Early Look

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Futures

Up/Down

%

Last

Dow

95.00

0.19%

49,554

S&P 500

27.25

0.37%

7,405

Nasdaq

205.50

0.71%

29,129

 

 

U.S. futures are bouncing across the board, led by a rally in tech (Nasdaq futures outperform) as optimism is high heading into this evenings earnings results from semiconductor chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) which is expected to help bounce the sector after pulling back from skyrocket record highs reached just late last week. US equities closed lower Tuesday as traders faded optimism around a near-term US/Iran agreement after reports suggested negotiations remain stuck. Higher Treasury yields amid rising inflation fears has also dented investor sentiment the last three days, though the 10-year yield slips 3 bps to 4.63% this morning while oil prices also ease. The S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) both recorded its first three day decline since the end of March (3/26-3/30) as Treasury yields ended higher again, with the 10-yr finishing at 4.661% (up 70 bps since the start of the Iran war), the 2-year yield at 4.11% and the 30-yr yield at 5.177%. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index tumbled-746 points to 59,804, the Shanghai Index slipped -7 points to 4,162, and the Hang Seng Index dropped -146 points to 25,651. In Europe, the German DAX is up 150 points to 24,550, while the FTSE 100 is up 13 points to 10,343. Solid earnings/guidance this morning from retailers, Target (TGT), Lowe’s (LOW), Hasbro (HAS) and VF Corp. (VFC) and last night from CAVA and RRGB in the restaurant sector. Its all about Nvidia today as options traders are pricing an implied move of 5.5% for shares in either direction following the results. Rising memory price costs are also a factor this morning as an impending strike at Samsung could add to concerns around supply, boosting shares of MU, SNDK early.

 

Market Closing Prices Yesterday

  • The S&P 500 Index slumped -49.44 points, or 0.67%, to 7,353.61
  • The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -322.24 points, or 0.65%, to 49,363.88
  • The Nasdaq Composite dropped -220.02 points, or 0.84%, to 25,870.71
  • The Russell 2000 Index declined -28.03 points, or 1.01% to 2,747.07

Economic Calendar for Today

  • 7:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications Data
  • 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly DOE Inventory Data
  • 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $13B in 20-year notes

Earnings Calendar:

  • Earnings Before the Open: ADI ARCO BZ BZUN HDS HAS IMVT LOW LPG PERI RLX ROIV TGT TJX VFC ZIM
  • Earnings After the Close: BORR ELF ENS INTU NDSN NVDA SBLK STEP URBN

Other Key Events:

  • B Riley 26th Annual Investor Conference, 5/20-5/21, in Los Angeles, CA
  • Cantor Oncology Day 5/20, in New York
  • Deutsche Bank Global Auto industry Conference, 5/19-5/20, in New York
  • JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, 5/18-5/20, in Boston, MA
  • RBC Capital Global Healthcare Conference 5/19/5/20, in New York
  • RBC Capital Canadian Industrials Conference 5/19-5/21, in Toronto
  • Truist 27th Annual Truist Securities Financial Services Conference, 5/19-5/20 in New York

 

 

Macro

Up/Down

Last

Nymex

-1.94

102.21

Brent

-2.18

109.10

Gold

-13.30

4,497.90

EUR/USD

-0.0005

1.160

JPY/USD

-0.08

158.89

10-Year Note

-0.031

4.63%

 

World News

  • Fed’s Paulson said she favored holding interest rates steady and conditioned lower borrowing costs on making sustained progress on inflation. Minutes of the April 28–29 FOMC meeting should show that support for removing the easing bias from the statement extended beyond the three dissenters

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

  • Cava Group (CAVA) Q1 EPS $0.20 vs. consensus $0.17; Q1 revs $434.4M vs. consensus $418.6M; Q1 comp store sales rose +9.7%, including guest traffic growth of 6.8%; raises FY26 same restaurant sales view to 4.5%-6.5% from 3.0%-5.0% and also boosted its FY26 adjusted EBITDA view to $181M-$191M from $176M-$184M.
  • Target Corp. (TGT) Q1 adj EPS $1.71 vs. consensus $1.46 and sales $25.44B vs. est. $24.64B; Q1 comp sales +5.6% topping consensus of +2.5%; raised its net sales to grow around 4% this fiscal year from a year ago, double its prior target of 2% growth; Q1 Digital sales surged 8.9%, well above the 1.9% growth last quarter. Target posted a rise in sales in all six of its core merchandising categories, compared with declines in five categories a year ago.
  • Lowe’s (LOW) Q1 adj EPS $3.03 vs. consensus $2.97 and revs $23.08B vs. consensus $22.88B; Q1 comp store sales rose +0.6%; backs FY26 adjusted EPS view $12.25-$12.75 (est. $12.59), FY26 revenue view $92B-$94B (est. $93.07B) and backs FY26 comparable sales view flat to up 2%
  • Hasbro (HAS) Q1 adj EPS $1.47 tops consensus $1.13 on revs $1.0B vs. est $964.4M and vs prelim guidance of $970M-$985M; said it recorded $8.3M in U.S. import tariff costs; Quarterly revenue in its Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment rose about 26%. It had risen 46% in the year-ago quarter.
  • Red Robin Gourmet (RRGB) Q1 adj EPS $0.13 vs. est. $0.00; Q1 revs $378.3M above consensus $362.14M; reaffirms FY26 adjusted EBITDA view $70M-$73M and sees FY26 Comparable restaurant revenue growth, excluding deferred loyalty revenue 0.5%-1.5%.
  • Toll Brothers (TOL) Q2 EPS $2.72 vs est $2.58, on home sales revenue $2.51B vs est $2.415B; Q2 adj home sales gross margin 26.2%; sees Q3 deliveries 2,600–2,700 units, sees FY26 deliveries 10,400–10,700 units.
  • VF Corporation (VFC) returns to revenue growth for the full year in FY'26 with expanded margins and reduced debt; reinstates annual guidance effective FY'27: expects another year of growth and about 8% adjusted operating margin; says remain on track to achieve our medium-term targets.
  • Zillow (ZG) asked a court to stop real estate Brokerage Compass (COMP) from working with a Chicago-area multiple listing service to block access to home listings after Zillow established new rules around private listings on its site

Energy, Industrials and Materials

  • China intends to purchase 200 Boeing (BA) jets and seek an extension of a trade truce with the U.S. set to expire in November, Reuters reports. It is not yet known what Boeing planes will be purchased, but, if finalized, the orders would mark Boeing's first major deal with China in a decade.
  • Golar LNG (GLNG) Q1 operating revs $137.554M and adj EBITDA $105.57M vs. EST $90.2M; said is ramping up activities to order 4th FLNG within 2026 & to secure attractive long term FLNG projects
  • ZTO Express (ZTO) Q1 adjusted EPS RM2.95, vs. consensus RMB3.07 and reports Q1 revenue RMB13.282B, vs. consensus RMB12.8B; Reiterates 2026 parcel volume expected to increase by 10% to 13%, representing parcel volume of 42.37B to 43.52B.

Financials

  • Goldman Sachs (GS) is said to have the leading role on the cover of SpaceX’s (SPCX) IPO, with Morgan Stanley (MS) also listed as a lead bank. SpaceX expects to proceed with its acquisition of Cursor 30 days after the company begins trading publicly, and if the deal doesn’t go through, SpaceX would pay Cursor a $10 billion breakup fee in cash – Bloomberg reported.

Healthcare

  • Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) is bringing Anthropic's flagship Claude product to more than 30,000 of its employees, deepening its use of artificial intelligence and AI agents for a variety of functions, from research to clinical development and corporate functions - WSJ
  • Cigna (CI) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, while upgraded Humana (HUM) to Buy from Hold, Centene (CNC) to Buy from Hold and Elevance (ELV) to Buy from Hold in managed care.
  • Pfizer (PFE) announced data from its Phase 2 study evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a four-dose series of its investigational 25-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate PF-07872412 in infants compared to four doses of PREVNAR 20 at months 2, 4, 6 and 12-15.
  • Relay Therapeutics (RLAY) announces underwritten public offering of $175M of common stock.

Technology, Media & Telecom

  • 8x8 (EGHT) Q4 EPS $0.11 vs est $0.08, adj operating Income $19.8M vs est $15.7Mm, on revenue $185.2M vs est $181.1M; guides Q1 revenue $180–$185M vs est $182.4M, adj gr mgn 63.5-64.5%, adj EPS $0.08-0.09 vs est $0.09; sees FY revs $727-747Mm, adj gr mgn 62.5-63.5% and adj EPS $0.33-0.38 vs est $0.36.
  • Alibaba Group (BABA) unveiled a new AI chip, the Zhenwu M890, developed by Alibaba's semiconductor design subsidiary ‌T-Head, delivers three times the performance of its predecessor, Zhenwu 810E.
  • Google (GOOG, GOOGL) debuted an updated version of its all-important Search product, rolling out improved AI capabilities that let you ask more detailed questions, create search-based AI agents, and better visualize topics via AI-generated interface tools.
  • Keysight Technologies (KEYS) Q2 adj EPS $2.87 vs. consensus $2.32 and Q2 revs $1.71B vs. est. $1.70B; Q2 adj net income $497M vs. est. $401.3M; recorded $100M receivable in Q2 over IEEPA claim; guided Q3 revenue $1.73–$1.75B above consensus est. $1.65B.
  • Roblox (RBLX) announces inaugural share repurchase program; authorizes share repurchase program up to $3B.
  • Rubrik (RBRK) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer with an $85 price target, citing strong checks from value-added resellers and said they believe Rubrik is benefiting from a sharp recovery in backup and recovery/cyber-resilience sector demand.
  • Samsung (SSNLF) union set to strike on Thursday, as approximately 48,000 workers are scheduled to begin an 18-day strike over bonus payments, posing a potential risk to South Korea's economy and global chip supply, although renewed negotiations have kept open the possibility of a last-minute agreement – Reuters.
  • Viavi (VIAV) 11.11M share Spot Secondary priced at $45.0

Mid-Morning Look

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Index

Up/Down

%

Last

DJ Industrials

243.59

0.49%

49,607

S&P 500

42.59

0.58%

7,396

Nasdaq

215.49

0.83%

26,086

Russell 2000

24.13

0.88%

2,771

 

 

U.S. stocks open higher after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell for a 3rd straight day on Tuesday, their longest losing streaks since the end of March though pared losses late day amid a bounce in tech stocks, as markets now await earnings results from the biggest company in the world, NVidia (NVDA) tonight after the bell in the semi sector. Stocks got an additional bounce as oil prices fell around 4%, putting stocks at their highs this morning which lifted gold prices off lows and Treasury yields slipped. Smallcaps bounce as the Russell 2000 outperforms. Overnight, Al Arabiya reported that President Trump said that Iran’s leaders are begging to make a deal, but that a new U.S. attack would happen in the coming days if one was not reached. Reuters is reporting that U.S. President Donald Trump again asserted the war with Iran will end "very quickly," ‌on Tuesday night. Peace talks between the U.S. and Iran are making limited progress as both countries have rejected each other’s latest proposals. Iran described the U.S. proposal as containing “excessive demands and unrealistic positions,” while the U.S. said Iran’s revised proposal was not a meaningful improvement and remained insufficient for a deal. With no major US economic data today and earnings in retail mostly better today, but guidance weighed on shares of Target (TGT) and Lowe’s (LOW), the attention remains firmly back on tech (XLK) and semis (SOX) after a small three day decline from record highs after a monstrous run in 2026 on Ai demand growth hopes.

 

 

Macro

Up/Down

Last

WTI Crude

-4.21

99.94

Brent

-2.17

109.11

Gold

-3.20

4,508.00

EUR/USD

0.0005

1.1608

JPY/USD

-0.02

159.00

10-Year Note

-0.034

4.635%

 

Sector Movers Today

  • Managed Care: HUM (tgt to $441 from $235), CNC (tgt to $80 from $53), and ELV (tgt to $498 from $363) all upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank, and downgraded CI to Hold on valuation. In short, their thesis is that after three years of immense funding pressure on Medicare and Medicaid, the MCOs have finally caught up to the rate-chasing-risk Cycle and can rebuild margins through an underwriting Cycle upswing driven largely by product pricing which is now less dependent on rates. The firm believes utilization growth trends may have peaked, allowing the MCOs to better price for higher cost growth. For HUM, expects the company's Medicare star ratings to recover and sys 2026 should be the earnings bottom for Humana.
  • Software: software names (ADBE, CRM, HUBS, MNDY, TEAM, WDAY) resumed downward pressure amid rotation back into semis - software names (IGV) had enjoyed three days rally while semis pulled back from highs; RBRK was upgraded to Outperform (from Perform) at Oppenheimer as believes: (1) Rubrik is benefitting from a sharp recovery in backup & recovery/cyber-resilience sector demand; (2) its product leadership across various workloads continues to improve; and (3) given Rubrik protects mission-critical workloads, higher memory pricing doesn't seem to be impacting demand, at least for now.
  • Memory chip makers MU, SNDK saw gains early on reports Samsung (SSNLF) union set to strike on Thursday, as approximately 48,000 workers are scheduled to begin an 18-day strike over bonus payments, posing a potential risk to South Korea's economy and global chip supply (and possibly raise memory costs). Media reports later noted Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labor union reached a preliminary pay deal on Wednesday, potentially averting a planned lengthy strike that threatened to disrupt the production of AI and other chips.

 

Stock GAINERS

  • CAVA +3%; shares rallied behind results as Q1 EPS $0.20/revs $434.4M topped consensus $017/$418.6M as Q1 comp store sales rose +9.7% and raises FY26 same restaurant sales view to 4.5%-6.5% from 3.0%-5.0% and also boosted its FY26 adjusted EBITDA view to $181M-$191M from $176M-$184M.
  • CHRW +3%; was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies saying their visit to the company's headquarters materially reinforced the firm's conviction in the firms technology and productivity transformation.
  • IBRX +9%; after the FDA accepted for review the supplemental Biologics license application to expand the label for Anktiva in battling invasive bladder cancer.
  • IMVT +22%; announced preliminary results from IMVT-1402 Trial in D2T RA. At the completion of Period 1, 165 of the 170 patients were evaluable for ACR20 response. Of these patients, 86.7% (143/165) had failed two prior mechanisms of advanced therapies, and the mean time since diagnosis was 12.8 years.
  • TJX +5%; reported Q1 top and bottom line above consensus at $1.19/$14.3B vs. consensus $1.00/$140.01B; and Q2 guidance was in-line with consensus while raises year outlook for FY27 comp store sales growth between 3%-4% (vs. prior 2%-3%) and EPS $5.08-$5.15, above prior view $4.93-$5.02.
  • TOL +5%; Q2 results topped consensus as EPS $2.72 vs est $2.58, on home sales revenue $2.51B vs est $2.415B; Q2 adj home sales gross margin 26.2 raises full-year guidance across all key home building metrics as expects FY 2026 deliveries of 10,400-10,700 units, avg price $985,000-$1,000,000.

 

Stock LAGGARDS

  • ADI -4%; following quarterly results and guidance
  • LOW -3%; results beat for Q1 but only affirms guide; Q1 adj EPS $3.03 vs. consensus $2.97 and revs $23.08B vs. consensus $22.88B; Q1 comp store sales rose +0.6%; backs FY26 adjusted EPS view $12.25-$12.75 (est. $12.59), FY26 revenue view $92B-$94B (est. $93.07B) and backs FY26 comp sales view flat to up 2%
  • TGT -6%; reported a big Q1 comparable sales and earnings beat (+5.6% Y/y vs consensus +2.4% and 1.71 vs consensus $1.47, respectively). Target raised FY'26 guidance (net sales by +2pp and EPS to the high-end of initial $7.50-$8.50 range), but the earnings range falls below current consensus expectations ($8.12).
  • VFC -1%; Q4 revenue of $2.17B topped estimates of $2.13B helped by strong demand in Americas region, reports annual revenue growth of 4% excluding contributions from Dickies brand, which it sold in late 2025, marking the first revenue growth following three years of decline.
  • VIAV -1%; shares dropped after announces pricing of 11.11M share offering at $45.00.
  • WRBY -3%; adds to prior day weakness - Roth noted "The Google Io event from 5/19 included some modest new details around Warby's Smart glasses product, with the most important one being timing: available "this fall." While this was essentially in line with Roth view, it may have been disappointing for some Smart glasses bulls"

Closing Recap

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Index

Up/Down

%

Last

DJ Industrials

645.47

1.31%

50,009

S&P 500

79.28

1.08%

7,432

Nasdaq

399.65

1.54%

26,270

Russell 2000

70.29

2.56%

2,817

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. stocks closed at the highs in a strong showing, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished around 50K, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recouped much of their losses the last 3 days amid a broad based rally led by Technology (XLK) Industrials (XLI) and Materials (XLB), three of the top S&P sectors of the year, and Consumer Discretionary (XLY +2.5% today), while Energy (XLE) was the big laggard, falling over -2.4% but remains the top gainer on the year (+33% YTD). Market enthusiasm ahead of Nvidia (NVDA) earnings tonight was clear, with chip stocks seeing big bounces after a rare recent slide, as the Philly semi SOX index rose around 4.5%. Oil prices tumbled over 5% and Treasury yields sunk after a 6-week run, also providing support for investors. Smallcaps were among the biggest beneficiaries today or the lower yields (IWM was up over 2.5%), along with housing stocks and mortgage related names after the 10-yr yield jumped 70 bps since the start of the Iran war. After tech digests the NVDA earnings results tonight, markets get the world largest retailer earnings tomorrow in Wal-Mart (WMT) and Industrial machinery giant Deere (DE) earnings as well.

 

It seemed nothing could dent todays excitement as minutes of the Federal Reserve's April meeting showed officials warned the Iran war could fuel inflation, boosting support for a possible rate hike, with most policymakers saying tightening may be needed if inflation remains above the 2% target. @Bluekurtic noted on X, “S&P 500 is now positive for the week and could mark its 8th straight weekly gain, only the 20th time since 1950. This kind of momentum has rarely been followed by large drawdowns. In all 19 prior cases, the next 3 month max drawdown stayed below 10%. Every single time.” Still just mid-week, but does NVDA keep the Bull rally alive?

 

President Donald Trump said that negotiations with Iran were in the final stages, while warning of further attacks unless Iran agrees to a deal, according to Reuters. "We're in the final stages of Iran. We'll see what happens. Either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen," Reuters quotes the President as having told reporters on Wednesday. "We're going to give this one shot. I'm in no hurry. Ideally I'd like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way," Trump is said to have added.

 

IPO fever really picking up with some of the most highly anticipated IPOs in history are potentially coming in the next few months, following the massive semi chip related Cerebras (CBRS) hot IPO last week that opened at $345 after pricing 30M shares at $185. The other day, SpaceX (SPCX) announced it picked Nasdaq as listing venue for its initial public offering (IPO) and its initial public offering could be as early as June 11, set to list shares on June 12. Then today, the WSJ reported ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has been working with Bankers to prepare to file for an initial public offering in the coming days or weeks. Bankers at firms including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been helping the artificial-intelligence giant on a draft IPO prospectus it plans to file confidentially with regulators soon, possibly as early as Friday.


Even hawkish Fed headlines couldn’t dent optimism today: FOMC Minutes showed Federal Reserve officials' concerns about inflation being stoked by the Iran war intensified last month, with a growing number of them saying the Central bank should lay the groundwork for a possible rate hike, a sign that incoming Chair Kevin Warsh will inherit an increasingly hawkish crew of Central Bankers. Moreover, a majority of Fed policymakers at their April 28-29 meeting said some policy tightening may be needed were inflation to continue running persistently above the Central bank's 2% target. Investors are now pricing in a 48.6% chance the Federal Reserve could raise rates in December, and an 89.6% chance it maintains current rates at its next meeting in June, according to CME's FedWatch tool.

Commodities, Currencies & Treasuries

  • U.S. crude oil prices fell as WTI crude tumbled -$5.89, or 5.66% to settle at $98.26 per barrel and Brent crude declined -$6.26 or 5.63% to settle at $105.02 per barrel after President Donald Trump said talks with Iran are in the final stages. Trump said earlier in the week that he called off renewed military strikes against Iran to give more time for diplomacy at the request of Gulf Arab allies. The president told reporters earlier Wednesday that the administration was in the “final stages” of negotiations with Iran, according to a pool report.
  • After a massive surge in Treasury yields the last few weeks, raising inflation concerns, Yields today moved lower following a selloff in the previous session, as uncertainty persisted around the war with Iran and the path of inflation. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was last down 10 basis points on the day at 4.56% after reaching its highest level since January 2025 on Tuesday, surging to 4.687%. The 30-year Treasury bond's yield was down roughly 6.6 bp at 5.114%. It briefly touched 5.197% this week, its highest since July 2007.The shorter term 2-yr yield fell 8.5bps to 4.037%, off higher of 4.122% yesterday.
  • June gold settles +$24.10/oz, or +0.53%, at $4,535.30 an ounce, while July Silver settles +$1.02/oz, or +1.36%, at $76.18 an ounce as hopes for a resolution to the Iran conflict pressured oil markets, relieving some inflation fears and knocking U.S. Treasury yields from their recent highs.

 

Macro

Up/Down

Last

WTI Crude

-5.89

98.26

Brent

-6.26

105.02

Gold

24.10

4,535.30

EUR/USD

0.0029

1.1633

JPY/USD

-0.25

158.79

10-Year Note

-0.101

4.565%

 

Sector News Breakdown

Consumer

  • Large Cap Retail: TGT reported a big Q1 comparable sales and earnings beat (+5.6% Y/y vs consensus +2.4% and 1.71 vs consensus $1.47, respectively). Target raised FY'26 guidance (net sales by +2pp and EPS to the high-end of initial $7.50-$8.50 range), but the earnings range falls below current consensus expectations ($8.12).
  • Apparel Retail: VFC Q4 revenue of $2.17B topped estimates of $2.13B helped by strong demand in Americas region, reports annual revenue growth of 4% excluding contributions from Dickies brand, which it sold in late 2025, marking the first revenue growth following three years of decline.
  • Off Price Retail: TJX reported Q1 top and bottom line above consensus at $1.19/$14.3B vs. consensus $1.00/$140.01B; and Q2 guidance was in-line with consensus while raises year outlook for FY27 comp store sales growth between 3%-4% (vs. prior 2%-3%) and EPS $5.08-$5.15, above prior view $4.93-$5.02.
  • Specialty Retail: WRBY weakness from Tuesday discussed by Roth Capital saying the Google Io event from 5/19 included some modest new details around Warby's Smart glasses product, with the most important one being timing: available "this fall." While this was essentially in line with Roth's expectations, it may have been disappointing for some Smart glasses bulls, as WRBY stock was -11% on the day (vs. R2K -1%).

Consumer Staples & Restaurants:

  • In Restaurants: CAVA shares rallied behind results as Q1 EPS $0.20/revs $434.4M topped consensus $017/$418.6M as Q1 comp store sales rose +9.7% and raises FY26 same restaurant sales view to 4.5%-6.5% from 3.0%-5.0% and also boosted its FY26 adjusted EBITDA view to $181M-$191M from $176M-$184M. RRGB Q1 adj EPS $0.13 vs. est. $0.00; Q1 revs $378.3M above consensus $362.14M; reaffirms FY26 adjusted EBITDA view $70M-$73M and sees FY26 Comparable restaurant revenue growth 0.5%-1.5%.

Homebuilders, Building Products, Home Furnishing:

  • Home Improvement retail: LOW results beat for Q1 but only affirms guide; Q1 adj EPS $3.03 vs. consensus $2.97 and revs $23.08B vs. consensus $22.88B; Q1 comp store sales rose +0.6%; backs FY26 adjusted EPS view $12.25-$12.75 (est. $12.59), FY26 revenue view $92B-$94B (est. $93.07B) and backs FY26 comp sales view flat to up 2%
  • Homebuilders: TOL Q2 results topped consensus as EPS $2.72 vs est $2.58, on home sales revenue $2.51B vs est $2.415B; Q2 adj home sales gross margin 26.2 raises full-year guidance across all key home building metrics as expects FY 2026 deliveries of 10,400-10,700 units, avg price $985,000-$1,000,000.
  • Mortgage industry: ZG asked a court to stop real estate brokerage COMP from working with a Chicago-area multiple listing service to block access to home listings after Zillow established new rules around private listings on its site

Energy

  • E&P Sector: energy stocks were broadly lower on a plunge in oil prices as more headlines out of Iran shake stocks/sectors on a daily abasis. Citigroup upgraded CRC and OVV to Buy from Neutral saying despite the recent rally in the exploration and production sector, they still see a disconnect between the oil levered companies and medium-term crude prices. SM was double upgraded from Underperform to Outperform at Raymond James saying it has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the oil move post the Iran war and, despite the run the stock has had, its bullish oil outlook relative to current strip still provides plenty of upside potential.
  • Utility/Power stocks CEG, VST, CEG, NNE, NG, OKLO, SMR, TLN and many others saw notable gains after PJM (the large regional grid operator covering much of the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest) faces explosive electricity demand growth, mainly from data centers/AI loads, alongside generator retirements. This has caused tight capacity margins and record-high prices in recent auctions. Due to the needed energy, PJM yesterday merged the "Reliability Backstop" (emergency procurement of new capacity) with "Connect & Manage" (C&M) processes for new large loads. This streamlines timelines that were previously separate. Accelerates the centralized procurement to September 2026 (instead of waiting until 2027) to cover shortfalls from the upcoming Base Residual Auction. It still allows bilateral deals first between willing buyers (data centers) and sellers (generators).
  • In Solar and Alternative Energy: TE shares rebounded around 30% a day after shares dropped after Fuzzy Panda Research disclosed a short position in the company. Two factors helping shares today as Hedge fund Situational Awareness LP, in a filing on Tuesday, reported a $43 million stake in the T1 Energy. The fund is run by former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner. Also, Roth Capital defended shares off the Fuzzy Panda report saying they believe TE is currently FEOC-compliant, fully transparent, and a model for what the Trump administration may want in a domestic manufacturer that is transferring advanced technology capacity to the US.

Financials

  • Financial Services: Tax-prep and financial software company INTU reportedly sent a memo to employees saying it plans to lay off more than 3,000 workers, or about 17% of its workforce. FIG launches Ai agent purpose-built for product Design; says Agent initially available in Figma Design & will expand to other Figma products soon.
  • FinTech: Fintech startup Mercury raised $200M at a $5.2B valuation, up 49% from its last round 14 months ago. The company has 300K+ customers, including one-third of early-stage U.S. startups, $650M in annualized revenue and four straight years of profitability.
  • Banks: MS and GS saw outperformance in generally strong day for financials; both being helped by recent headlines that the two are among the top banks headlining underwriting in upcoming SpaceX and OpenAI IPOS.

Biotech & Pharma:

  • BMY announces strategic agreement with anthropic to position Claude Enterprise as the shared intelligence platform across its global operations. BMY will deploy Claude's agentic capabilities, moving beyond conversational AI, to connect its people, systems and institutional knowledge at enterprise scale.
  • IBRX said the FDA accepted for review the supplemental Biologics license application to expand the label for Anktiva in battling invasive bladder cancer
  • IMVT and ROIV shares both surged after preliminary results from IMVT-1402 Trial in D2T RA. At the completion of Period 1, 165 of the 170 patients were evaluable for ACR20 response. Of these patients, 86.7% (143/165) had failed two prior mechanisms of advanced therapies, and the mean time since diagnosis was 12.8 years.
  • PFE announced data from its Phase 2 study evaluating the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a four-dose series of its investigational 25-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate PF-07872412 in infants compared to four doses of PREVNAR 20 at months 2, 4, 6 and 12-15.
  • PSNL announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Molecular Diagnostic Services Program (MolDX) has expanded coverage for the company's NeXT Personal minimal residual disease (MRD) test.
  • RLAY announces underwritten public offering of $175M of common stock

Healthcare Services & MedTech movers:

  • Managed Care: HUM (tgt to $441 from $235), CNC (tgt to $80 from $53), and ELV (tgt to $498 from $363) all upgraded to Buy at Deutsche Bank, and downgraded CI to Hold on valuation. In short, their thesis is that after three years of immense funding pressure on Medicare and Medicaid, the MCOs have finally caught up to the rate-chasing-risk Cycle and can rebuild margins through an underwriting Cycle upswing driven largely by product pricing which is now less dependent on rates. The firm believes utilization growth trends may have peaked, allowing the MCOs to better price for higher cost growth. For HUM, expects the company's Medicare star ratings to recover and sys 2026 should be the earnings bottom for Humana.

Industrials & Materials

  • In Transports: In trucking, CHRW was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies saying their visit to the company's headquarters materially reinforced the firm's conviction in the firms technology and productivity transformation. In addition, the post-Montgomery Supreme Court decision regulatory environment structurally favors scaled brokers while the company's balance sheet positions it as a natural consolidator. Transports in general (airlines, truckers, etc.) saw notable bounces today given the sharp decline in oil prices.
  • In Aerospace: GS is said to have the leading role on the cover of SpaceX’s (SPCX) IPO, with MS also listed as a lead bank. SpaceX expects to proceed with its acquisition of Cursor 30 days after the company begins trading publicly, and if the deal doesn’t go through, SpaceX would pay Cursor a $10 billion breakup fee in cash – Bloomberg. VOYG awarded a subcontract by RDW, the prime contractor for the DARPA Otter program, to supply its high-precision Acceleration Measurement System
  • In Paper & Packaging: PKG was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS as they expect the $50/ton June price hike to stick amid improving demand and tight supply. High utilization and prior capacity cuts (10% of industry) support pricing power, potentially adding ~$290M in annualized EBITDA (half in 2026).

Technology

  • AI Sector: The WSJ reported ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has been working with bankers to prepare to file for an initial public offering in the coming days or weeks, according to people familiar with the matter. Bankers at firms including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have been helping the AI giant on a draft IPO prospectus it plans to file confidentially with regulators soon, possibly as early as Friday. – WSJ. https://tinyurl.com/e9ud9au7 . BABA unveiled a new AI chip, the Zhenwu M890, developed by Alibaba's semiconductor design subsidiary ‌T-Head, delivers three times the performance of its predecessor, Zhenwu 810E.
  • Components & Equipment: KEYS 2Q revenue/non-GAAP EPS of $1.7B/$2.87, 1% above/$0.55 above the Street and non-GAAP EBIT margin was ~33.3%, above both the Street at 27.4%; Q2 orders were $2,051MM (up 25% q/q and up 56% y/y and guided Q3 revs and EPS to ~$1.74B/$2.46 at the midpoint, 5% above/$0.30 above the Street.
  • Software: ADBE, CRM, HUBS, MNDY, TEAM, WDAY resumed downward pressure early amid rotation back into semis - software names (IGV) had enjoyed three days rally while semis pulled back from highs; RBRK was upgraded to Outperform (from Perform) at Oppenheimer as believes: (1) Rubrik is benefitting from a sharp recovery in backup & recovery/cyber-resilience sector demand; (2) its product leadership across various workloads continues to improve; and (3) given Rubrik protects mission-critical workloads, higher memory pricing doesn't seem to be impacting demand, at least for now.
  • Communications & Networking: VIAV shares dropped after announces pricing of 11.11M share offering at $45.00. RDDT shares tumbled  after GOOGL headlines updating its Ai Search features to make it easier for users to find information (Google Search is changing after 25 years, you may not see Blue links anymore). At Google I/o 2026, Google announced massive Ai-powered upgrades to Search, introducing Ai agents, conversational answers, custom mini apps and personalized Intelligence powered by Gemini 3.5 Flash.

Semiconductors:

  • NVDA – all eyes on the company prepared to report tonight as the semi space all rallied today into results as markets remain enthusiastic about the company and guidance. Just a general rebound in semi stocks today (SOX) rotating back out of software ahead of results tonight.
  • CPU chip makers ARM, INTC, NVDA all outperformed – Bank America noted today they update server CPU TAM to $125B from $110B, +31% CAGR, analyze oppty across: INTC, AMD, and ARM - said views agentic CPUs as additive to total TAM, not cannibalistic and CPUs now 6% of DC TAM vs 5% prior, still relatively modest.
  • ADI Q2 revs 3% better than street and slightly street with GMs 73% vs street at 72.2%. July Q guided 8% q/q growth at midpoint vs and implied GMs 73%, 150bps above street. Strength driven by Autos, Industrials slightly missed
  • ASML CEO said he had contact with Elon Musk about the Terafab project that aims to build chips for SpaceX, xAI and Tesla, Reuters reports following an interview on the sidelines of a tech event in Antwerp, Belgium.
  • Memory chip makers MU, SNDK saw gains early on reports Samsung (SSNLF) union set to strike on Thursday, as approximately 48,000 workers are scheduled to begin an 18-day strike over bonus payments, posing a potential risk to South Korea's economy and global chip supply (and possibly raise memory costs). Media reports later noted Samsung Electronics and its South Korean labor union reached a preliminary pay deal on Wednesday, potentially averting a planned lengthy strike that threatened to disrupt the production of AI and other chips.

Not offered or endorsed by Regal Securities

Street Recommendations

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

BARCLAYS

  • AMRX Barclays analyst Glen Santangelo raised the firm's price target on Amneal Pharmaceuticals to $16 from $15 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says it has increased confidence in Amneal's fiscal 2026 setup following the "strong" Q1 report. The company is positioned to close its valuation gap relative to peers and as it accelerates its biosimilar efforts, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
  • RDNT Barclays analyst Andrew Mok lowered the firm's price target on RadNet to $65 from $70 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says RadNet is outperforming Lumexa on advanced volume growth and imaging segment pricing.
  • RLAY Barclays raised the firm's price target on Relay Therapeutics to $27 from $21 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company's zovegalisib clinical update positioned the drug as "best-in-class" for patients with vascular anomalies, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees a potential $6B opportunity with less competition and path to accelerated regulatory approval.
  • S Barclays raised the firm's price target on SentinelOne to $19 from $16 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares ahead of the earnings report on May 28. The firm models Q1 net new annual recurring revenue of $42M, up 50% year-over-year, given easy compares and its "healthy" channel checks. Barclays sees potential upside to $44M.

BOFA

  • BJ BofA reinstated coverage of BJ's Wholesale with a Neutral rating and $110 price target. If oil prices remain higher for longer, the warehouse club model has "the potential to shine," but for BJ to breakout the firm thinks the market needs to see evidence of comp consistency and improvement, the analyst tells investors.
  • TNK BofA analyst Ken Hoexter raised the firm's price target on Teekay Tankers to $75 from $69 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. Given record tanker rates around the Iran war, the firm increased its FY26 and FY27 EPS estimates 88% and 58%, respectively, but reiterates an Underperform rating given its view of peak rates, an elevated orderbook, and the potential unwind of sanctions.
  • NTAP BofA raised the firm's price target on NetApp to $125 from $118 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares ahead of fiscal Q4 earnings due after market close on Thursday, May 28. Driven in part by prior price increases that should favorably impact Q4 and pull-forward of demand as customers tried to buy ahead of component price increases, the firm sees NetApp reporting "a strong quarter," the analyst tells investors in a preview.
  • KEYS BofA analyst David Ridley-Lane raised the firm's price target on Keysight Technologies to $405 from $340 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Following a fiscal Q2 beat, the firm raised its FY26 and FY27 adjusted EPS estimates and applies a higher multiple to reflect AI momentum, above-average margins and industry leading market share.
  • GOOGL BofA says Alphabet introduced a broad range of new AI products at I/O 2026, underscoring its "accelerating velocity of AI innovation." This year's product announcements demonstrated increasing leadership in shaping consumer AI experiences and the event, along with strong search traffic data, reinforced the firm's view that Alphabet remains well positioned to lead next phase of consumer AI adoption, the analyst tells investors. BofA maintains a Buy rating and $430 price target on Alphabet shares.

BTIG

  • DRVN BTIG lowered the firm's price target on Driven Brands to $17 from $21 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q4 results and guidance, as well as the restatement of the company's 2023-2025 financials. The management called out "a little bit of moderation" in Take 5 traffic starting in Q2 in two of its customer cohorts, namely value-oriented and newer customers, while the company's 0%-2% comp growth for FY26 means the last three quarters of the year will decelerate from the 1.9%-2.1% comp Driven sees for Q1, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

CITI

  • CRC Citi upgraded California Resources to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $78, up from $74. Despite the recent rally in the exploration and production sector, Citi still sees a "disconnect" between the oil levered companies and medium-term crude prices. The firm tells investors to focus on shares that "offer good value and compelling narratives." It upgraded both California Resources and California Resources to reflect their exposure to higher oil prices in 2027.
  • OVV Citi upgraded Ovintiv to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $70, up from $62. Despite the recent rally in the exploration and production sector, Citi still sees a "disconnect" between the oil levered companies and medium-term crude prices. The firm tells investors to focus on shares that "offer good value and compelling narratives." It upgraded both California Resources and California Resources to reflect their exposure to higher oil prices in 2027.
  • APA Citi analyst Scott Gruber raised the firm's price target on APA Corp. to $78 from $74 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Despite the recent rally in the exploration and production sector, Citi still sees a "disconnect" between the oil levered companies and medium-term crude prices. The firm tells investors to focus on shares that "offer good value and compelling narratives." It upgraded both California Resources and California Resources to reflect their exposure to higher oil prices in 2027.
  • DVN Citi raised the firm's price target on Devon Energy to $65 from $60 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Despite the recent rally in the exploration and production sector, Citi still sees a "disconnect" between the oil levered companies and medium-term crude prices. The firm tells investors to focus on shares that "offer good value and compelling narratives." It upgraded both California Resources and California Resources to reflect their exposure to higher oil prices in 2027. Devon remains Citi's top pick in the group.
  • FANG Citi raised the firm's price target on Diamondback Energy to $245 from $225 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Despite the recent rally in the exploration and production sector, Citi still sees a "disconnect" between the oil levered companies and medium-term crude prices. The firm tells investors to focus on shares that "offer good value and compelling narratives." It upgraded both California Resources and California Resources to reflect their exposure to higher oil prices in 2027. Devon remains Citi's top pick in the group.

DEUTSCHE BANK

  • CI Deutsche Bank downgraded Cigna to Hold from Buy with a $302 price target.
  • ELV Deutsche Bank upgraded Elevance Health to Buy from Hold with a price target of $498, up from $363. The firm upgraded three managed care names citing a stabilizing managed care market. For Elevance, the analyst believes the company's 2026 estimates will prove achievable. The company holds a leading position in the managed care space and is taking steps to mitigate risks, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
  • CNC Deutsche Bank upgraded Centene to Buy from Hold with a price target of $80, up from $53. The firm upgraded three managed care names citing a stabilizing managed care market. For Centene, the analyst expects the company's earnings power to recover beyond 2027.
  • HUM Deutsche Bank upgraded Humana to Buy from Hold with a price target of $441, up from $235. The firm upgraded three managed care names citing a stabilizing managed care market. For Humana, the analyst expects the company's Medicare star ratings to recover. 2026 should be the earnings bottom for Humana and a rebasing year depending on stars results in October, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

GOLDMAN SACHS

  • KOS Goldman Sachs analyst Neil Mehta raised the firm's price target on Kosmos to $2.50 from $2.25 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares.
  • CCU Goldman Sachs lowered the firm's price target on CCU to $9.70 from $10.80 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares.
  • ENPH Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on Enphase Energy to $57 from $51 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares.
  • KEYS Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on Keysight Technologies to $426 from $384 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Keysight Technologies delivered a strong Q2 with results and guidance well above consensus, driven by 56% year-over-year order growth and a 1.2x book-to-bill ratio, with focus expected on order momentum, market outlook, and margin/tariff dynamics on the upcoming call, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

JEFFERIES

  • CHRW Jefferies analyst Stephanie Moore upgraded C.H. Robinson to Buy from Hold with a price target of $200, up from $195. A visit to the company's headquarters "materially reinforced" the firm's convection in C.H. Robinson's technology and productivity transformation. In addition, the post-Montgomery Supreme Court decision regulatory environment structurally favors scaled brokers while the company's balance sheet positions it as a "natural consolidator," the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jefferies sees a "compelling entry point" at current share levels.
  • SABS Jefferies initiated coverage of SAB Biotherapeutics with a Buy rating and $11 price target. The company's lead product SAB-142 is in a Phase 2b study for stage 3 type 1 diabetes, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the data in the second half of 2027 could offer meaningful C-peptide preservation. It estimates $2.2B adjusted peak U.S. revenue in the indication and says SAB has $218M in cash with a runway through 2028.

JPMORGAN

  • TIGO JPMorgan analyst Marcelo Santos raised the firm's price target on Millicom to $100 from $86 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company's Colombia consolidation is delivering results faster than expected, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
  • CELH JPMorgan believes the Celsius' current valuation provides an attractive entry point. The company's near-term headwinds, driven by its optimization efforts, should position the brand for a better medium to longer term, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan believes Celsius' 20% market share of the "secularly growing" energy drinks category and improving margins offer an attractive entry point "for investors that can look through near-term noise." The firm keeps an Overweight rating on the shares.

KEYBANC

  • CYRX KeyBanc analyst Paul Knight raised the firm's price target on Cryoport to $17 from $15 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm believes the company's revenue visibility is higher and quality is better than the COVID era, and margins are likely to expand through 2028. The core Service Group has a long runway for revenue growth, with 18 commercial customers growing 20% through 2028 and 760 clinical customers, KeyBanc adds.

MIZUHO

  • CVS Mizuho raised the firm's price target on CVS Health to $110 from $102 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm views the Q1 reports in the manage care group as solid. It cites a reduced likelihood of negative medical loss ratio shifts through the end of 2026 for the target bump.
  • CNC Mizuho analyst Ann Hynes raised the firm's price target on Centene to $58 from $50 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm views the Q1 reports in the manage care group as solid. It cites a reduced likelihood of negative medical loss ratio shifts through the end of 2026 for the target bump.
  • ELV Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Elevance Health to $435 from $385 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm views the Q1 reports in the manage care group as solid. It cites a reduced likelihood of negative medical loss ratio shifts through the end of 2026 for the target bump.
  • HUM Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Humana to $335 from $290 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm views the Q1 reports in the manage care group as solid. It cites a reduced likelihood of negative medical loss ratio shifts through the end of 2026 for the target bump.
  • UNH Mizuho raised the firm's price target on UnitedHealth to $440 from $410 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm views the Q1 reports in the manage care group as solid. It cites a reduced likelihood of negative medical loss ratio shifts through the end of 2026 for the target bump.

MORGAN STANLEY

  • NWL Morgan Stanley analyst Dara Mohsenian downgraded Newell Brands to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $3.50, down from $4. The firm is above consensus in Q2, but expects downside to consensus in the back half of 2026 and FY27 given cost pressure potentially above management guidance as well as greater risk from demand pressure with weaker consumer sentiment post the Iran conflict, the analyst tells investors.
  • ZTO Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on ZTO Express to $30.10 from $28.50 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm, which notes that it is raising forecasts for the third time in six months post the company's Q1 results, contends that market share gains and better unit profitability should support ZTO's re-rating despite slower industry volume growth and rising fuel costs.

NEEDHAM

  • QUIK Needham analyst Neil Young initiated coverage of QuickLogic with a Buy rating and $22 price target. QuickLogic is a programmable-logic supplier with exposure to the "attractive areas" of application specific integrated circuits and fabricated radiation-hardened technology for defense and aerospace applications, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Needham sees a path to stronger revenue visibility, better mix, and improving margins as customer evaluations convert into production programs.

NORTHLAND

  • XPOF Northland analyst Owen Rickert upgraded Xponential Fitness to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $8, down from $9. Changes to Xponential's incentive plan accelerates the vesting of equity awards upon a change in control if the acquiring company does not assume the awards in publicly traded stock or comparable terms, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Xponential's current executives could see "immediate value realization" from their equity in a transaction. Xponential's current market capitalization does reflect the possibility of a takeout transaction occurring, contends Northland. The firm sees a "high likelihood of success for a strategic alternative" following its regulatory disclosures yesterday.

OPPENHEIMER

  • SG Oppenheimer raised the firm's price target on Sweetgreen to $10 from $9 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares after hosting management. The company is pleased with momentum from the national launch of wraps on May 6th, which has also established more approachable price points. When combined with operational improvements and easier comparisons, this creates a path for accelerating comparable sales over the next several quarters, the firm says. While shares are up 26% in the last two weeks, Oppenheimer believes a multi-quarter stretch of achieving estimates/guidance could begin restoring investor confidence in the story.
  • MRVL Oppenheimer analyst Rick Schafer raised the firm's price target on Marvell to $200 from $170 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. The firm sees upside to Q1 results and Q2 outlook led by AI networking and custom ASIC as CSPs continue to scale DC builds.
  • TARA Oppenheimer raised the firm's price target on Protara Therapeutics to $28 from $25 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. TARA-002's opportunity in lymphatic malformations looks increasingly compelling after Tuesday's event that featured incremental data and regulatory clarity, the firm says. The combination of high early response rates, clean tolerability, emerging durability, limited dosing burden, and key opinion leader enthusiasm strengthen the case that TARA-002 could become a preferred therapy for macrocystic and macro-dominant mixed LMs-lesion types that demand attention yet which lack approved treatments and for which current surgical/off-label options are suboptimal on both efficacy/durability and complications/safety. Oppenheimer sees about $250M peak U.S. sales potential through ultra-orphan pricing, a concentrated specialist base, and minimal practice burden.

PIPER SANDLER

  • DRUG Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Bright Minds to $220 from $190 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm caught up with Bright Minds following earnings, where management reflected confidence in the progress made across programs this past quarter. Piper remains bullish on Bright Minds and expects the stock will continue trading-up throughout the year, driving share-gains.
  • DRVN Piper Sandler analyst Peter Keith raised the firm's price target on Driven Brands to $13 from $11 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares following long-awaited Q4 results. Though it will likely take some time for the company to rebuild trust with investors following its restatements, it clearly articulated reasons for the accounting errors, the firm says, adding that management has taken steps to upgrade numerous people across the finance team while leveraging the company's Oracle ERP system, which was installed in late 2024 and helped in finding the accounting errors.
  • HD Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on Home Depot to $378 from $421 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following a "meet and maintain print" from the company. Home Depot noted no change with consumer spending trends from 2025, with continued weakness in large discretionary remodel projects and healthy seasonal sales once weather cooperated, Piper adds. HD continues to take market share and execute well in a sluggish housing backdrop. Overall, the company's comparable sales should improve in the second half of the year as Home Depot laps abnormally low storm activity from 2025. The firm continues to believe there is notable pent-up demand in the home improvement space, that is unlikely to get unlocked until mortgage rates move lower.

RAYMOND JAMES

  • SM Raymond James double upgraded SM Energy to Outperform from Underperform with a $55 price target. SM has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the move higher in oil prices, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that despite the rally in shares, its bullish oil outlook relative to current strip "still provides plenty of upside potential." SM's "oil-driven cash flow windfall" has allowed the company to "clean" its balance sheet, contends Raymond James. The firm now sees the company's leverage falling below one-times by Q4.

RBC CAPITAL

  • HD RBC Capital analyst Steven Shemesh lowered the firm's price target on Home Depot to $340 from $377 and keeps a Sector Perform rating on the shares after its Q1 results. The company delivered a modest Q1 earnings beat but housing turnover remains stalled and the demand and cost outlook have deteriorated, the analyst tells investors in a research note. RBC adds that it continues to struggle in finding a catalyst for Home Depot's numbers to move higher.

STEPHENS

  • EXP Stephens analyst Trey Grooms lowered the firm's price target on Eagle Materials to $225 from $235 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. While the firm is "encouraged" by the volume and margin outperformance in fiscal Q4, it continues to think net cement pricing realization will be modest and continues to wait for signs of wallboard pricing stabilization, the analyst tells investors.

STIFEL

  • CRWD Stifel analyst Adam Borg raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $660 from $480 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the company reporting fiscal Q1 earnings on June 3. After having surveyed 25 CrowdStrike resellers around their quarterly results and expectations for the year, the firm reports that those partners are generally more bullish on FY27 growth expectations by a 3:1 ratio.
  • WHD Stifel analyst Stephen Gengaro raised the firm's price target on Cactus to $66 from $59 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following "a strong start to 2026" and based on the firm's expectations for improving upstream activity over the next few years.

SUSQUEHANNA

  • BIDU Susquehanna raised the firm's price target on Baidu to $140 from $120 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm said the company continues to see strong growth from its AI-powered businesses, with notable strength in AI Cloud Infra. That said, declines in the legacy online marketing business continue to offset the AI growth. While the valuation remains undemanding, the stock is likely to remain rangebound.
  • BLDP Susquehanna raised the firm's price target on Ballard Power to $4.25 from $2.60 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm said the company reported 1Q results, with a beat on EPS but revenue coming in below estimates. The margin story continues to improve, with positive gross margins for a third straight quarter on lower product costs and restructuring savings. Ballard also secured contract wins with Wrightbus and Solaris for its FCmove-SC engine, adding to the New Flyer agreement announced previously.
  • KEYS Susquehanna raised the firm's price target on Keysight Technologies to $425 from $415 and keeps a Positive rating on the shares. The firm said its thesis is playing out as it has multiple demand drivers with wireline the key driver of earnings upside. The company is also benefitting from ADG tailwinds, tied to AI and defense/satellite applications.
  • SMTC Susquehanna raised the firm's price target on Semtech to $170 from $110 and keeps a Positive rating on the shares. The firm updated its model ahead of Q1 results where they generally expect slightly better results and guidance driven primarily by transceiver demand and their underlying components. For Signal Integrity, the overall demand backdrop continues to expand as hyperscalers further increase their investments in Cloud and AI.

TD COWEN

  • ZGN TD Cowen upgraded Ermenegildo Zegna to Buy from Hold with a price target of $15, up from $13. The company's fundamentals are improving, supported by its "durable, vertically integrated" core business and stabilization at Tom Ford and Thom Browne, the analyst tells investors in a research note. TD sees Zegna's earnings growth visibility amid moderating wholesale rationalization and direct-to-consumer momentum.

UBS

  • PKG UBS last night upgraded Packaging Corp. to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $248, up from $232. The firm expects the $50 per ton June price hike "to stick" amid improving demand and tight supply. High utilization and prior capacity cuts support Packaging 's pricing power, potentially adding $290M in annualized EBITDA, with half coming in 2026, the analyst tells investors in a research note. UBS says Packaging Corp. has zero exposure to the "more fragmented" European market and a long history of volume and margin outperformance versus the industry.
  • ASML UBS raised the firm's price target on ASML to EUR 1,900 from EUR 1,600 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. ASML has a "unique position" in the European semiconductor group, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says sustained growth in lithography capacity along with ASML's memory and high North America exposure provide an attractive risk/reward at current share levels.

WELLS FARGO

  • PHR Wells Fargo analyst Stan Berenshteyn downgraded Phreesia to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $9, down from $15. The firm says its channel checks and Phreesia's competition indicate risk to consensus estimates. While the shares look "cheap," they are likely to "remain sidelined" until estimates are de-risked, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wells reduced the company's subscription revenue outlook after its channel checks indicated growing competitive pressures.
  • HD Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Home Depot to $360 from $375 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Q1 was mostly in line, "albeit April weather dampend the exit rate." Wells views the stock outperformance more about stabilizing early-May trends, hopes of second half of the year re-acceleration, good free cash flow and cheap price-to-earnings.
  • WVE Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Wave Life Sciences to $14 from $13 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes the WVE-007 update included 600mg SAD data, which looked better than low/mid doses on M/Z-AAT and seems protective. However, the efficacy is lower than BEAM-302. Wells is moving probability of success up to 33%.
  • KEYS Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Keysight Technologies to $390 from $300 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following quarterly results. The firm notes Keysight's strong order growth reflects strong position as AI infra build-out and complexity beneficiary. Wells sees it as an extremely diverse play on digital transformation / modernization.
  • AMCR Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Amcor to $41 from $43 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm traveled with the top Amcor leaders to visit investors. Key focus items were synergy capture, balance sheet deleveraging and ability to flex global scale to mitigate Middle East impacts. Though risk/reward tilts slightly favorable, low visibility on volumes keeps Wells on the sidelines.
  • AMZN Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Amazon.com to $312 from $313 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm sees market confidence improving in companies monetizing compute investments directly through cloud business driven by combo of accelerating cloud revenues, stable-to-improving margins and rapidly rising backlogs.
  • META Wells Fargo analyst Ken Gawrelski lowered the firm's price target on Meta Platforms to $765 from $770 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm sees market confidence improving in companies monetizing compute investments directly through cloud business driven by combo of accelerating cloud revenues, stable-to-improving margins and rapidly rising backlogs.
  • MRVL Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Marvell to $195 from $135 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. While Marvell's more than 30 times 2027 price-to-earnings certainly makes for a tougher set-up into Q1 2027 print, the firm sees AWS Trainium deploy, XPU-attach ramp, and continued Interconnect momentum as driving sufficient upside to support a bullish rating.

WILLIAM BLAIR

  • CASY William Blair initiated coverage of Casey's General Stores with an Outperform rating. The firm says Casey's offers "growing credibility as a highly consistent, inherently defensive model and best-in-class operator." The company provides a "rare combination of everything investors want in the current environment," the analyst tells investors in a research note. Blair says Casey's has "defensive and predictable" model that is well positioned in a "risk-on or risk-off environment."

WOLFE RESEARCH

  • CCI Wolfe Research analyst Andrew Rosivach downgraded Crown Castle to Peer Perform from Outperform. The loss of Dish rent has reduced Crown Castle's growth profile, the analyst tells investors in a research note. A higher price target is difficult to justify given higher rates, the firm adds.

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

 

Monday May 18th

Economic Calendar: 

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

Earnings Calendar:

  • Earnings Before the Open: BIDU CGEN DUOT IQ SOHU TOYO
  • Earnings After the Close: AGYS FATN YALA

Other Key Events:

  • JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, 5/18-5/20, in Boston, MA
  • Waste Expo 2026, 5/18 in Washington, DC

Tuesday May 19th

Economic Calendar: 

  • 7:45 AM ET ICSC Weekly Retail Sales
  • 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
  • 10:00 AM ET                 Pending Home Sales M/M for April
  • 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

Earnings Calendar:

  • Earnings Before the Open: AS BEKE BILI CAN CRNT ECC EIC EXP HD HSAI KITT LUXE MMYT RDCM VRT
  • Earnings After the Close: AUNA CAVA EARN EDUC EGHT JHX KEYS MOVE RRGB TOL XELB ZTO

Other Key Events:

  • Benchmark Consumer Conference, 5/19 in New York
  • Deutsche Bank Global Auto industry Conference, 5/19-5/20, in New York
  • JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, 5/18-5/20, in Boston, MA
  • RBC Capital Global Healthcare Conference 5/19/5/20, in New York
  • RBC Capital Canadian Industrials Conference 5/19-5/21, in Toronto
  • Truist 27th Annual Truist Securities Financial Services Conference, 5/19-5/20 in New York

Wednesday May 20th

Economic Calendar: 

  • 7:00 AM ET MBA Mortgage Applications Data
  • 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly DOE Inventory Data
  • 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $13B in 20-year notes

Earnings Calendar:

  • Earnings Before the Open: ADI ARCO BZ BZUN HDS HAS IMVT LOW LPG PERI RLX ROIV TGT TJX VFC ZIM
  • Earnings After the Close: BORR ELF ENS INTU NDSN NVDA SBLK STEP URBN

Other Key Events:

  • B Riley 26th Annual Investor Conference, 5/20-5/21, in Los Angeles, CA
  • Cantor Oncology Day 5/20, in New York
  • Deutsche Bank Global Auto industry Conference, 5/19-5/20, in New York
  • JP Morgan Global Technology, Media, and Communications Conference, 5/18-5/20, in Boston, MA
  • RBC Capital Global Healthcare Conference 5/19/5/20, in New York
  • RBC Capital Canadian Industrials Conference 5/19-5/21, in Toronto
  • Truist 27th Annual Truist Securities Financial Services Conference, 5/19-5/20 in New York

Thursday May 21st

Economic Calendar: 

  • 8:30 AM ET                   Weekly Jobless Claims
  • 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
  • 8:30 AM ET                   Housing Starts M/M for April
  • 8:30 AM ET                   Building Permits M/M for April
  • 8:30 AM ET                   Philly Fed Business Index for May
  • 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, May-flash
  • 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Services PMI, May-flash
  • 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Composite PMI, May-flash
  • 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data
  • 11:00 AM ET                 Kansas City Fed Manufacturing for May

Earnings Calendar:

  • Earnings Before the Open: AAP DAVA DE FLX GGR HLNE HOV LSPD NIO NTES TL TEN VIPS WMS WMT YMM ZKH
  • Earnings After the Close: BULL CAE CPRT DECK FLO RAMP ROST TTWO WDAY ZM

Other Key Events:

  • B Riley 26th Annual Investor Conference, 5/20-5/21, in Los Angeles, CA
  • RBC Capital Canadian Industrials Conference 5/19-5/21, in Toronto

Friday May 22nd

Economic Calendar: 

  • 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan Sentiment, May-final
  • 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations
  • 10:00 AM ET                 Leading Index Change M/M for April
  • 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

Earnings Calendar:

  • Earnings Before the Open: BAH BJ GSL

 

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