Early Look

Thursday, September 17, 2026

U.S. stock futures are rebounding while Treasury yields are falling as Wall Street reacts to yesterday’s FOMC rate hike where they raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4.00%, its first increase in more than three years. US stocks whipsawed lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the first time since 2023 to fight stubbornly high inflation stemming from soaring crude oil prices during the US-Israeli war on Iran. In its accompanying statement, the Fed said its decision was unanimous and more tightening is likely in the near future to effect a timelier drop in inflation.

In his subsequent press conference, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the US economy has strengthened since the last Fed meeting, but the inflation trend has shown little improvement. U.S. Treasury yields were mostly higher after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and flagged further increases in borrowing costs in the coming months to control inflation. Two-year Treasury yields hit 4.744%, their highest level since July 2024. The 10-yr yield settled at 5%, but dips slightly this morning. Oil prices are pulling back and technology stocks are rebounding with the Nasdaq up over 1%.

In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index rose 213 points to 64,136, the Shanghai Index fell -16 points to 3,875, and the Hang Seng Index dropped -109 points to 24,604. In Europe, the German DAX is up 130 points to 25,667, while the FTSE 100 gains 21 points to 10,709. Oil prices add to yesterday’s losses as reports of additional Saudi crude cargoes through Oman eased supply concerns, though prices stayed above $100 a barrel on fears the Middle East conflict could widen. Investors will focus today on initial jobless claims, the Pending Home Sales Index, and Housing Starts and Permits for further clues on the economy.

@Bluekurtic noted on X last night after the Fed hiked rates by 25bps, “For the first time since Alan Greenspan’s Fed in 1997, the S&P 500 $SPX closed lower on the day of the first rate hike of a new tightening cycle. May be fifth time was too much to ask. Especially after a record rally after Jerome Powell's hike in 2022.”

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -631.21 points, or 1.21%, to 51,461.90
• The Nasdaq Composite slipped -3.15 points, or 0.01%, to 25,978.43
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -11.47 points, or 0.40% to 2,858.81

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims…est. 1.78M (prior 1.774M)
• 8:30 AM ET                   Housing Starts M/M for August…est. 1.41M (prior 1.433M)
• 8:30 AM ET                   Building Permits M/M for August…est. 1.309M (prior 1.2339M)
• 8:30 AM ET                   Philly Fed Business Index for September…est. 30.5 (prior 47.4)
• 10:00 AM ET                 Pending Home Sales M/M for August…est. (-0.6%)
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: None

• Bank America 2026 Global Real Estate Conference, 9/15-9/17
• Oppenheimer 4th Annual Targeted Radiopharma Therapies in Oncology Summit, 9/17 in New York
• Wells Fargo PP Texas Power & Gas Tour, 9/16-9/17, in Houston, TX

• The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was -24.6% vs -1.3% last week. Bulls dropped to 28.8% to from 38%, Neutrals dropped to 17.9% from 22.7%, Bears rise to 53.3% from 39.3%.

• Costco (COST) said it's partnering with DoorDash (DASH) to offer delivery from its U.S. warehouse stores. DoorDash already offers Costco delivery in a few markets, including Australia, Sweden and Puerto Rico.
• Lennar Corp. (LEN) Q3 EPS $1.23 vs. est. $1.29; Q3 revs fell -8.67% y/y to $8.05B vs. est. $8.31B; Q3 new orders decreased 9% to 20,879 homes; Q3 average sales price of homes delivered $372,000; has backlog of 16,857 homes with dollar value at $6.3B; Q3 home sales gross margin narrowed 1.7% points to 15.8%; deliveries guidance 22,000-23,000 homes, average sales price guidance $370,000-$380,000, and new orders guidance 19,500-20,500 homes
• Lyft (LYFT) downgraded to Neutral at Guggenheim and cut tgt to $16 from $22 driven by lower second half of 2027 volume forecasts coupled with what it sees as a limited catalyst path ahead.
• Yeti (YETI) unveils long-term growth strategy and financial framework at 2026 investor day as targets mid- to high-single-digit annual net sales growth through fiscal 2030; targets low-double-digit to high-teens annual adj EPS growth in long-term.

• AerSale (ASLE) announced the lease of a Boeing 757-200PCF aircraft to Jupiter Jet, a Kazakhstan-based cargo airline expanding its regional and international freight operations.
• CACI (CACI) has received a one-year plus four option periods award to support U.S. Central Command and its mission partners across a changing mission environment. The award has a ceiling of $1.5B. CACI expects to book $1.2B of the total awarded value.
• Fluence Energy (FLNC) announces revised guidance for fiscal year 2026; revises FY26 revenue guidance to $2.40B from prior midpoint of $3B and revises FY26 adj EBITDA loss guidance to $200M from prior $10M loss saying update comes due to supply chain issues.
• Generac (GNRC) shares surge over 30% after news it will provide backup generators for Amazon (AMZN) Data Centers, up to a total of $8B; Generac initial deliveries of generators expected to total $2.4B in 2027 and 2028; GNRC issued to Amazon.com investment holdings LLC, a warrant to acquire up to 1,693,745 shares at exercise price $200.9266 per share.
• HawkEye 360 (HAWK) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank America while lowering tgt to 423 from $34 noting space and defense tech peers have sold off in recent weeks, while the firm argues that HawkEye's Q2 results demonstrated strong growth and its $292M backlog provides visibility to 2026 targets.

• Bitdeer (BTDR) August production and operations update shows Bitcoin production increased 249% Y/Y to 1,310 Bitcoins; secured 100% contracted GPU capacity for its 9.5 MW A102 facility in Malaysia ahead of energization through long-term commitments, representing more than $800 million in total expected revenue.

• Boston Scientific (BSX) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup and cut tgt to $50 from $57 noting the company faces a more mature U.S. pulsed field ablation market with increased competition along with a stagnating left atrial appendage closure market.
• Haemonetics (HAE) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup and raised tgt to $123 from $92 citing potential upside from the company's non-exclusive supply agreement with CSL.
• Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (HALO) announces proposed offering of $1.05B of convertible Senior notes due 2033.

• Hut 8 (HUT) initiated with an Overweight at Wells Fargo and $175 price target at Wells Fargo saying the company's contracted backlog is among the highest quality in the space, and has 949 megawatts of critical IT capacity contracted with two different tenants across two campuses.
• Huawei Technologies plans to launch two new AI chips in 2027 as it expands its AI computing business and challenges Nvidia (NVDA). Chairman David Wang said the 950DT is planned for Q1, followed by the Ascend 960PR in Q3, accelerating the previously disclosed roadmap for the Ascend 960.
• Micron Technology (MU) unveiled its new semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India, to meet growing global demand for memory and storage driven by AI. The facility represents a combined investment of ~$2.75B by Micron and its government partners, advancing semiconductor manufacturing capabilities in India.
• Nebius Group (NBIS) shares rise after reports the company has raised prices for several of its Computing services; NBIS is said to increase prices for several on-demand GPU resources from Oct. 1, with the changes affecting Nvidia’s (NVDA) H100, H200, B200, and B300 chips, according to the communication.
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW) was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein but raise tgt to $351 from $253 noting cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk
• Vicor’s (VICR) shares rise after the power-component maker announced a licensing agreement tied to its technology for high-performance artificial intelligence processors.
• Wolfspeed Inc (WOLF) files for offering of up to 58,148,889 shares of common stock by the selling stockholders - SEC filing

Mid-Morning Look

Thursday, September 17, 2026

U.S. stocks off to a strong start overnight as AI led tech stocks, semis, data center names rebound a day after the Fed raised interest rates by 25bps, the first rate hike since 2023, while Treasury yields and oil prices dip slightly. Early strength on Wall Street with technology (XLK), consumer discretionary (XLY), and materials (XLB) leading higher while financials (XLF) lag again along with energy (XLE). A busy day of economic data as weekly jobless claims were better, Philly Fed survey down from prior month but above consensus while housing data showed weakness as mortgage rates rise. A day after the Fed raised rates, the Bank of England this morning maintains bank rate at 3.75% in 6-3 vote, repeating the July statement that there is "little evidence so far" of material second-round inflation effects. Next up is the Bank of Japan (BOJ) meeting overnight where a 25 bps rate hike is widely expected. Lots of news in the AI/power sector as GNRC jumps over 20% in deal with AMZN for power, NBIS shares jumped on price increases, and CRWV shares fell on bond/stock offering headlines. Semiconductors (SOX) seeing early strength with the SOX +3% led by INTC, ARM, MRVL, MU and others. The CBOE Volatility index (fear) falls -10% as stocks open the day higher into option expiration tomorrow.

• Philadelphia Fed business conditions September fell to 37.8 from August 47.4 but above the consensus reading of 30.5; prices paid index September 48.6 vs August 40.9; new orders index September 29.2 vs August 30.1; employment index September 11.8 vs August 27.9; Philadelphia Fed six-month business conditions September 52.9 vs August 73.6.
• August housing starts fell -2.6% to 1.275M unit rate (below consensus 1.309M) as single-family starts +7.6% to 918,000 unit rate; multifamily -21.7% to 357,000 unit rate; Aug housing permits fell -2.7% to 1.394M unit rate (consensus 1.410M) vs July 1.433M unit rate; Aug single-family permits -1.8% to 878,000 unit rate; multifamily -4.3% to 516,000 unit rate.
• In another housing data point, August Pending Home sales -4.7% from Aug 2025 and M/M, Aug Pending Home sales index rose +0.3% vs. consensus -0.6%.

• Industrials & Equipment: GNRC shares surged after announced a landmark, multi-year supply agreement to power AMZN’s expanding data center infrastructure, unlocking up to $8B in total potential order volume with initial deliveries projected at $2.4B across 2027 and 2028; MIR was added as positive catalyst watch at JP Morgan as the firm believes MIR is entering a 2H26 inflection, where backlog conversion and steadier pricing support a step-up in volumes, while margins are positioned to improve meaningfully in the back half. MWA was downgraded to Underperform at RBC Capital as it believes consensus F2027 revenue growth of 4% does not reflect the combined headwinds of fading federal stimulus, hydrant backlog normalization.
• Auto sector: CPRT was downgraded from Buy to Hold at HSBC saying its outlook looks increasingly challenging after its 4QFY26 saw a return to sharp declines in US Insurance volumes, down 7.5% vs competitor RB Global (auto volumes up 11% in its Q2); LYFT was downgraded to Neutral at Guggenheim and cut tgt to $16 from $22 driven by lower second half of 2027 volume forecasts coupled with what it sees as a limited catalyst path ahead. COST said it's partnering with DASH to offer delivery from its U.S. warehouse stores. DoorDash already offers Costco delivery in a few markets, including Australia, Sweden and Puerto Rico.

• GNRC +22%; after it agreed to supply up to $8B worth of generators for Amazon’s data centers and issued a warrant for a stake in the company.
• HAWK +6%; was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank America while lowering its price tgt to $23 from $34 saying while space and Defense tech peers have sold off in recent weeks, they sees Hawk's underlying business as strong.
• HOOD +3%; along with gains in COIN, CRCL after the SEC said platforms trading tokenized stocks get five-year relief from exchange definition under SEC rules; liquidity providers in tokenized stocks get five-year exemption from dealer registration requirements.
• MGNI +4%; along with PUBM, TTD were higher early following last night's release of full opinion of DOJ in GOOGL's Ad-tech antitrust trial case - Magnite shares are higher as opinion is seen as a big victory for Independent Ad-tech
• NBIS +3%; the company has raised prices for several of its Computing services; NBIS is said to increase prices for several on-demand GPU resources from Oct. 1, with the changes affecting NVDA’s H100, H200, B200, and B300 chips.
• RGR +5%; after Beretta Holding began a cash tender offer for Sturm Ruger's shares at a price of $44.80 a piece; Beretta said the tender offer is to purchase up to 2.4 million of the outstanding shares of Sturm Ruger's common stock.
• VICR +16%; shares rise after the power-component maker announced a licensing agreement tied to its technology for high-performance artificial intelligence processors

• CRWV -4%; after offering privately $3B in convertible bonds due Apr 1, 2033, saying they intend to use net offering proceeds for general corporate purposes, among other things; also plans to sell up to 35 mln Class A shares in "at-the-market" (ATM) offering program.
• FLNC -17%; lowered its FY26 revenue forecast to $2.4B from prior view of $2.9B-$3.1B and now sees FY adj. EBITDA loss of ~$200M, wider than previous forecast of ~$10M loss as continued delays in contract manufacturing facility in Houston primary reason for lowering forecast
• GS -1%; adds to prior day declines, falling further below its 200dma yesterday around $956 after said Thursday expects its fixed-income, currencies and commodities (FICC) business will be slightly softer in Q3 compared to very strong performance for its equities business.
• LEN -1%; as Q3 EPS that was below Street consensus as all homebuilding metrics were below forecast (Q3 Order units 20.9K vs. guide 21.0K-22.0K and order ASP $359K vs. $370K est.) and the midpoint of management guidance, while the outlook for FYQ4 also disappointed,

Closing Recap

Thursday, September 17, 2026

US equity futures bounced back overnight after trading off post-Fed yesterday.   Early breadth was particularly strong, favoring advancers by 7:2 with IWM (+1.14%) versus SPY (+0.95%) and QQQ (+1.59%).  SPY breadth favored advancers by 9:7 while QQQ breadth favored advancers by 5:4.  Early sector performance saw Technology (+2.17%), Consumer Discretionary (+1.58%) and Materials (+0.91%) outperforming among S&P sector ETFs, while Financials (-0.38%), Energy (-0.42%) and Communications (-0.43%) paced the underperformers with 7 sectors gaining versus 4 declining.

In sentiment today, the bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was -24.6% vs -1.3% last week. Bulls slipped to 28.8% from 38% while Bears rose to 53.3% from 39.3%.  Neutrals dropped to 17.9% from 22.7%.  Meanwhile, the daily Fear & Greed Index continued to show Fear at 29/100 versus last week’s 32 (Fear), but well off last month’s 59 (Greed) reading.  Perhaps yesterday’s Fed hike will remove sufficient uncertainty that the needle will begin to move back toward more neutral territory. 

The rally day looked fairly secure into the last hour of trading with both the S&P and Nasdaq futures gaining more than 1%.  The first Fed hike is now behind us, and we have some time to wait before the next round of earnings, so now we return to the data hounds and Fed watchers obsessing over each economic release in the search for clues to the market’s direction.  Of course, we still have the historically concerning month of October looming, but that’s always a wild card.

As expected, the Bank of England maintains bank rate at 3.75% in 6-3 vote, repeating the July statement that there is "little evidence so far" of material second-round inflation effects. BOE Q3 GDP growth expected to be +0.4% (July forecast: Q3 +0.1%). Next up is the Bank of Japan decision overnight which is expected to raise rates by 25 bps to 1.25% on Friday which is effectively locked in, but focus is on the statement, vote split and Gov Ueda presser. Underlying inflation is close to 2%, and policy is increasingly about containing upside risks and potential overshoot.

• Philadelphia Fed business conditions September fell to 37.8 from August 47.4 but above the consensus reading of 30.5; prices paid index September 48.6 vs August 40.9; new orders index September 29.2 vs August 30.1; employment index September 11.8 vs August 27.9; Philadelphia Fed six-month business conditions September 52.9 vs August 73.6.
• August housing starts fell -2.6% to 1.275M unit rate (below consensus 1.309M) as single-family starts +7.6% to 918,000 unit rate; multifamily -21.7% to 357,000 unit rate; Aug housing permits fell -2.7% to 1.394M unit rate (consensus 1.410M) vs July 1.433M unit rate; Aug single-family permits -1.8% to 878,000 unit rate; multifamily -4.3% to 516,000 unit rate.
• In another housing data point, August Pending Home sales -4.7% from Aug 2025 and M/M, Aug Pending Home sales index rose +0.3% vs. consensus -0.6%.

• WTI crude futures slipped overnight and traded mostly sideways after recovering early despite headlines Trump intends to hold Iran talks with Gulf leaders next week. Though there were some Houthi-related headlines intraday, the day was generally quiet and October WTI crude futures settled only -$0.52/bbl, or -0.51%, at $101.91
• For the 1st time since 2007, the 10Y yield closed above 5% on Thursday after the Fed raised rates by 25bps, but slipped over 6bps today back down to 4.93%. The Japanese yen could weaken if the Bank of Japan fails to signal interest rates will rise as much as markets expect in a decision Friday. The BOJ is widely expected to deliver a 25 basis-point rate rise and could indicate plans to raise rates further.

• Restaurant sector: WING was added as an upside 90-day catalyst watch at Citigroup saying they believe near-term sales are likely to react to: shifts in Wing's marketing strategy timed for the NFL season that will feature per-person price points, longer spots, and a more promotional 3PD approach that can drive placement, and a football season shift towards group/occasion sales
• Specialty Retail sector: YETI said it expects its growth to continue in the years ahead as it looks to expand its product portfolio and international presence; said it is targeting annual net sales growth in the mid-single to high-single digits through fiscal 2030, with annual growth for adjusted earnings per share at a low-double digit to high-teens rate.
• Homebuilder sector: LEN reported Q3 (August quarter-end) EPS that was below Street consensus as all homebuilding metrics were below forecast (Q3 Order units 20.9K vs. guide 21.0K-22.0K and order ASP $359K vs. $370K est.) and the midpoint of management guidance, while the outlook for FYQ4 also disappointed, suggesting an EPS outlook below the current Street estimate of $2.00.

• Leisure sector: Beretta Holding began a cash tender offer for RGR shares at a price of $44.80 a piece; Beretta said the tender offer is to purchase up to 2.4 million of the outstanding shares of Sturm Ruger's common stock. Cruise lies (CCL, RCL, NCLH, VIK) saw early strength as energy prices pulled back for a second day.

• Alternative Energy/Solar sector: FLNC shares tumbled after the energy storage provider lowered its FY26 revenue forecast to $2.4B from prior view of $2.9B-$3.1B and now sees FY adj. EBITDA loss of ~$200M, wider than previous forecast of ~$10M loss as continued delays in contract manufacturing facility in Houston primary reason for guide.
• Power Generation: Piper said after 50 investor calls across 10 PowerGen names, MTZ and NXT remain Piper's top picks, supported by earnings visibility, diversification, catalysts, and margin upside. Inbound was heaviest on FSLR and AGX. Most investors agreed with Piper's NXT and PWR calls, and the hardest pushback came on OKLO and XE
• Defense sector: HAWK was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank America while lowering its price tgt to $23 from $34 saying while space and Defense tech peers have sold off in recent weeks, they sees Hawk's underlying business as strong, benefiting from elevated global demand for Rf Intelligence given the threat environment.

• Insurance sector: ALL announces August catastrophe losses of $748M, or $591M after-tax - SEC filing
• Payments sector: MA plans to roll out an agentic payment option this week for everyday purchases through a partnership with the startup Alchemy, the WSJ reported.

• ASTH shares fell following a short report GlassHouse Research which disclosed that it's short shares of Astrana.
• NUVB announces FDA approval of supplemental new drug application for IBTROZI® (taletrectinib) with updated duration of response in TKI-Naïve advanced ROS1-Positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
• RARE shares jumped after the FDA approved its gene therapy for the treatment of a rare, fatal disease, Sanfilippo syndrome type A
• MedTech sector: BSX was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup and cut tgt to $50 from $57 noting the company faces a more mature U.S. pulsed field ablation market with increased competition along with a stagnating left atrial appendage closure market. Citi upgraded HAE to Buy from Neutral and raised tgt to $123 from $92 citing potential upside from the company's non-exclusive supply agreement with CSL.
• Healthcare service sector: OSCR raised 2026 AOI guidance, lowered MLR, and reaffirmed revenue and SG&A guidance ahead of its Investor Day; AOI guidance was raised 100MM to $600-$800MM, MLR guidance was lowered 50bps to 81.0%-82.0% (from 81.5%-82.5%) and guidance for revenue / SG&A ratio held at $18.7B-$19.0B / 15.6%-16.1%.
• AI enabled Precision Medicine solutions sector seeing continued strength with big gains in the likes of TEM, TWST, MRNA, RVTY, TXG, RXRX, GH and others.

• Data center sector: Bitcoin miners turned AI power/data center names initiated at Wells Fargo with Overweight and $175 price target on HUT saying the company's contracted backlog is among the highest quality in the space, and has 949 megawatts of critical IT capacity contracted with two different tenants across two campuses. APLD was initiated at Overweight rating and $50 price target noting the company offers an investment grade-concentrated backlog, power-advantaged footprint with lower relative regulatory risk; WULF initiated at Overweight rating and $30 price target with favorable view of TeraWulf track record and the quality of its contracted and pipeline sites; CIFR at Overweight rating and $25 price target as views Cipher as a "high-risk/high-reward name" and lastly CORZ at Overweight and $28 price target as views the company as the industry-leader in converting announced deals to operating megawatts.

• SaaS software sector: CRM reaffirmed its prior F30 sales target of $63B and continues to anticipate organic growth reaccelerating in H2:F27 at their analyst meeting; analysts weighed in on CRM message at both the Dreamforce keynote and its investor event: Ai is not killing SaaS. Piper noted the firm got three of the leading Ai CEOs to present at its event and announced that the top 9 Ai companies are running CRM wall-to-wall.
• Enterprise software sector: PEGA was downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan saying the company's non-deal roadshow brought limited near-term positives, and the company did not explicitly suggest that close rates have already returned to normal.
• Ad tech sector: shares of MGNI, PUBM, TTD were higher early following last night's release of full opinion of DOJ in GOOGL's Ad-tech antitrust trial case - Magnite shares are higher as opinion is seen as a big victory for Independent Ad-tech.
• Hardware & Components: VICR shares rise after the power-component maker announced a licensing agreement tied to its technology for high-performance artificial intelligence processors; SNAP announced partnerships with companies including CRM, NVDA and AMZN Web Services to integrate workplace Tools into its Specs augmented-reality glasses.

• GFS and MRVL announced an expanded multi-year agreement to increase capacity for GF’s silicon germanium (SiGe) technology at its Burlington, Vermont, facility to support growing demand for next-generation Optical connectivity.
• Huawei Technologies plans to launch two new AI chips in 2027 as it expands its AI computing business and challenges NVDA. Chairman David Wang said the 950DT is planned for Q1, followed by the Ascend 960PR in Q3, accelerating the previously disclosed roadmap for the Ascend 960.
• MU unveiled its new semiconductor assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India, to meet growing global demand for memory and storage driven by AI. The facility represents a combined investment of ~$2.75B by Micron and its government partners.
• ON recap from its Analyst Day: Increased its LT rev growth outlook to +12-14% (Auto +9% and Industrial +10%) vs prior model of +10-12%; Model implies $10+ in EPS in '30; 2) GM target of 53% remains unchanged, but expected 55% with SYNA; 3) Sees Ai DC revs doubling to 1B in '27 and reaching $2.5B in '30 rep a 50% CAGR
• WOLF files for offering of up to 58,148,889 shares of common stock by the selling stockholders - SEC filing

Street Recommendations

Thursday, September 17, 2026

• AMRX Barclays raised the firm's price target on Amneal Pharmaceuticals to $20 from $16 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The pending gLanreotide approval, which is expected any day, represents a "clearing event for the stock" and paves the path to $20, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the approval could "unlock the next layer of upside in the stock."
• IOVA Barclays raised the firm's price target on Iovance Biotherapeutics to $15 from $13 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm's physician survey reinforce its positive outlook on Iovance ahead of the upcoming IOV-LUN-202 update in Q4. Durability remains the key differentiator for lifileucel in second-line lung cancer, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• OSCR Barclays analyst Andrew Mok raised the firm's price target on Oscar Health to $49 from $39 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following the investor day. Oscar outlined a "credible path" to over $4 of earnings per share by 2029 and implied 2027 earnings over $3.00 versus the $1.92 Street estimate, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Barclays sees "significant growth ahead" for Oscar.

• PANW Bernstein downgraded Palo Alto Networks to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $351, up from $253. The firm notes cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk. From the start of 2026, many of Bernstein's covered cybersecurity names have appreciated roughly 100%-plus and crowding scores for the space increased significantly. The firm says it needs to raise its price target multiple regression by a couple of turns, highlighting that companies it found "too cheap" previously, like Palo Alto, now seem fairly valued.
• NET Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Cloudflare to $181 from $164 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm notes cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk. From the start of 2026, many of Bernstein's covered cybersecurity names have appreciated roughly 100%-plus and crowding scores for the space increased significantly. The firm says it needs to raise its price target multiple regression by a couple of turns, highlighting that companies it found "too cheap" previously now seem fairly valued.
• S Bernstein analyst Peter Weed downgraded SentinelOne to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $25, up from $21. The firm notes cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk. From the start of 2026, many of Bernstein's covered cybersecurity names have appreciated roughly 100%-plus and crowding scores for the space increased significantly. The firm says it needs to raise its price target multiple regression by a couple of turns, highlighting that companies it found "too cheap" previously, like SentinelOne, now seem fairly valued.
• CRWD Bernstein raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $132 from $119 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm notes cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk. From the start of 2026, many of Bernstein's covered cybersecurity names have appreciated roughly 100%-plus and crowding scores for the space increased significantly. The firm says it needs to raise its price target multiple regression by a couple of turns, highlighting that companies it found "too cheap" previously now seem fairly valued.
• OKTA Bernstein analyst Peter Weed downgraded Okta to Market Perform from Outperform with a price target of $174, up from $143. The firm notes cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk. From the start of 2026, many of Bernstein's covered cybersecurity names have appreciated roughly 100%-plus and crowding scores for the space increased significantly. The firm says it needs to raise its price target multiple regression by a couple of turns, highlighting that companies it found "too cheap" previously, like Okta, now seem fairly valued.
• FTNT Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Fortinet to $145 from $102 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm notes cybersecurity investor sentiment has swung back to positive as the demand signals continued to point up in its mid-year CISO and CIO surveys and further boosted by recent increasing discussion about slowing AI Lab progression due to cyber risk. From the start of 2026, many of Bernstein's covered cybersecurity names have appreciated roughly 100%-plus and crowding scores for the space increased significantly. The firm says it needs to raise its price target multiple regression by a couple of turns, highlighting that companies it found "too cheap" previously now seem fairly valued.

• PSX BMO Capital raised the firm's price target on Phillips 66 to $310 from $260 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company's integrated business model has gained momentum and outperformed its parts, with strong execution across each of the businesses, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Refining and renewables is the cyclical leader, but BMO is positive on Midstream's medium-term growth outlook, the firm added.

• CEPU BofA analyst Gustavo Faria lowered the firm's price target on Central Puerto to $28 from $29 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after the company announced the sale of its total stake in Canadian-listed junior mining company AbraSilver and declared the proceeds at an extraordinary cash dividend of about 8% yield. The firm updated estimates for the asset sale and dividend.

• CRM Canaccord raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $300 from $270 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm attended the Salesforce's Dreamforce Investor Day where Management provided several encouraging datapoints around pipeline, coverage ratios and contract activity, while laying out a broader framework for monetizing AI across premium editions, consumption and increasingly headless use cases.
• FLNC Canaccord analyst George Gianarikas lowered the firm's price target on Fluence Energy to $15 from $24 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated its model after the company announced that a promised $3B F2026 revenue horizon abruptly shrank to $2.4B. At the heart of the storm lies the Houston manufacturing facility, where CEO Julian Nebreda acknowledged the team fundamentally underestimated operational complexity.

• CRM Citi raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $263 from $233 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The company's investor day provided few financial disclosures but a clear articulation of how AI is reshaping its product and business model, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi cites software multiple expansion for the target boost.
• HAE Citi upgraded Haemonetics to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $123, up from $92. The firm cites potential upside from the company's non-exclusive supply agreement with CSL for the upgrade. Citi estimates that every 10% share recapture is 13c accretive to Haemonetics' earnings per share.

• OSCR Goldman Sachs analyst Scott Fidel raised the firm's price target on Oscar Health to $34 from $30 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Oscar Health's Investor Day laid out an ambitious 2029 framework of 20%+ revenue CAGR, 5%-7% operating margins, and $4+ EPS, with 2026 guidance raised to $600M-$800M, but the key question is whether substantial further MLR improvement can support those EPS targets while simultaneously funding significant multi-year market share gains, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• CRM Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $300 from $270 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares based on less conservative estimates in the out-years after having attended Dreamforce. The firm came away from the conference with "similar thoughts around risk that we had going in, but a more open view of what could be," the analyst tells investors.

• PRLD JPMorgan analyst Joyce Zhou initiated coverage of Prelude Therapeutics with an Overweight rating and $12 price target. The firm is positive on the company's lead asset PRT12396, a JAK2V617F mutant selective inhibitor, currently in Phase 1 for V617F+ myeloproliferative neoplasms. PRT12396 can improve on currently approved JAK inhibitors by selectively targeting mutant V617F+ cells, which could lead to a wider therapeutic window, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan sees PRT12396 as a multi-billion dollar product in myelofibrosis and polycythemia vera combined in the U.S. alone.
• CRM JPMorgan believes Salesforce's investor day was "incrementally positive for the re-rating thesis" despite the lack of financial guidance The day focused less on financial outlook updates and more on showcasing the pace of innovation and monetization drivers for the company led by AI, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan believes the premium upgrade and Agentforce cohort disclosures reinforce Salesforce's installed-base repricing thesis. It keeps an Overweight rating on the shares with a $265 price target.

• CIEN Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Ciena to $450 from $425 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares after having attended the Ciena Investor Forum and analyst day meeting. As the only pure-play optical systems vendor, Ciena has built a technology lead over the last decade, says the analyst, who notes that multi-year financial targets were about 10% ahead of the Street on EPS. The firm "walked away more positive on the name," but would like a couple more quarters to see new products flow in with gross margins being the catalyst to price target achievement, the analyst added.

• FLNC Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on Fluence Energy to $5 from $6 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. Fluence pre-announced and guided down FY26 results after the close yesterday, due largely to continuing enclosure production delays from their CM supplier in Houston, TX, the firm notes. Implying concerns around execution and liquidity, the company changed course on growth, now planning to execute on existing $2.9B backlog in FY27 vs prior expectations of growth, consensus estimates $3.1B.

• ON Stifel lowered the firm's price target on onsemi to $75 from $90 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares after having attended the company's analyst day. The firm came away "encouraged on strategy," but adds that the calendar year 2030 model of 12%-14% revenue CAGR, 53% gross margin and 38% operating margin is potentially below expectations and the gross margin path "also remains unclear," the analyst tells investors.

• CRK Truist initiated coverage of Comstock Resources with a Hold rating and $16 price target. The company "stands out" as a Haynesville pure play alongside being an early mover in the Western Haynesville, which could prove to be a superior resource and a consequential natural gas play in the lower 48 states, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, the firm believes Comstock is at the higher end of the shale cost curve "which also manifests in corporate level outspends through 2030."
• CRGY Truist analyst Gabe Daoud initiated coverage of Crescent Energy with a Buy rating and $19 price target. Crescent is a four-basin oil producer that currently trades at just 3.3 times Truist's 2027 EBITDAX versus the peer median at 4.1 times, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the company is doing more with less rock with improved operations.
• CHRD Truist raised the firm's price target on Chord Energy to $180 from $166 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company has announced a divestiture of its non-operated Marcellus position for a total gross consideration of $550M, a highly accretive price implying about 6-times EBITDA at a $3.50/MMBtu price deck, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Truist adds that its increased price target reflects mark- to-market in commodity prices.
• FLNC Truist lowered the firm's price target on Fluence Energy to $10 from $16 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm cites the company's FY27 guidance cut due to production delays and logistical issues primarily at the new Houston facility, noting that the announcement is another hit to confidence in execution, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• MAA Truist lowered the firm's price target on MAA to $132 from $146 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is cutting its FY26 FFO estimate by 5 cents to $8.45 due to higher interest rates but still relatively low acquisition cap rates, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• HUT Wells Fargo analyst Eric Luebchow initiated coverage of Hut 8 with an Overweight rating and $175 price target. The company's contracted backlog is among the highest quality in the space, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wells says Hut has 949 megawatts of critical IT capacity contracted with two different tenants across two campuses, and the credit quality of the contracted book "is arguably the best in the space."
• WULF Wells Fargo initiated coverage of TeraWulf with an Overweight rating and $30 price target. The firm has a favorable view of TeraWulf's track record and the quality of its contracted and pipeline sites. The company has contracted 839 megawatts of capacity with three different tenants, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Wells says TeraWulf was able to brownfield develop these sites with multiple high-voltage transmission line connections at a lower cost than a traditional greenfield site.
• CIFR Wells Fargo initiated coverage of Cipher Mining with an Overweight rating and $25 price target. Wells views Cipher as a "high-risk/high-reward name." The company is the only high performance compute name that trades at a premium to contracted net asset value, but with significant upside if it can deliver on its pipeline, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Cipher has one of the highest-quality tenant bases across the space.
• CORZ Wells Fargo analyst Eric Luebchow initiated coverage of Core Scientific with an Overweight rating and $28 price target. The firm views the company as the industry-leader in converting announced deals to operating megawatts. Core Scientific has a significant pipeline with AMD that should translate into incremental near-term leasing, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Well says the AMD lease diversifies Core's business and provides a reservation pipeline.

• VSTM Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Verastem with an Outperform rating.
• RYTM Wolfe Research analyst Kalpit Patel initiated coverage of Rhythm Pharmaceuticals with an Outperform rating.
• ZYME Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Zymeworks with an Outperform rating.

Rating abbreviations…

***OP = Outperform

***SP = Sector Perform

***UP = Underperform

***OW = Overweight

***EW = Equal-weight

***UW = Underweight

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

What’s on Tap Weekly Calendar

• Earnings After the Close: HYFT KMTS PLAY RLGT

• H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC 28th Annual Global Investment Conference, 9/14-9/16, in New York
• Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, 9/14-9/16 in New York, NY
• Piper 5th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference, 9/14-9/15 in Nashville
• China Retail Sales, Industrial Output, Houe Prices data

• 8:30 AM ET                   Empire Manufacturing data for September
• 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 1:00 PM ET U.S. Treasury sells $18B in 20-yr notes
• 2:00 PM ET FOMC Policy rate meeting (two day meeting)     
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: EPM TCOM

• Goldman Sachs Global Retailing Conference, 9/14-9/15
• H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC 28th Annual Global Investment Conference, 9/14-9/16, in New York
• Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, 9/14-9/16 in New York, NY
• Oppenheimer Fintech Leaders Conference, 9/15 in New York
• Oppenheimer AI Infrastructure Conference, 9/15 in New York
• Piper 5th Annual Growth Frontiers Conference, 9/14-9/15 in Nashville
• Stifel Immunology and Inflammation Forum, 9/15-9/16 (virtual)
• Truist Technology Conference - AI Transformation & Evolving Enterprise Debates, 9/15

• 8:30 AM ET                   Import Prices M/M for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Export Prices M/M for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Retail Sales M/M for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Retail Sales M/M Ex: Autos for Aug
• 10:00 AM ET                 Business inventories for July
• 10:00 AM ET NAHB Housing Market Index for September
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data
• 2:00 PM ET FOMC Policy rate meeting (two day meeting concludes)
• 4:00 PM ET                    Net Long-term TIC flows for July

• Earnings After the Close: ALMU LEN

• H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC 28th Annual Global Investment Conference, 9/14-9/16, in New York
• Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, 9/14-9/16 in New York, NY
• Stifel Immunology and Inflammation Forum, 9/15-9/16 (virtual)
• Wells Fargo PP Texas Power & Gas Tour, 9/16-9/17, in Houston, TX

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Housing Starts M/M for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Building Permits M/M for August
• 8:30 AM ET                   Philly Fed Business Index for September
• 10:00 AM ET                 Pending Home Sales M/M for August
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: None

• Bank America 2026 Global Real Estate Conference, 9/15-9/17
• Oppenheimer 4th Annual Targeted Radiopharma Therapies in Oncology Summit, 9/17 in New York
• Wells Fargo PP Texas Power & Gas Tour, 9/16-9/17, in Houston, TX

• 9:15 AM ET                   Capacity Utilization for August
• 10:00 AM ET                 Leading Index M/M for August
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

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