vs. est. $2.99B; sees FY outlook for EPS of $28.70-$29.00 compared with FactSet consensus estimates of $28.74 and sees FY outlook for comparable sales growth of 3.2%-3.7% and overall sales growth 6.7%-7.2% (vs. prior 6%-7%); increases fy2026 stock repurchase plan to $1.8B

• Elon Musk said his best estimate is that SpaceX (SPCX) could reach roughly $3.5 trillion in annual revenue around 2033. Musk made the comment on X in response to a Morgan Stanley note that said SpaceX was attractively valued following plans for a $100 billion Louisiana spaceport.

• PayPal (PYPL) shares drop after a consortium of buyout firms Advent and Stripe has dropped its pursuit of the co, Bloomberg News reported. The consortium had reportedly offered $60.50 per share, which valued PYPL at more than $53 billion. PayPal's board viewed the takeover bid as inadequate, per prior reports. https://tinyurl.com/mryue4pu

• Gilead Sciences' (GILD) once daily oral combination pill for treatment of adults whose HIV has already been reduced to very low levels was approved by the FDA, the company said on Thursday.
• LifeVantage (LFVN) Q4 adj EPS $0.11 misses the $0.13 estimate, and sales fell -23% y/y to $42.37M vs. est. $45.94M; cites lower order volume, smaller average orders, and weaker MindBody GLP-1 sales for declines; said gross margin fell due to product mix shift, inventory obsolescence, and increased shipping expenses; not issuing guidance at this time.
• Moderna (MRNA) said the FDA has approved its updated 2026–2027 COVID formulas with new Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE vaccines expected to become available in the coming days.
• Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX) announced that the FDA has approved the supplemental Biologics License Application for the companies' 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccine formula targeting the XFG variant, COMIRNATY XFG.
• Quoin Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (QNRX) entered into a securities purchase agreement with new and existing healthcare-focused institutional investors to raise up to approximately $50M in gross proceeds, including initial upfront funding of approximately $30.8M and up to an additional approximately $19.2M upon the potential cash exercise of accompanying ordinary warrants

• Anthropic planned, then abandoned $7B purchase of MatX, sources say. Anthropic discussed buying artificial ​intelligence chip startup MatX for roughly $7 ‌billion, seeking to accelerate efforts to develop custom hardware for its fast-growing Ai business, two ​people briefed on the matter told ​Reuters
• Autodesk (ADSK) Q2 adj. EPS $3.30 vs. est. $3.12; revs $2.05B vs. est. $2.01B; adj. operating margin 41%; billings $1.85B; free cash flow $561Mm; Q3 revenue guidance $2.125B-$2.14B vs. est. $2.08B; Q3 adj. EPS guidance $3.04-$3.09 vs. est. $3.14; FY revenue guidance $8.3B-$8.35B vs est $8.206B.
• Elastic N.V. (ESTC) shares jump; Q1 adj. EPS $0.70 vs. est. $0.58; revenue $478.1Mm vs. est. $469.7Mm, +15% YoY; adj. operating Income $77Mm vs. est. $65.7Mm; Q2 revenue guidance $486Mm-$487Mm vs. est. $483.5Mm; Q2 adj. operating margin guidance 19%; Q2 adj. EPS guidance $0.80-$0.82 vs. est. $0.80; FY revenue guidance $1.998B-$2.01B vs. est. $2B; FY adj. operating margin guidance 19.4%; FY adj. EPS guidance $3.29-$3.37 vs. est. $3.24.
• Iren Ltd (IREN) reported FY26 revs rose 41.12% y/y to $707M while the net loss widened to (-$702.6M) from net income of $86.9M, hit by $638.8M non-cash impairments; FY26 adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) slipped to $245.7M from $269.7M; said AI Cloud Services revenue rose about 8x to $128.8M; 2026 capacity largely sold out with $4B contracted ARR; says 3-year contract pricing has increased 125% and 5-year pricing 70% in recent months. Active discussions are now around $25M of revenue per IT MW, while recent customer prepayments cover 45-55% of GPU capex.
• Lam Research (LRCX) board approves qtrly dividend increase from $0.26 to $0.33 per share.
• Nvidia (NVDA) has paused some arrangements under a financing initiative that provided credit support to AI cloud providers in exchange for a share of revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported. Some Nvidia employees reportedly raised concerns that the program could attract antitrust scrutiny, particularly over how much influence the chipmaker could have over customers' business decisions.
• PagerDuty (PD) Q2 adj. EPS $0.32 vs. est. $0.31; revenue $124Mm vs. est. $123.3Mm; adj. operating margin 23.7%; Q3 revenue guidance $123Mm-$125Mm vs. est. $124.4Mm; Q3 adj. EPS guidance $0.34-$0.36 vs. est. $0.34; FY revenue guidance $491.5Mm-$496.5Mm vs. est. $494.2Mm; FY adj. EPS guidance $1.33-$1.37 vs. est. $1.32; announces headcount reduction of about 15% and estimates non-recurring charges of $5.50M-$7.50M for headcount reductions.
• Rubrik Inc. (RBRK) Q2 adj. EPS $0.20 vs. est. $0.04; revenue $427.3Mm vs est $296.28Mm; adj. gross margin 81%; free cash flow $65.7Mm; Q3 revenue guidance $429Mm-$431Mm vs est $418.28Mm; Q3 adj. EPS guidance $0.07-$0.09 vs. est. $0.06; FY revenue guidance $1.685B-$1.693B vs. est. $1.281B; FY adj. EPS guidance $0.47-$0.53 vs. est. $0.31.
• SentinelOne (S) Q2 adj. EPS $0.08 vs. est. $0.07; revenue $292Mm vs. est. $290.2Mm; annual recurring revenue $1.22B; adj. gross margin 77%; Q3 revenue guidance $309Mm-$311Mm vs. est. $309.4Mm; Q3 adj. operating Income guidance $38Mm-$40Mm vs est $38.54Mm; FY revenue guidance $1.202B-$1.207B vs. est. $1.2B; FY adj. operating Income guidance $124Mm-$128Mm vs est $119.59Mm; FY adj. EPS guidance $0.30-$0.32 vs. est. $0.35.
• SoftBank (SFTBY) seeks another $10 billion loan for OpenAI Stake funding - Bloomberg News. Separately, SoftBank is in talks to buy a majority stake in humanoid robot maker 1X at a $6B valuation, The Information reported. 1X sought $1B at a $10B valuation in 2025, but raised less than 50%, according to the report. https://tinyurl.com/mybypupd
• Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) is said to have released a foundation model it says outperforms rivals Z.AI Co. and Moonshot AI in internal tests, claiming a place among China’s top artificial intelligence players.
• Workday Software (WDAY) Q2 adj. EPS $2.75 vs. est. $2.61; revenue $2.65B vs. est. $2.64B, +12.8% YoY; subscription revenue $2.47B; adj. operating Income $824Mm vs. est. $792.4Mm; FY subscription revenue guidance $9.94B-$9.95B vs est $10.669B; FY adj. EBIT margin guidance 31%; announces $4B stock buyback program.

Mid-Morning Look

Friday, August 28, 2026

U.S. stocks opened flat to higher ahead of today’s key catalyst, as all eyes and ears on Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh speaking at the Jackson Hole Symposim this morning who signaled the central bank may not be done fighting inflation, saying financing conditions didn't look restrictive to him and that better price readings recently hadn't convinced him the trend was improving. So far, a muted reaction to his speech as Warsh stopped short of saying whether he would support raising rates when the Fed meets next month and offered no path for policy, in keeping with his approach to how the central bank should communicate less about coming moves. "I stand here today committed to a discipline, not to a decision," he said. He described an economy showing few signs of restraint from the Fed's current rate of around 3.6%. Warsh said the 2% PCE target is “firm and fixed,” adding that if underlying inflation isn’t moving toward it fast enough, “we have work to do.” Note three officials voted last month to raise rates, and others have signaled they are open to joining them. The U.S. Dollar index further continues gains to session high of 99.45, last up 0.34% at 99.43 while gold and silver process also declined as Warsh continued speaking. US Short-term interest-rate futures fall as traders add to bets on Fed rate hike after speech as US two-year Treasury yields climb to 4.286%, highest since July 31

In stocks news, the dominant single-stock story heading into the session is PayPal (PYPL), as shares fall over -1% after Advent and Stripe abandoned their reported $60.50-per-share takeover bid — a deal that had valued the company at more than $53 billion — with PayPal's board having previously deemed the offer inadequate. On the tech side, Marvell Technology (MRVL) is weighing on AI-adjacent names despite reporting data-center revenue growth of 46% in its second quarter, dragging Coherent (COHR) and Lumentum (LITE) lower in sympathy; Marvell had surged 184% year-to-date heading into the print. Shares of software companies Autodesk (ADSK), Rubrik (RBRK), SentinelOne (S) declined on results as well.

• University of Michigan surveys of consumers sentiment final Aug 51.7 (consensus 51.0) vs preliminary Aug 51.0 and final July 55.2 while the current conditions index final Aug 51.9 (consensus 51.8) vs prelim Aug 51.8 and final July 54.8 and the expectations index final Aug 51.5 vs prelim Aug 50.6 and final July 55.4.
• University of Michigan surveys of consumers 1-year inflation outlook final Aug 4.0% vs prelim 4.3% and final July 4.2% and University of Michigan surveys of consumers 5-year inflation outlook final Aug 3.3% vs prelim 3.3% and final July 3.3%.
• U.S. labor dept notes preliminary estimate of Nonfarm payrolls Benchmark revision would decrease March 2026 level of employment by 79,000 or 0.1%

• Shipping sector (SBLK, GOGL, GNK, SHIP, NMM, SB): The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index rose to its highest level in nearly three months on Friday, posting a 12.1% weekly rise. The main Baltic index was up 79 points, or 2.5%, at 3,186, its highest level since June 2. The Capesize index gained 198 points, or 3.9%, to 5,336, also its highest level since June 2 (+17.2% this week). The panamax index was up 23 points, or 1%, at 2,315, marking its highest level since June 2.
• Application/Enterprise Software sector: ADSK reported a solid Q2 beat and organic growth raise while MaintainX is now in the outlook; guidance was raised on an organic basis, margin dilution around MaintainX was absorbed into prior FY/27 guidance; raises FY27 billings guidance to a range of $8.575B-$8.65B and raised FY27 revs view to $8.295B-$8.345B with unchanged operating margin view. WDAY reported in-line Q2 results and mixed guidance as the FQ3 cRPO growth guide of ~11.5% is a downtick, as is the initial FY28 subscription growth of 11%, but 2pt margin expansion implied by the FY28 33% OM outlook.
• Data/Security software sector: RBRK reported a strong $20M FQ2 ARR beat and $25M raise to the FY ARR guide as ARR accelerated 1pt to 33% and NNARR accelerated to 35% from 16% last quarter. ESTC shares soar as Q1 results were strong, showing a slight acceleration across key top-line metrics and consistent 20% cRPO growth. Management raised its FY2027 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.998B-$2.010B vs. $1.99B consensus and adjusted EPS of $3.29-$3.37, above the $3.24 estimate and Full-year sales-led subscription revenue is expected to grow 17.4%. SentinelOne (S) shares slid as forecasts FY26 adj. EPS $0.30-$0.32, missing the $0.34 estimate and guided Q3 revs/EPS below consensus as well after posting a modest beat for Q2 $0.08/$292M vs. $0.07/$290.2M).

• ESTC +21%; as Q1 results were strong, showing a slight acceleration across key top-line metrics and consistent 20% cRPO growth. Management raised its FY2027 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.998B-$2.010B vs. $1.99B consensus and adjusted EPS of $3.29-$3.37, above the $3.24 estimate.
• GAP +17%; shares rose after Q2 print came in better than feared, with EPS ex. tariff refunds modestly ahead of Street expectations (52c vs 48c), as stronger GM & less SG&A deleverage offset Old Navy-driven topline downside.
• KLAR +4%; as CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski buys 692,506 shares for $9.9M at $14.37 per share.
• QNRX +50%; after saying its drug, QRX003, significantly improves disease severity in 4 of 6 Netherton syndrome patients after 12 weeks of treatment, as per interim mid-to-late stage trial data. The treatment shows no serious safety concerns, and the company expects to finish enrolling all 20 patients by end of 2026; also raises up to $50 million from institutional investors.
• SOLS +16%; after the company and ESI mutually agree to scrap their $14.5 billion merger, saying both sets of shareholders preferred the cos retain their independence and existing strategies.

• BNTX -7%; shares declined after terminates phase 2 clinical trial of autogene cevumeran in colorectal cancer; said DSMB identified numerical imbalance in overall survival between treatment arms in specific patient population and recommended discontinuing treatment.
• BTAI -73%; after entered into an asset sale agreement with TEVA for substantially all of the Company's assets; BioXcel Therapeutics and its subsidiaries, OnkosXcel Therapeutics, LLC and OnkosXcel Employee Holdings, LLC, have commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings
• IREN -8%; after costs tied to its shift from bitcoin mining to AI cloud services pushed it to a quarterly loss; reported a Q4 net loss of (-$684M) vs. net income of $$176.9M y/y; said its 2026 compute capacity is largely sold out, and it is in late-stage talks for 2027 capacity
• MRVL -6%; despite beat and raise as the company reported Q2 adj EPS $0.94 as revs rose 37% y/y to $2.74B topping est. $0.92/$2.72B and Q2 Data center revenue climbed 46% y/y to $2.17B while raised FY27/FY28 revenue outlook and now sees 45%/50% growth vs 40%/45% previously.
• PYPL -11%; after a consortium of buyout firms Advent and Stripe has dropped its pursuit of the Co, Bloomberg News reported. The consortium had reportedly offered $60.50 per share, which valued PYPL at more than $53B. PayPal’s board viewed the takeover bid as inadequate, per prior reports.

Closing Recap

Friday, August 28, 2026

U.S. stocks ended the day lower as the highly anticipated speech from Fed Chairman Warsh at first did little to move the needle, but as the day progressed, fed fund rate expectations rose to a 50% chance of a rate hike at the September FOMC meeting. Fed Chair Warsh said the U.S. central bank will "have work to do" if policymakers don't get the confidence they need that inflation is heading down to 2%, coming closer than he has to acknowledging interest rate hikes may be needed to ease price pressures. Fed Chairman Warsh has now positioned himself more firmly in the group of centrists on the FOMC that include Governors Waller and Cook, who have indicated that they are prepared to hike absent meaningful near-term progress on inflation. Odds of a Fed rate hike in 2026 jumped to 64% after Warsh comments. The biggest moves today were in the Treasury and commodity markets as the 2-year yield, the one most leveraged to short term rates, surged over 12 bps to 4.35% while precious metal prices tumbled as both gold and silver crashed on the rising yields and stronger dollar. U.S stocks ended lower, but held up relatively well due to strength in large cap tech names AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL, META, MSFT which kept major averages afloat, though sectors most impacted by rising rates such as utilities, telecom and REITs (dividend paying names) and Smallcaps (IWM) on higher borrowing costs were hit hard.

• University of Michigan surveys of consumers sentiment final Aug 51.7 (consensus 51.0) vs preliminary Aug 51.0 and final July 55.2 while the current conditions index final Aug 51.9 (consensus 51.8) vs prelim Aug 51.8 and final July 54.8 and the expectations index final Aug 51.5 vs prelim Aug 50.6 and final July 55.4.
• University of Michigan surveys of consumers 1-year inflation outlook final Aug 4.0% vs prelim 4.3% and final July 4.2% and University of Michigan surveys of consumers 5-year inflation outlook final Aug 3.3% vs prelim 3.3% and final July 3.3%.
• U.S. labor dept notes preliminary estimate of Nonfarm payrolls Benchmark revision would decrease March 2026 level of employment by 79,000 or 0.1%

• U.S. WTI crude oil futures settle at $83.40/bbl, down -$0.13 or 0.16% while Brent crude slipped -$0.39 or 0.43% to settle at $89.31 per barrel. Oil prices held steady posted a weekly drop as traders weighed stagnant U.S.-Iran diplomatic talks against some crude flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

• Apparel Retail sector: GAP shares rose after Q2 print came in better than feared, with EPS ex. tariff refunds modestly ahead of Street expectations (52c vs 48c), as stronger GM & less SG&A deleverage offset Old Navy-driven topline downside. Despite Old Navy's Q2 underperformance, management’s commentary on the Banner was notably constructive QTD and reiterated its expectation for 2H comp improvement as the business moves past a ~3 PT seasonal product headwind.
• Autos: RIVN announced that CFO Claire McDonough has decided to step down from her role to pursue a new opportunity and relocate to the East Coast to be closer to her family. McDonough will remain in her role as CFO over the next two months to ensure a seamless and thorough transition.
• Food sector: shares of beef and protein companies TSN, PPC, JBS were pressured after President Trump noted he will take steps to allow farmers, ranchers to process own food. He accused the 4 big meat processors in the US of being a "nasty monopoly" and says "I can't let that happen."
• Casino & OSB sector: DKNG, FLUT saw pops this afternoon after a US appeals court rejects Kalshi’s bid for injunction to block Nevada Gaming regulators' oversight of sports events contracts. The 8 other beneficiaries are Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

• Transport sector: Deutsche Bank out with two catalyst call ideas in trucking/LTL sector as they placed a "Catalyst Call Buy" on WERN as a short-term buy idea noting Werner's largest customer, DG, reported its strongest same-store sales growth since Q3 of 2023 and expects momentum to continue into Q3. The firm also placed a "Catalyst Call Buy" on SAIA as a short-term investment idea as views Saia's upcoming August tonnage update and Q3 results as potential catalysts for the shares.
• Shipping sector (SBLK, GOGL, GNK, SHIP, NMM, SB): The Baltic Exchange's dry bulk sea freight index rose to its highest level in nearly three months on Friday, posting a 12.1% weekly rise. The main Baltic index was up 79 points, or 2.5%, at 3,186, its highest level since June 2. The Capesize index gained 198 points, or 3.9%, to 5,336, also its highest level since June 2 (+17.2% this week). The panamax index was up 23 points, or 1%, at 2,315, marking its highest level since June 2.
• Chemical sector: SOLS shares jump after the company and ESI mutually agree to scrap their $14.5B merger, saying both sets of shareholders preferred the cos retain their independence and existing strategies. RBC Capital discussed the chemical sector saying they see the most compelling n-t risk/reward in SOLS, given the recent termination of its merger agreement with ESI, and in CTVA ahead of its Sept. 15 investor days while warming up to AXTA post-shareholder approval, especially given its strong execution/relatively attractive valuation and OLN remains a show-me story.
• Utility sector: shares of California utilities PCG, EIX saw notable pullbacks this afternoon on reports that California lawmakers block Newsom's push to prevent Insurance companies from suing Utilities that cause wildfires. Note in recent days, focus have been on the same ongoing issue for both companies: last-minute legislative negotiations in Sacramento over wildfire liability reform before the session ends Aug. 31. Gov. Newsom and lawmakers are debating who pays after utility-sparked fires.

• FinTech sector: PYPL shares drop after a consortium of buyout firms Advent and Stripe has dropped its pursuit of the co, Bloomberg News reported. The consortium had reportedly offered $60.50 per share, which valued PYPL at more than $53 billion. PayPal's board viewed the takeover bid as inadequate, per prior reports. https://tinyurl.com/mryue4pu ; KLAR CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski buys 692,506 shares for $9.9M at $14.37 per share per filing.
• Insurance sector: ALL was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus as the firm, which notes that premium growth slowed in recent quarters to low single-digits in the highly competitive U.S. Consumer P&C sector as other P&C insurers are lowering pricing to gain market share, believes shares are fully valued with the stock having recently passed its target of $238.

• BNTX shares fell after terminates phase 2 clinical trial of autogene cevumeran in colorectal cancer; said DSMB identified numerical imbalance in overall survival between treatment arms in specific patient population and recommended discontinuing treatment of patients in trial and terminating the clinical trial.
• BTAI said it has entered into an asset sale agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals International GmbH, a subsidiary of Teva Pharma (TEVA) for substantially all of the Company's assets; BioXcel Therapeutics and its subsidiaries, OnkosXcel Therapeutics, LLC and OnkosXcel Employee Holdings, LLC, have commenced voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings.
• CYTK said late-stage data showed its drug, aficamten, significantly improved symptoms and exercise capacity in patients with a genetic heart condition that currently has no approved treatments. The drug is already approved as Myqorzo for oHCM — the obstructive form of the condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in which thickened heart muscles block ​blood flow.
• GILD once daily oral combination pill for treatment of adults whose HIV has already been reduced to very low levels was approved by the FDA, the company said on Thursday.
• LLY said the U.S. FDA has approved its diabetes drug Mounjaro to lower the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in adults with type 2 diabetes who are at high risk for these events.
• MRNA said the FDA has approved its updated 2026–2027 COVID formulas with new Spikevax and mNEXSPIKE vaccines expected to become available in the coming days.
• PFE and BNTX said the FDA has approved the supplemental Biologics License Application for the companies' 2026-2027 COVID-19 vaccine formula targeting the XFG variant, COMIRNATY XFG.
• QNRX said its drug, QRX003, significantly improves disease severity in 4 of 6 Netherton syndrome patients after 12 weeks of treatment, as per interim mid-to-late stage trial data. The treatment shows no serious safety concerns, and the company expects to finish enrolling all 20 patients by end of 2026; also raises up to $50 million from institutional investors
• RGNX appointed Gregory Ciongoli to its Board of Directors as two long-serving directors retired. Ciongoli buys 102,603 RGNX shares over two days at weighted-average prices of $9.14 and $9.36, worth about $952,001.59 in total, filings made public late on Thursday show

• Data/Security software sector: RBRK reported a strong $20M FQ2 ARR beat and $25M raise to the FY ARR guide as ARR accelerated 1pt to 33% and NNARR accelerated to 35% from 16% last quarter. ESTC shares soar as Q1 results were strong, showing a slight acceleration across key top-line metrics and consistent 20% cRPO growth. Management raised its FY2027 outlook, calling for revenue of $1.998B-$2.010B vs. $1.99B consensus and adjusted EPS of $3.29-$3.37, above the $3.24 estimate and Full-year sales-led subscription revenue is expected to grow 17.4%. SentinelOne (S) shares slid as forecasts FY26 adj. EPS $0.30-$0.32, missing the $0.34 estimate and guided Q3 revs/EPS below consensus as well after posting a modest beat for Q2 $0.08/$292M vs. $0.07/$290.2M).

• Memory sector: CXMT, one of China's biggest memory-chip makers, posted a sharp jump in first-half sales and profit. ChangXin Memory Technologies' results showed revenue surged to 150.31B yuan, equivalent to $22.36B, in the six months ended June, up more than 870% from a year earlier. That beat the 110B-120B yuan estimate the company provided earlier this year. Net profit reached 77.61B, also ahead of the 50B-57B yuan guided range
• AI sector: Anthropic planned, then abandoned $7B purchase of MatX, Reuters reported. Anthropic discussed buying artificial intelligence chip startup MatX for roughly $7 ‌billion, seeking to accelerate efforts to develop custom hardware for its fast-growing Ai business. Also, late Thursday, Anthropic S1 is slated to launch shortly after Labor Day, with the company also planning an investor day in mid-September, per The Information report.
• NVDA has paused some arrangements under a financing initiative that provided credit support to AI cloud providers in exchange for a share of revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported. Some Nvidia employees reportedly raised concerns that the program could attract antitrust scrutiny, particularly over how much influence the chipmaker could have over customers' business decisions.

Street Recommendations

Friday, August 28, 2026

• ALL Argus analyst Kevin Heal downgraded Allstate to Hold from Buy. The firm, which notes that premium growth slowed in recent quarters to low single-digits in the highly competitive U.S. Consumer P&C sector as other P&C insurers are lowering pricing to gain market share, believes shares are fully valued with the stock having recently passed its target of $238.

• BBY Barclays raised the firm's price target on Best Buy to $85 from $77 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm upped estimates following the Q2 report. Best Buy is seeing positive momentum across key categories as well as strategic initiatives such as marketplace and media, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• HPQ Barclays analyst Tim Long raised the firm's price target on HP Inc. to $23 from $19 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The company's fiscal Q3 delivered better than expected results on sales and personal systems, with print disappointing again and margins pressured, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• NTNX Barclays raised the firm's price target on Nutanix to $75 from $53 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares post the fiscal Q4 report. The firm says the company is seeing good demand. Nutanix's demand commentary was encouraging, with traction in external storage and annual recurring revenue acceleration, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• WDAY Barclays raised the firm's price target on Workday to $224 from $200 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm expects a "muted" share reaction to the Q2 results. The "quarter itself was fine and suggests solid execution in a stable macro, but mixed guidance will raise questions," the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• DG Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Dollar General to $160 from $149 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Ex tariff refunds, Dollar General delivered a top and bottom line beat in Q2, the firm notes. While Bernstein is encouraged by the strong top line result, it notes Dollar General remains a gross margin recovery-led story.
• WDAY Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Workday to $238 from $216 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes Workday delivered a good quarter with small beats, updated FY27 guidance and gave initial color on FY28 revenue and margins. Initially the stock was down 7% as Q3 guide was a bit light, but the stock recovered after management gave initial FY28 outlook during the call, Bernstein adds.
• S Bernstein analyst Peter Weed raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $21 from $19 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes SentinelOne's Q2 delivered its first clean beat and raise quarter in a couple of years with revenue $2M vs. midpoint and full year guide raised by $5M.

• ULTA BofA lowered the firm's price target on Ulta Beauty to $650 from $685 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Ulta posted a comp beat, took market share, and raised guidance, "answering every major investor debate" coming into Q2, the analyst argues. While the firm's FY26 and FY27 EPS estimates remain unchanged, it is lowering its price target to reflect peer multiple compression, the analyst added.
• AFRM BofA analyst Matthew O'Neill raised the firm's price target on Affirm to $104 from $93 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Affirm's fiscal Q4 beat and FY27 guide, "already framed as conservative in our initial note, look even more so after digging into management's commentary on the call," the analyst tells investors. Management characterized the FY27 GMV guidance's implied cadence as a floor rather than a base case, the analyst noted.
• BURL BofA lowered the firm's price target on Burlington Stores to $365 from $375 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is raising its FY26 EPS view by 1% as it flows through the Q2 beat and lowering its FY27 EPS forecast by 4% on a lower margin outlook as Burlington annualizes refunds and pricing investments in the first half of FY27, the analyst tells investors.
• BILI BofA analyst Alex Liu lowered the firm's price target on Bilibili to $27 from $30 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Bilibili reported "solid" Q2 results, says the analyst, who cut FY26-28 earnings forecasts by 3%-6% on slightly lower gross margin and higher R&D investment.
• DY BofA analyst Michael Funk lowered the firm's price target on Dycom to $550 from $650 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm lowered its multiple, driven by a correction in wireless deferral and peer group, although it is revising estimates higher, stating that the multi-year upcycle driven by fiber, BEAD, and data center connectivity remains intact.

• S Citi raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $23 from $17 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm believes the company's fiscal Q2 report shows execution momentum. It continues to look for a growth inflection before recommending the shares.
• WDAY Citi analyst Steven Enders raised the firm's price target on Workday to $201 from $139 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The company's Q2 report brought a more modest subscription revenue beat, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi is cautious on the shares given the potential of another guide down.

• SAIA Deutsche Bank placed Saia a "Catalyst Call: Buy" on Saia as a short-term investment idea. The firm views Saia's upcoming August tonnage update and Q3 results as potential catalysts for the shares. Deutsche expects better pricing execution and volume growth, saying sustained revenue-per-shipment improvement is likely to drive a more constructive view on the stock.

• DG Goldman Sachs analyst Kate McShane raised the firm's price target on Dollar General to $141 from $128 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Dollar General posted a strong Q2, with a +3.5% comp, earnings beat, and higher FY26 guidance alongside incremental margin expansion, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, pressured low-income consumers, promotional pricing, and difficult shrink/damages comparisons remain key risks to 2H margin expansion, the firm says.
• BBY Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on Best Buy to $71 from $62 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares. Best Buy fell 4.4% despite a Q2 beat and higher FY27 guidance, as tariff refunds drove much of the upside while incremental margins disappointed, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Elevated Marketplace/Best Buy Ads spending, slower computing trends, and incentive compensation remain headwinds, though improved home theater and appliance execution could provide upside, the firm says.
• VCTR Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on Victory Capital to $117 from $100 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Victory Capital's $7B First Eagle acquisition would expand pro forma AUM to about $571B, diversify its product mix, and add a higher-fee revenue base, with substantial EPS accretion potential, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• OKTA Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges raised the firm's price target on Okta to $203 from $126 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Okta delivered a strong Q2 with revenue, cRPO, and margins above expectations, while raising FY27 revenue guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The key catalyst is accelerating AI-agent demand, with 14% cRPO growth supporting future revenue acceleration and Okta's AI-friendly platform positioning it well for agentic identity, the firm says.
• MRVL Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider raised the firm's price target on Marvell (MRVL) to $220 from $195 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Marvell's raised 2026/27 guidance and Google (GOOGL) custom-silicon opportunity improve medium-term visibility, but elevated expectations and a premium valuation could keep shares range-bound, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The October Investor Day should provide a key read on longer-term growth and CY27+ custom compute potential, the firm says.

• RVMD Guggenheim raised the firm's price target on Revolution Medicines to $275 from $240 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Following early FDA approval of daraxonrasib, now named "Rasonque," the firm sees high potential for a strong product launch, achievable Street consensus expectations, as well as "a busy pipeline catalyst path," the analyst tells investors.

• S Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $26 from $25 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported solid Q2 results on tough compares, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jefferies sees upside to SentinelOne's fiscal 2027 annual recurring revenue outlook from AI tailwinds and easing second half of the year compares.

• WDAY Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Wood raised the firm's price target on Workday to $180 from $145 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. Workday's in-line quarter and early FY28 guidance "set a growth floor and likely mark a clearing event," but the firm favors other names seeing more direct AI benefits, the analyst tells investors.
• PD Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh raised the firm's price target on PagerDuty to $10 from $9 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. NNARR grew by $6M in Q2, leading to flat year-over-year ARR growth, though "growth is still lacking" on an absolute basis, the analyst tells investors. Management has decided to execute a 15% reduction in force to allow the company to invest to reassert growth while growing margins, but the competitive environment still looks tough, the analyst added.
• BURL Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on Burlington Stores to $432 from $438 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Q2 reinforces the firm's conviction in the margin opportunity and earnings power, though near-term noise around weather, refund reinvestment, and cannibalization "likely requires patience," the analyst tells investors.
• ESTC Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh raised the firm's price target on Elastic to $75 from $66 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. A strong start to FY27 makes the case for acceleration in the second half "more plausible," the analyst tells investors in a post-earnings note.
• S Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $23 from $17 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Fiscal Q2 saw continued strong demand signals and acceleration in emerging products, resulting in a beat, though the firm would like to see stabilization in EDR before turning more positive, the analyst tells investors.

• RNG Needham raised the firm's price target on RingCentral to $85 from $55 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after hosting its CFO for virtual investor meetings. The firm notes that it has come away encouraged that the company is on a path to accelerate revenue growth in 202, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The key to driving a higher multiple vs. the 9-times enterprise value to free cash flow at current level is accelerating revenue growth from mid to high single digits or about 4%-5% to 7%-8%, and the management noted during the meetings that this remains a possibility, the firm added.
• AFRM Needham analyst Kyle Peterson raised the firm's price target on Affirm to $100 from $90 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported strong Q4 results, beating Street estimates on both the top and bottom line as both the merchant and D2C channels are growing at rapid pace, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The FY27 outlook was also above-consensus and credit performance remains strong, thanks to the company's resilient consumer base and top-notch transaction-based underwriting, the firm added.
• MRVL Needham raised the firm's price target on Marvell to $300 from $270 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q2 results. Momentum is expected to continue into FY28 as management guided to 50% y/y revenue growth, up from 45% previously, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Marvell's gross margin in FY28 and FY29 is also increasing vs. the firm's expectations due to an improving mix within the custom silicon business, Needham added.

• ESTC Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens raised the firm's price target on Elastic to $130 from $85 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Q1 results were strong, showing a slight acceleration across key top-line metrics and consistent 20% cRPO growth. Management highlighted continued success in security and AI search fueling strong commitment trends, while strong consumption and forward pipeline build underpinned confidence in further second half of the year acceleration. Piper continues to believe the risk / reward sets up favorably from here, with valuation not fully reflecting the acceleration it thinks the company can show throughout this year.
• DG Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Dollar General to $123 from $118 on higher estimates, while keeping a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm notes the company delivered a solid quarter, with comparable sales up 3.5% and sequential acceleration in both traffic and ticket. While management raised guidance, the increase appears to reflect the Q2 beat and up to $700M of previously unassumed share repurchases, rather than a material increase to second half of the year comparable sales expectations, adds Piper.
• AFRM Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Affirm to $115 from $103 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares after the company reported Q4 results and hosted its earnings call. The firm notes shares were up about 10% in after-hours trading following a top-line driven beat and better-than-expected 2027 outlook.
• ADSK Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on Autodesk to $338 from $369 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says Q7 was another consistent result for Autodesk. The next debate likely shifts to FY28 growth with a sizable EBA cohort up for renewal, a number of monetization experiments, the growth of the MaintainX under Autodesk ownership all as salient variables. Piper's long-term thesis is largely unchanged, and it sees value in Autodesk continuing to compound at low double-digits organically while pushing to industry leading margins.
• S Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $20 from $15 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm says Q2 revenue showed upside to guidance following last quarter's slight shortfall and NNARR came in above street expectations by $5M. However, the magnitude of the upside and guidance increase drove some investor consternation in after-hours trading, adds Piper. With shares trading at approximately five times its 2027 revenue estimates, the firm views the risk/reward as balanced at current levels.

• CPB Stephens lowered the firm's price target on Campbell's to $20 from $21 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares ahead of the company reporting fiscal Q4 results next Thursday, September 3. The firm now models organic sales in the Snacks segment down 4.1% in FY26 and its FY27 forecast has organic sales in the Snacks segment down 4.3%, the analyst tells investors in a preview.
• HRL Stephens lowered the firm's price target on Hormel Foods to $23 from $25 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. While "encouraged" by operational improvements, the firm believes the softer consumer backdrop is delaying the pace of recovery and would prefer to see more consistent execution before becoming more constructive, the analyst tells investors.

• WDAY Stifel raised the firm's price target on Workday to $160 from $115 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. While FY27 revenue guidance was slightly narrowed to the upside, management optimistically provided their initial FY28 revenue target at about 11%, which the firm believes implies a marginally softer outlook than their initial targets given at the September 2025 analyst day, the analyst tells investors.

• BBY UBS raised the firm's price target on Best Buy to $90 from $86 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Best Buy's Q2 results suggest the consumer electronics recovery is broadening and becoming more durable, with healthy replacement demand, product innovation, improved execution, and growing Marketplace/Ads contributions, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• ULTA UBS analyst Michael Lasser lowered the firm's price target on Ulta Beauty to $710 from $735 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Ulta's quarter showed broad-based strength, with sales, operating profit, and EPS all growing at increasingly strong rates, pointing to improving execution and a higher-quality earnings model, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While flat transactions, higher promotions, and modest gross-margin pressure bear watching, the underlying category remains healthy and Ulta is well positioned, the firm says.

• WDAY Wells Fargo analyst Michael Turrin raised the firm's price target on Workday to $225 from $215 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Management's surprise FY28 guide helped anchor model after Q3 cRPO guide below, the firm says. While revenue was a bit light, margin upside drives upward revisions to EBIT/free cash flow. Wells continues to view Workday as high-quality asset with increasing terminal value.
• RARE Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Ultragenyx to $50 from $46 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Ahead of the GTX-102 Phase 3 Angelman Syndrome update, the firm takes a close look at both Bayley-4 and MDRI, and with the help of 2 key opinion leaders, Wells comes away incrementally more positive. The firm is moving probability of success to 75% from 60%.
• ESTC Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Elastic to $100 from $80 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm notes the company posted encouraging Q1 results, accelerating constant currency growth for both Cloud and SLS. Wells believes investors are likely more comfortable in Elastic's second half of 2027 acceleration guide from this better-than-expected print and commentary.
• BURL Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Burlington Stores to $370 from $375 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says the company's Q2 was "good, not great," with comparable sales and Q3 plan both slightly underwhelming.
• CRWD Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $235 from $230 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes the company's Q2 provided a strong response to questions around pace and timing of any Mythos related inflection, with acceleration across total, NNARR and strong supporting metrics/tone.

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

• 10:30 AM ET                 Dallas Fed Manufacturing for August

• Earnings After the Close: CANG

• 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Aug-final
• 10:00 AM ET                 Construction Spending M/M for July
• 10:00 AM ET ISM Manufacturing PMI for August
• 10:00 AM ET                 JOLTs Job Openings for July
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: CRDO DELL GTLB MDB PANW SPWH ZEPP

• 8:15 AM ET ADP Private Payrolls for August
• 10:00 AM ET                 Durable Goods Orders M/M for July
• 10:00 AM ET                 Factory orders M/M for July
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: AGX AI AVGO CHPT FIVE GOLD HPE MTRK NTAP NTSK PHR PVH SNOW TLYS WOOF

• 8:30 AM ET                   Weekly Jobless Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   International Trade for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Nonfarm productivity for Q2
• 8:30 AM ET                   Unit Labor Costs for Q2
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Composite PMI, Aug-final
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Services PMI, Aug-final
• 10:00 AM ET ISM Non-Manufacturing PMI for August
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: AMBA AOUT ASAN BBCP CURV DOCU EGAN GWRE IOT LULU MAMA NX OXM PATH PL SWBI ZS

• 8:30 AM ET                   Private Payrolls for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Manufacturing Payrolls for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Unemployment Rate for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Average Hourly Earnings M/M for August
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data