Early Look

Monday, August 17, 2026

U.S. futures are mixed to higher, with Nasdaq futures outperforming rising over +0.5% while S&P futures (Spuz) are up only slightly after markets climbed last week, ahead of key big box retailer earnings this week (WMT, TGT, HD, LOW, BABA). The S&P 500 (SPX) traded in a narrow, low volume 15 point trading range all afternoon on Friday in a true “summer Friday” ending slightly lower and just below 7,800 for a second straight day after eclipsing that level intraday, while for the week the S&P 500 climbed 0.4%, the Dow fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.1%. While last week was centered on inflation concerns and questions about the Federal Reserve's next move, investors step into a relatively quiet five-day stretch, with major retailers' earnings reports and a slew of manufacturing data taking center stage. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index jumped 508 points to 69,220, the Shanghai Index rose 55 points to 3,982, and the Hang Seng Index advanced 336 points to 25,453. In Europe, the German DAX and the FTSE 100 are both up slightly to little changed. Oil prices remain a key factor for markets and the Fed as the US takes an economic approach to the war in the Middle East. Brent crude futures edged up to $88 per barrel on Monday. While fear remains nonexistent in the market with the CBOE Volatility index (VIX) hitting 2026 lows this week, there still are flashing warnings signs of caution.US Treasury borrowing costs just hit a 25-year high: Thursday's 30-year Treasury auction cleared at a yield as high as 5.22%, the highest since August 2001. Also of note, @Barchart noted on X, “NYSE hasn't had a single 80% downside volume day this year. Hasn't happened in AT LEAST 30 years.”

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -107.58 points, or 0.20%, to 53,732.41
• The Nasdaq Composite dropped -73.86 points, or 0.28%, to 26,729.16
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 15.57 points, or 0.51% to 3,068.42

• 10:00 AM ET NAHB Housing Market Index for August
• 4:00 PM ET                    Net Long-term TIC Flows for June

• Earnings After the Close: DCGO FLXS FN XP YALA

• Rosenblatt 6th Annual Age of AI Tech Virtual Summit, 8/17-8/18

• KBR (KBR) said that its Mission Technology Solutions business has won a NATO recompete contract with an initial ceiling of $60M to support the PATRIOT air and missile defense system and its integration with the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).
• Rocket Lab (RKLB) said this weekend eight satellite platforms it built for MDA Space (MDA) have entered orbit, marking the first deployment under a $143 million contract covering 17 spacecraft. The satellites launched Aug. 15 at 9:12 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
• Trane Technologies (TT) and power management company Eaton (ETN) announced a strategic collaboration integrating advanced thermal management and electrical system architectures to help accelerate AI-factory deployment, enhance efficiency and lower costs.

• The Internal Revenue Service is investigating UnitedHealth Group (UNH), with an initial probe determining the health Care conglomerate underpaid taxes during a four-year period by funneling money through a foreign subsidiary. The IRS is “seeking to significantly increase taxable income” from 2017 through 2020 and may force UnitedHealth to pay more “for subsequent years after 2020” UnitedHealth revealed in a recent regulatory filing – STAT News.

• Meta Inc. (META) and BlackRock’s $14B, 1GW Sopaipilla data center in Texas carries only partial insurance coverage, reflecting how difficult and expensive it has become to fully insure gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure. The project has about $450M of property coverage once operational, $645M of terrorism coverage and additional protection for construction delays and liability.
• Nvidia (NVDA) is said to be in talks to invest as much as $3B in SB Energy, a SoftBank Group (SFTBY) subsidiary developing ‌a massive planned Ohio data center project for OpenAI. The proposed investment is part of Nvidia's talks with OpenAI ​and SB Energy on providing around $100B in ⁠credit support for the planned Ohio data center campus, the Information reported on Saturday.
• Snap inc. (SNAP) shares fall after the 9th Circuit stripped its Section 230 shield Aug 10, clearing 3,000+ addictive-design suits to proceed — erasing the Aug 3 earnings pop.
• TTM Technologies (TTMI) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EPIQ Design Solutions, a premier provider of open-architecture, AI-enabled software-defined radios, high-performance RF products and radiation-tolerant space compute solutions supporting mission-critical signals intelligence and electronic warfare applications, for approximately $1.1B in an all-cash transaction.

Mid-Morning Look

Monday, August 17, 2026

A quiet start to the trading week as technology (XLK, QQQ) the early market leaders with chip/memory stocks higher, but most S&P sectors are lower to start led by consumer staples, REITs and Consumer Discretionary. Energy stocks also among leaders as oil prices open the week higher, boosting Treasury yields as the US 30-year Treasury yields reach 5.29%, highest since 2007. Stocks overall have opened mixed at the start of another quiet summer week. The S&P 500 is looking for direction after hitting an all-time high last week, as investors bet the Fed won't raise interest rates in September. One note of caution sounded Friday, when data showed sales growth at U.S. retailers unexpectedly fell last month. Retailers including Target, Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s will report earnings later this week, and July Fed minutes are Wednesday.

The Nasdaq Composite has picked up where its rally left off. The index couldn't get above Thursday's intraday high of 26,875.52 and drifted lower, ending the session at 26,729.16 and this morning topped at 26,798.40 again failing to take out the Thursday intraday high  Support levels continue to hold, and the Composite remains within striking distance of its record highs. As of Friday's close, the index was just 1.35% below its June 2nd record closing high of 27,093.901 and 1.7% beneath its June 1 record intraday peak of 27,190.207.

• U.S. August NAHB Housing market index 35 (consensus 33) versus 34 in July (previous 34); NAHB August index of current single-family home sales 39 versus 37 in July (previous 37), index of home sales over next six months 43 versus 43 in July (previous 43).

• Data Center/AI sector: HIVE signed a five-year, $350M GPU Cloud agreement with an unnamed investment-grade enterprise customer, adding roughly $70M in annualized revenue. The deal will deploy 2,016 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs in British Columbia, the Bitcoin miner's second large GPU cluster in two months. NVDA will invest $1.5B in SoftBank-backed SB Energy and secure up to 8 gigawatts of AI computing capacity at an Ohio campus being built by the data center developer for OpenAI. META and BLK $14B Sopaipilla data center in Texas faces potentially large losses from catastrophic events, with only a fraction of the project fully covered by insurance, creating credit risks for lenders, FT reports.
• Aerospace sector: RKLB said this weekend eight satellite platforms it built for MDA Space (MDA) have entered orbit, marking the first deployment under a $143 million contract covering 17 spacecraft. The satellites launched Aug. 15 at 9:12 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. YSS was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JP Morgan and cut tgt to $17 from $38 after the space company lowered its 2026 sales guide by 32% suggesting the stock is washed out for now. LUNR Receives authorization for multi-satellite program valued at over $600M

• ARGX +10%; after announced positive top-line results from the Phase 3 ALKIVIA study evaluating Vyvgart in myositis. In the trial, the drug demonstrated a statistically significant benefit in the combined IMNM and DM population as well a statistically significant benefit in the key IMNM subtype.
• HIVE +9%; signed a five-year, $350M GPU Cloud agreement with an unnamed investment-grade enterprise customer, adding roughly $70M in annualized revenue. The deal will deploy 2,016 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs in British Columbia, the Bitcoin miner's second large GPU cluster in two months.
• LUNR +6%; after the company said it was selected for a multi-satellite communications infrastructure program with an anticipated value of more than $600 million.
• OAMI +21%; shares rise after signing a global collaboration and license agreement with LLY for a new ion channel drug discovery program; says it will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for up to $370 mln in research, development and commercial milestone payments

• DT -3%; after offering privately $1.25B exchangeable notes due Sept 1, 2031; says intends to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes.
• ENVX -17%; after announces CEO transition and search as Raj Talluri resigns as CEO and director effective August 13, 2026, while appoints Ryan Benton as interim CEO while conducting CEO search; the company reaffirms Q3 2026 financial guidance and breakthrough technical progress on Cycle Life.
• EYPT -71%; said top line data from its long-acting injection Duravyu failed to maintain vision compared to a standard treatment in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common cause of age-related blindness.
• LHX -3%; named Sam Mehta as chief executive officer, effective immediately, succeeding Christopher Kubasik, who has stepped down from the top role.

Closing Recap

Monday, August 17, 2026

U.S. stocks opened mixed to slightly higher, led by early strength in technology stocks but faded throughout in slow steady fashion (and low volumes) as a rise in oil prices and a further jump in Treasury yields weighed on investors sentiment. A slow summer week is mostly expected heading into “back-to-school”, but a few key big box retailers are out with earnings including Walmart (WMT), Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), Lowe's (LOW), TJX Companies (TJX), Ross Stores (ROST), and BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) headlining the retail earnings lineup this week. Today, energy stocks (DVN, EOG) rose with oil, precious metal/miners (NEM, CDE, HL) rising with gold and silver prices and semis (SNDK, MU) leading higher, while large cap tech (META, MSFT), defense stocks (LHX), software (HUBS, NOW, ADBE) along with consumer staples (XLP) and REITs (XLRE) falling hard. News flow was quiet as more than 460 SPX components have reported this quarter, Fed speakers were quiet, and economic data remains weak over the last 2 weeks leading to expectations of the Fed holding rates steady in September.  While markets are quiet, fading today off all-time highs, here is a stark reminder of just how strong this overall market has been…”Market data from BTIG reveals a striking anomaly in 2026 trading activity. So far this year, the New York Stock Exchange has recorded zero days in which downside volume exceeded 80% of total volume. Historical context underscores how rare this development is. Since 1997, the average calendar year has produced 21 days meeting the 80% downside-volume threshold. No year in that nearly three-decade span has finished with fewer than five.”

Semiconductors a leader for tech gain in what has been a volatile few weeks (year overall) for the sector as the PHLX semi index (SOX) rising +1.6% to 12,620 (just above its 50dma 12,590). Recall the SOX rose 105% from March this year to highs in mid-June…proceeded to then drop -29% over just 6 weeks to a late July low…but the SOX has since rebounded 19% from that low in just 3 weeks! The Nasdaq Composite opened higher but failed again as the index couldn't get above Thursday's intraday high of 26,875.52 on Friday and drifted lower, ending the session at 26,729.16, while this morning topped out at 26,798.40 and again failing to take out the Thursday intraday high  Support levels continue to hold, and the Composite remains within striking distance of its record highs. As of Friday's close, the index was just 1.35% below its June 2nd record closing high of 27,093.901 and 1.7% beneath its June 1 record intraday peak of 27,190.207.

• U.S. August NAHB Housing market index 35 (consensus 33) versus 34 in July (previous 34); NAHB August index of current single-family home sales 39 versus 37 in July (previous 37), index of home sales over next six months 43 versus 43 in July (previous 43).

• U.S. WTI crude oil futures settle at $84.50/bbl, up $2.10, or 2.55% while Brent crude roe $2.35 or 2.65% to settle at $90.87 per barrel. Reuters noted U.S. diesel crack hit an all-time high of $102.20 a Barrel on Monday as global supply disruptions from the wars in Iran and Ukraine run into peak Agricultural consumption season. Measured as the premium of U.S. diesel futures over U.S. WTI crude oil futures, the U.S. diesel crack was trading at $99.82 a Barrel, up 2.4% from Friday, - the crack has hit new intraday record highs in five of the last six sessions.

• Casinos & Gaming: BALY shares tumbled after issues going concern warning over liquidity issues following construction slowdown at Chicago casino. Days after pausing construction on nearly all non-gaming amenities at its $1.7 billion casino complex going up in River West, Bally's Corporation issued a going concern warning related to liquidity issues. The warning, part of Bally's second quarter earnings filing Friday with the SEC. FLUT said its FanDuel unit and digital identity platform GeoComply renewed and expanded their existing partnership.
• Ride Hailing/Food Delivery: UBER mentioned positively in Barron’s as argues the market is over-discounting the long-term robotaxi threat, noting AVs still account for just ~1% of U.S. rides while Uber’s scale and network position it as a key distribution platform for autonomous fleets.
• Online travel/leisure sector: after a strong run post earnings for the group in names like ABNB, EXPE, BKNG and others, the group saw profit taking/pullback; higher oil prices hitting transports and Leisure today overall.

• Industrial sector: MAIR said it would acquire German ventilation technology group ebm-papst in a deal valued at $5.4 billion, expanding its air quality and ventilation solutions business. The deal will see ebm-papst's three shareholder families transfer their stakes to Madison Air.
• E&C Sector: KBR said that its Mission Technology Solutions business has won a NATO recompete contract with an initial ceiling of $60M to support the PATRIOT air and missile defense system and its integration with the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS).

• FinTech sector: Stripe Inc. reached an agreement to acquire artificial intelligence platform OpenRouter Inc. for more than $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the transaction.  The final purchase price could still change.

• AZN announced 1) positive topline results from the Phase 3 SAFFRON trial, where Tagrisso plus Orpathys (MET inhibitor) showed positive PFS and OS results in 2L EGFR+ MET+ NSCLC; and discontinued the Phase 3 eVOLVE-Lung02 trial testing volrustomig (PD-1xCTLA-4) + chemo vs. Keytruda + chemo in PD-L1 low (<50%) NSCLC at an interim analysis due to futility
• EYPT shares tumbled after announces Topline Data from LUGANO, the first of two pivotal phase 3 clinical trials for DURAVYU™ 2.7mg in Wet AMD. DURAVYU was non-inferior to on-label aflibercept control (nominal p-value = 0.0096) in an ad hoc analysis excluding a 4% asymmetric cohort (9 of 211 patients) who experienced vision loss (≥ 15 letters) unrelated to wet AMD; primary endpoint not achieved in full dataset, confounded by this asymmetric cohort.
• FTH shares rallied after the FDA granted fast-track status to its experimental two-drug treatment PIKTOR, in combination with chemotherapy, for certain patients with advanced or recurring endometrial cancer, a type of cancer that starts in the inner lining of the uterus
• OABI shares rise after signing a global collaboration and license agreement with LLY for a new ion channel drug discovery program; says it will receive an upfront payment and is eligible for up to $370 mln in research, development and commercial milestone payments.
• Managed care sector: CNC said Chris Neczypor would take over as the health insurer's Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in 2027, replacing Drew Asher. UNH shares volatile after reports the IRS is investigating UnitedHealth Group with an initial probe determining the health Care conglomerate underpaid taxes during a four-year period by funneling money through a foreign subsidiary. The IRS is “seeking to significantly increase taxable income” from 2017 through 2020 and may force UnitedHealth to pay more “for subsequent years after 2020” UnitedHealth revealed in a regulatory filing.

• Aerospace sector: RKLB said this weekend eight satellite platforms it built for MDA Space (MDA) have entered orbit, marking the first deployment under a $143 million contract covering 17 spacecraft. The satellites launched Aug. 15 at 9:12 p.m. Eastern time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. YSS was downgraded from Overweight to Neutral at JPM and cut tgt to $17 from $38 after the space company lowered its 2026 sales guide by 32% suggesting the stock is washed out for now. LUNR Receives authorization for multi-satellite program valued at over $600M.

• Data Center/AI sector: HIVE signed a five-year, $350M GPU Cloud agreement with an unnamed investment-grade enterprise customer, adding roughly $70M in annualized revenue. The deal will deploy 2,016 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra GPUs in British Columbia, the Bitcoin miner's second large GPU cluster in two months. NVDA will invest $1.5B in SoftBank-backed SB Energy and secure up to 8 gigawatts of AI computing capacity at an Ohio campus being built by the data center developer for OpenAI. META and BLK $14B Sopaipilla data center in Texas faces potentially large losses from catastrophic events, with only a fraction of the project fully covered by insurance, creating credit risks for lenders, FT reports.
• Social media sector: SNAP was weak on the day. Note META Social Media addiction trial Tuesday. Also, on August 10, 2026, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an interlocutory appeal by Meta, TikTok, and related parties (affecting Snap and Google/YouTube as well). It held that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides a Defense to liability, not immunity from being sued. As a result, more than 3,000 (reports vary between ~2,400–3,300+) federal lawsuits alleging that the platforms were designed to be addictive to young users can proceed toward trial rather than being dismissed early on Section 230 grounds. The court did not rule on the merits of the Design claims or eliminate Section 230 as a Defense at trial; it simply said the companies appealed too early and must litigate further.

• Optical and Networking sector: group extends last week gains on the back of better recent results from LITE, COHR and others; GILT Peruvian Subsidiary signs $14M Fiber-optic broadband deal to benefit 273 public institutions in Ayacucho
• Software sector: BABA said it was offloading its Lingxi Games unit to Trustar Capital for at least $1.5B as it doubles down on AI; sale part of the broader plan to shed non-core assets and free up capital for AI and e-commerce; Alibaba’s open-source AI models already outpacing META in downloads.
• IT Services & Consulting: DT shares fell after offering privately $1.25B exchangeable notes due Sept 1, 2031; says intends to use net proceeds for general corporate purposes.

• ALAB was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Northland with a $350 price target saying Astera Labs is positioned for further earnings upside as the AI infrastructure spending cycle extends, with rising content per rack and growing share opportunities in scale-up and scale-out switching fabrics.
• CBRS shares surged after reportedly named the exclusive compute backbone for OpenAI’s GPT-5.6 SOL Ultrafast mode at up to 750 tokens per second. The partnership already includes 750 MW of OpenAI capacity through 2028 which gives the company a clear path to scale its Wafer-Scale Engine alongside rising inference demand."
• MBLY was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Berenberg after the company reported strong Q2 results, but the stock overcorrected due to the resignation of co-founder and CEO Professor Amnon Shashua and believes the shares at current levels are mispricing Mobileye's mid-term business growth prospects.

Street Recommendations

Monday, August 17, 2026

• BMRN Barclays analyst Eliana Merle raised the firm's price target on BioMarin to $111 from $105 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q2 report. The firm thinks the company's $220M by 2028 cost synergy guidance is achievable and "likely to activate quickly," leading to meaningful earnings accretion in 2027 and beyond.
• CBRE Barclays raised the firm's price target on CBRE Group to $183 from $180 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm upped estimates and price targets across the commercial real estate servicers group. Further recovery in the market combined with service offering expansions support double-digit earnings growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CWK Barclays raised the firm's price target on Cushman & Wakefield to $16 from $15 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm upped estimates and price targets across the commercial real estate servicers group. Further recovery in the market combined with service offering expansions support double-digit earnings growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• JLL Barclays analyst Brendan Lynch raised the firm's price target on JLL to $401 from $368 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm upped estimates and price targets across the commercial real estate servicers group. Further recovery in the market combined with service offering expansions support double-digit earnings growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• BJ BofA raised the firm's price target on BJ's Wholesale to $101 from $100 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The stock offers balanced risk/reward, with stable sales but limited margin upside, while improving grocery card-spend data suggests potential upside to the 2.5% comp sales forecast, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• WDAY BTIG downgraded Workday to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The shares are "priced for a buyout" following recent reports, the analyst tells investors in a research note. BTIG does not believe Workday is likely to pursue meaningful margin expansion while its low double digit organic subscription revenue growth continues to slow. BTIG sees potential share upside if the private equity firm secures financing for a $50B-plus takeover of Workday. However, it now views the stock's risk/reward as balanced "even if talks with the private equity firm break down."

• QTRX Canaccord lowered the firm's price target on Quanterix to $3 from $4 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm updated its model following Q2 results said their target change is reflecting commercial execution challenges and continued softness in academic, government, and pharma end markets.
• BVS Canaccord raised the firm's price target on Bioventus to $19 from $15 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated its mode following Q2 results and said its target increase reflects the higher comp group average and the firm's higher estimates.

• OZK Citi keeps a Sell rating on Bank OZK with a $40 price target after Das Investment reported that Deutsche Finance Investment Fund 17, whose sole investment was 808 Windsor, is insolvent. This indicates an imminent foreclosure for Bank OZK, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi says 808 Windsor has a $169.3M outstanding substandard loan with the bank.

• WDAY Deutsche Bank downgraded Workday to Hold from Buy with a $220 price target. The firm cites valuation for the downgrade following the stock's recent rally. It sees a more balanced risk/reward at current share levels.

• CELC Guggenheim analyst Brad Canino raised the firm's price target on Celcuity to $175 from $165 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Celcuity remains well positioned ahead of Revtorpyk's expected late-Q3 commercial launch, with a potential September shipment announcement as a catalyst, supportive efficacy data, and ample cash through 2029, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• FWONK Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker raised the firm's price target on Liberty Formula One to $134 from $125 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Revenue and OIBDA missed estimates, prompting a modest reduction to 2026 OIBDA, but the outlook remains constructive on sponsorship momentum, Concorde operating leverage, Las Vegas profitability, the new Madrid race, and international media rights renewals, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• FWONA Guggenheim raised the firm's price target on Liberty Formula One to $124 from $116 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Revenue and OIBDA missed estimates, prompting a modest reduction to 2026 OIBDA, but the outlook remains constructive on sponsorship momentum, Concorde operating leverage, Las Vegas profitability, the new Madrid race, and international media rights renewals, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• SPRB Guggenheim lowered the firm's price target on Spruce Biosciences to $104 from $123 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company is advancing TA-ERT toward a BLA with the TrAnsform confirmatory study beginning in 4Q26, steady CMC progress and commercial preparations ahead of a potential 2H27 approval, with physician checks supporting peak sales above $300M, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• WMT Guggenheim lowered the firm's price target on Walmart to $135 from $137 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Progressively lower expectations and substantial tariff-refund reinvestment resources have improved the Q2 setup, while moderating food volumes and weaker general merchandise demand remain concerns, with potential 2H improvement and growing 2P contributions supporting the high end of EBIT guidance, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• RIOT JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Riot Platforms to $22 from $20 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company is "building momentum" with an Anthropic lease signed at "attractive economics," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says execution of Riot's AMD lease remains on track.

• CLBK Keefe Bruyette yesterday initiated coverage of Columbia Financial with an Outperform rating and $14.50 price target. The bank is getting rid of its mutual structure through its second-step conversion while simultaneously acquiring Northfield Bancorp, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says this creates a "scaled community banking franchise with notable market share and density in one of the most attractive markets across the country."

• INTU Mizuho analyst Siti Panigrahi lowered the firm's price target on Intuit to $430 from $500 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm expects the company to reset fiscal 2027 expectations on the Q4 earnings call, "embedding incremental conservatism." However, Intuit's multiple has already compressed, with the shares trading near trough valuations despite a business that grows double-digits with strong cash flow generation, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• SCSC Northcoast downgraded ScanSource to Neutral from Buy.

• DAVE Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Dave with an Overweight rating and $390 price target. Dave is a low-cost neobank alternative serving the 185M financially vulnerable Americans who remain underserved by traditional banks, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Piper says the company's ExtraCash provides cash advances to customers and is underwritten through CashAI, its AI-powered underwriting system.
• EAT Piper Sandler analyst Brian Mullan raised the firm's price target on Brinker to $240 from $166 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares after quarterly results and initial 2027 guidance. The momentum at Chili's remains quite strong, with a very solid Q4 same-store sales result, and commentary given on the call that July sales and traffic have "significantly accelerated."
• PYPL Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on PayPal to $59 from $42 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares following Wall Street Journal's report that the company is in discussions with Stripe and Advent International after viewing the group's initial $60.50 per share proposal as insufficient and negotiating a potentially higher price. The firm views the latest development as potential strategic validation of PayPal's asset base beyond branded checkout, including its consumer wallet, Venmo ecosystem, financial-services distribution, global licenses, risk infrastructure, and credit capabilities.
• ARDX Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on Ardelyx to $15 from $16 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. With Q2 2026 reporting wrapped up, the firm is updating estimates and thoughts for select smid-cap companies. Piper notes the company had a tough quarter and downward guidance revision.
• ARGX Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Argenx to $1,215 from $1,075 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. With Q2 2026 reporting wrapped up, the firm is updating estimates and thoughts for select smid-cap companies. The firm cites execution across the board for the price target change.

• PAA RBC Capital analyst Elvira Scotto raised the firm's price target on Plains All American to $26 from $23 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares. The firm is raising its estimates following the company's Q2 results, also stating that following its Canadian NGL asset sale, Plains All American has become a pure-play crude oil midstream platform supported by basin production growth, capital projects, asset integration, and efficiency gains that should all provide tailwinds into 2027, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• STAA Stifel lowered the firm's price target on Staar Surgical to $28 from $31 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The Q2 update was net positive, with China share gains, improving China trends, EVO+ momentum, and solid EBITDA supporting a stronger 2H26 outlook, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• OKTA TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal raised the firm's price target on Okta to $160 from $105 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm expects Okta to report fiscal Q2 results in line with or better than consensus. TD sees growing security demand powered by the essential role that identity plays in securing AI, and Okta should benefit from productivity increases, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CRWD TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $235 from $175 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a Q2 earnings preview. The "AI-driven EDR renaissance disproportionately benefits" CrowdStrike, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the company's annual recurring revenue momentum could continue well into next year.
• S TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $25 from $22 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a Q2 earnings preview. The need to secure AI is emerging as a "significant growth tailwind" for endpoint protection, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm expects an "upbeat outlook" on SentinelOne's net new annual recurring revenue.
• PANW TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Palo Alto Networks to $400 from $360 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a fiscal Q4 earnings preview. TD expects an in-line revenue growth rate of 32% year-over-year and 99c in non-GAAP earnings. It believes Palo Alto's current trends are "very strong" while platform consolidation remains intact. The firm believes Palo Alto could guide fiscal 2027 growth above the Street's 21% estimate.

• AEE Truist lowered the firm's price target on Ameren to $120 from $124 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a broader research note on Power and Utilities names. The firm is updating its models following earnings across its covered companies as well as reflecting changes in peer average multiples, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The company's quarterly update was confirmation of its broad tailwinds into fall across load acceleration requiring a CapEx pull forward to build out generation, and with constructive financing dynamics in place set to benefit higher earnings growth heading into its Q3 plan refresh, Truist added.
• AEP Truist analyst Richard Sunderland raised the firm's price target on American Electric to $139 from $146 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a broader research note on Power and Utilities names. The firm is updating its models following earnings across its covered companies as well as reflecting changes in peer average multiples, the analyst tells investors in a research note. There's a lot to like about the company's quarterly update, with incremental contracted load raised up 6GB and an additional 3 GW of gas turbine capacity secured, Truist added. Confidence in these tailwinds, upside capex across fuel cells/transmission/generation, and regulatory progress into the upcoming fall plan refresh stands out, the firm stated.
• DUK Truist lowered the firm's price target on Duke Energy to $135 from $138 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a broader research note on Power and Utilities names. The firm is updating its models following earnings across its covered companies as well as reflecting changes in peer average multiples, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While the 0.2GW of signed ESAs landed more modestly on the quarter relative to Q1 progress, the firm notes that the reaffirmation of the full 15.4GW pipeline plus upside potential from this of $5B-$10B IN/FL investment is a positive indicator as the company works towards its traditional Q4 plan refresh, Truist added.

• JRVR UBS analyst Brian Meredith lowered the firm's price target on James River Group to $4 from $5 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares.
• GO UBS analyst Mark Carden raised the firm's price target on Grocery Outlet to $11.50 from $10 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Grocery Outlet's turnaround showed noticeable progress in Q2 through a stronger opportunistic assortment and improved traffic, but basket pressure, store optimization effects, and the ongoing UGO review leave the risk/reward balanced, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• MRVL UBS lowered the firm's price target on Marvell to $300 from $340 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm's outlook is strengthening as AI infrastructure demand boosts optical and networking, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• BURL UBS analyst Jay Sole raised the firm's price target on Burlington Stores to $440 from $435 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm's checks suggest Burlington Stores had a solid Q2, and sees slightly above-consensus comps and EPS results, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• ACAD UBS raised the firm's price target on Acadia Pharmaceuticals to $49 from $45 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Acadia is viewed favorably ahead of remlifanserin's first ADP readout expected in September-October, with the probability of success raised to 50% and risk-adjusted peak sales increased to $1.6B from $1.3B, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• OKTA Wells Fargo upgraded Okta to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $180, up from $150. The firm says its field work increases conviction in the company's base case of durable low-teens growth. This should limit downside in the shares, while the likelihood of AI upside "continues to rise," the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wells sees increasing evidence in support of Okta's core demand improving. It believes low-teens growth is a likely base case, rather than upside.
• LDOS Wells Fargo analyst David Strauss raised the firm's price target on Leidos to $165 from $120 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm says supplier original-equipment acceleration is underway and that it sees outgrowing aftermarket in the second half of the year.
• PANW Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Palo Alto Networks to $475 from $420 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm expects shares to extend higher despite recent run, as checks further improving into July underpins its view of Palo Alto as strongest exposure to secular growth in cyber. Wells sees FY27 guide, M&A execution and cleaner segmentation as catalysts.
• CRWD Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $230 from $181.25 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm sees a tricky EPS setup as the first off-cycle security name to report. Checks were strong in absolute terms, yet a touch more mixed than in recent quarters, Wells notes. The firm expects Q2 upside similar to Q1 with attention likely to quickly shift to Fal.Con the following week.
• S Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $22 from $16 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Discussing the firm's off-cycle security reseller survey and about 20 conversations in July-August, Wells says Security demand remains strong, evidenced by partners 31% net above plan overall and weighted growth of 16%year-over-year, up from the 13% last quarter, with greater than 50% expecting growth to accelerate in the second half of the year.
• ZS Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Zscaler to $210 from $180 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Discussing the firm's off-cycle security reseller survey and about 20 conversations in July-August, Wells says Security demand remains strong, evidenced by partners 31% net above plan overall and weighted growth of 16%year-over-year, up from the 13% last quarter, with greater than 50% expecting growth to accelerate in the second half of the year.
• DLTR Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Dollar Tree to $155 from $145 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm models Q2 EPS of $1.15 on 3.3% same-store sales, but says upside to its estimates is possible. Wells expects full year guidance raise with easing traffic compares, lower second half of the year tariff rate and accelerated share repurchase. Tariff refunds are an investment pool for momentum, adds the firm.
• OLLI Wells Fargo analyst Edward Kelly lowered the firm's price target on Ollie's Bargain Outlet to $100 from $115 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says it seems like the company had a disappointing Q2 with tough compares, gas/trip consolidation headwinds, questions around the breadth of impactful deals.

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

• 10:00 AM ET NAHB Housing Market Index for August
• 4:00 PM ET                    Net Long-term TIC Flows for June

• Earnings After the Close: DCGO FLXS FN XP YALA

• Rosenblatt 6th Annual Age of AI Tech Virtual Summit, 8/17-8/18

• 8:30 AM ET                   Housing Starts M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Building Permits M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Import Prices M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Export Prices M/M for July
• 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 9:15 AM ET                   Industrial Production M/M for July
• 9:15 AM ET                   Capacity Utilization for July
• 10:00 AM ET                 Pending Home Sales M/M for July
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: AUNA JKHY KEYS LZB MRCY SQM TOL ZTO

• Piper California Medtech & Diagnostics Bus Tour, 8/18-8/20
• Rosenblatt 6th Annual Age of AI Tech Virtual Summit, 8/17-8/18
• Seaport Global 15th Annual Summer Investor Virtual Conference, 8/18-8/19

• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $13B in 20-year bonds

• Earnings After the Close: ARAY BILL ALVO BULL COTY NDSN TLX UFI WOLF

• Needham 7th Annual Virtual Semiconductor & Semicap 1x1 Conference, 8/19-8/20
• Piper California Medtech & Diagnostics Bus Tour, 8/18-8/20
• Seaport Global 15th Annual Summer Investor Virtual Conference, 8/18-8/19

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Philly Fed Business Index for August
• 10:00 AM ET                 Leading Indicators M/M for July
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: FLO FLUX ICG OSIS ROST

• Needham 7th Annual Virtual Semiconductor & Semicap 1x1 Conference, 8/19-8/20
• Piper California Medtech & Diagnostics Bus Tour, 8/18-8/20

• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Services PMI, Aug-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Composite PMI, Aug-flash
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

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