Early Look

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

The global bond rout resumes, taking yields higher and once again pressuring global stock markets, as the benchmark 10-yr yield rises around 2 bps at 4.814% and the 30-yr yield rose over 5.28% (highest since 2008), the level seen before Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shocked markets last month by expanding a buyback program in an effort to halt the rise on August 19. The move higher for yields shows it is going to take more than some intervention to soothe investors worried about the surging national debt and persistently elevated inflation. Meanwhile, WTI crude oil surged 5% above $90 per barrel on Thursday, its highest level in about three months, following additional U.S. strikes on Iran, and is holding steady this morning. The U.S. dollar hits 2-week highs and the recent rally in August for precious metals has come under pressure the last 4 days and down at 3 week lows. Despite strong earnings and guidance from Dell Inc (DELL) last night, lifting shares up 9%, Nasdaq futures are down roughly -0.5%. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index declined -1,889 points or 2.85% to 64,325, the Shanghai Index fell -38 points to 3,941, and the Hang Seng Index slipped -18 points to 25,311. In Europe, the German DAX is down -212 points to 25,757, while the FTSE 100 is down -65 points to 10,723.

Stocks closed lower for a third day on Tuesday as the week's dominant themes remained higher Treasury yields, surging oil prices, and escalating US-Iran hostilities. US strikes on Iranian targets near the Strait of Hormuz followed Iranian attacks on tankers, while Trump warned Iran would face a much stronger response if it retaliates. Oil settled more than $4 higher, pushing yields to fresh YTD highs and weighing on equities. Softer-than-expected ISM Manufacturing and JOLTS data took a back seat as geopolitical and inflation concerns dominated the session.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -418.97 points, or 0.79%, to 52,766.93
• The Nasdaq Composite tumbled -271.12 points, or 1.03%, to 26,099.77
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -36.32 points, or 1.23% to 2,920.13

• 8:15 AM ET ADP Private Payrolls for August…est. +48K
• 10:00 AM ET                 Durable Goods Orders M/M for July
• 10:00 AM ET                 Factory orders M/M for July…est. +0.6%
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data

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

• The Bank of Canada will publish its latest interest rate decision at 9:45 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Canadian GDP growth accelerated in the second quarter, but inflation is on the rise.
• US diesel advanced to the highest price since hitting a peak in April during the initial phase of the US-Iran war. The nationwide average retail price reached $5.688 a gallon on Tuesday, according to the American Automobile Association.

• Sportsman's Warehouse (SPWH) Q2 adj EPS loss (-$0.08) vs. est. loss (-$0.11); Q2 revs rose +0.6% y/y to $295.58M vs. est. $295.17M; same store sales were flat for Q2; Gross margin rose 0.5% to 32.5%, helped by lower freight from tighter inventory management and a one-time tariff benefit; Q2 adj EBITDA rose to $8.7M from $8.3M; hunting and shooting sports same-store sales gained 6.7%; reaffirms year comp sales.
• Tesla's (TSLA) China-made electric vehicle sales slowed to a gain of 3.6% y/y in August, down sharply from the prior month. Sales of Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from its Shanghai factory, including exports to Europe, Asia Pacific and Canada, rose to 86,166 units from the year earlier, down -38% y/y.
• Tesla (TSLA) is set to hold an event for its purpose-built robotaxi Cybercab in Austin, Texas, on Thursday, as well as questions about regulatory hurdles and safety of the technology. Tesla has not announced a time for the event. Tesla usually livestreams major events, but it has not officially confirmed whether it will do so.
• The FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported that firearm background checks were up 16.5% year over year to 2,111,146 checks in August to mark the third month in a row of year-over-year gains. Firearm background checks have been over the 2M level for 7 out of 8 months in 2026.

• Matador (MTDR) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo noting Matador has been one of the most active E&Ps on the M&A front this year. While the deals have weighed on shares, Wells believes it has created an attractive entry point with shares.

• Deutsche Bank (DB) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs saying the company is entering an era of higher profitability, driven by improving revenue momentum and positive operating leverage, in turn driving a roughly 300 basis point improvement in return on tangible equity over three years.

• Dell Inc. (DELL) shares rise; Q2 adjusted EPS $7.04 tops consensus $4.92; Q2 revs surged 58% y/y to $47B vs. consensus $44.89B; Q2 Revenue from AI-optimized servers doubled to $16.4B, while traditional servers and networking revenue surged 122% to $10.53B and storage revenue rose 26% to $4.85B; Q2 AI servers business ended the quarter with a backlog of $95B; sees Q3 adj EPS $6.50/$49B well above consensus $4.57/$41.36B; Raises FY27 revenue view to $192B at midpoint from $167B at midpoint, vs. consensus $173.33B.
• GitLab Inc. (GTLB) Q2 adj EPS $0.25 vs est $0.18 on revs $286.3Mm vs est $273.12Mm, adj gr mgn 86%; guides Q3 revs $281-283Mm vs est $281Mm and adj EPS $0.19-0.20 vs est $0.18; sees FY revs $1.129-1.133B vs est $1.116B and adj EPS $0.85-0.87 vs est $0.81.
• MongoDB Inc. (MDB) shares fall; Q2 adj EPS $1.90 vs est $1.61 on revs $771.8Mm vs est $733.68Mm; guides Q3 adj EPS $1.57-1.61 vs est $1.54, adj operating Income $152-156Mm vs est $148.74Mm and revs $756-761Mm vs est $745.38Mm; sees FY adj EPS $6.39-6.58 vs est $6.13 and revs $2.99-3.03B vs est $2.954B; says FY guidance with H2 raise mainly due to Atlas
• Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) is in advanced talks to acquire artificial Intelligence startup Hugging Face in a transaction that may total about $14B, according to people familiar with the matter – Bloomberg.
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW) shares rise; Q4 adj EPS $1.02 vs est $0.98 on revs $3.41B vs est $3.352B; guides Q1 adj EPS $0.96-0.98 vs est $0.93 and revs $3.3-3.31B vs est $3.22B; sees FY adj EPS $4.16-4.19 vs est $4.11 and revs $14.1-14.2B vs est $13.788B
• Taiwan Semi (TSM) says its estimate for quarterly chipmaking-equipment purchases is now ~1.9x what it projected in December as it races to add capacity for AI demand. The company is currently building and outfitting about 20 factories globally, versus a typical pace of just 4-5 at once, while also dealing with a shortage of experienced construction workers in Taiwan.
• Rubrik (RBRK) entered a partnership with Crowdstrike (CRWD) to deliver an agentic identity-attack resilience workflow orchestrated by Charlotte Agentic SOAR. Integration links Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security detection with Rubrik Identity Resilience recovery to cut identity provider recovery time to hours.
• Vertiv (VRT) announces agreement to acquire UtilityInnovation group to accelerate time to power for Ai data Centers in a deal valued at $1.45B cash plus up to $1.15B earnout.

Mid-Morning Look

Wednesday, September 02, 2026

U.S. stocks were lower overnight amid surging global bond yields, but opened mixed to slightly higher, rebounding from last few days of declines (SPY down 3 straight into today) as yields eased following bullish comments from NY Fed head Williams. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams tried to put a more positive spin on the spike in Treasury yields today in CNBC interview saying the rising long-term bond yields aren’t driven by inflation fears but are instead a reflection of a solid economy. He said he was still collecting information to drive his next monetary policy decision. In terms of the increase in real-world borrowing costs, “what's driving it…is really a strong U.S. economy and a strong economic outlook fueled by big investments in AI and data centers and technology in general, so I see this as more of a reflection of the strength of the economy,” Williams said. The comments comes after the 10-yr and 2-yr yield hit highest levels since early 2025 and the 30-yr highest since 2007 as oil prices have surged on increased tensions between the U.S./Iran. Fresh strikes tied to the Iran conflict have pushed oil higher again, adding fuel to the ongoing selloff in global bond markets. The move is being driven by a combination of higher energy prices and growing expectations for central bank tightening, with markets increasingly pricing in rate hikes from the Fed, ECB, and BOJ this month. This morning the August ADP private payrolls data came in below expectations showing a still fragile jobs market and comes ahead of Friday’s nonfarm payroll report. A few notable movers on earnings with DELL, GTLB rising on results while CRDO, MDB, PANW slide on results in tech. Oil prices fell after climbing to more than one-month highs earlier in the session, with traders weighing the risk of supply disruptions following overnight strikes by the U.S. and Iran against signs that crude supplies continue to reach the market. Precious metals reverse overnight declines, bouncing after its recent tumble for gold/silver.

• U.S. July factory orders rose +0.9% topping consensus +0.6% and vs June -0.2%; July factory orders ex-transportation +0.6% vs June -0.1% (prev -0.4%); July factory orders ex-defense +1.0% vs June -0.3%; U.S. July Durables orders unrevised at +1.1% and U.S. July nondurables orders +0.7% vs June -0.9%.

• Auto sector: TSLA sold 86,166 China-made Model 3/Y vehicles in August, up 3.6% y/y but slowing sharply from +38% in July while sales fell -7.9% m/m. NIO was downgraded to Neutral at JP Morgan and cut its tgt to $4.50 from $7 saying Q2 results were moderately ahead though in line with management guidance and noted mgmt lukewarm anticipation on 2H26 vehicle delivery. Ford (F) reported total August U.S. vehicle sales 170,681 units and total electrified vehicles sales 17,237 units. UBER to cut 3,300 jobs in company overhaul to reduce management layers, Bloomberg reported and said will reduce number of managers by 20%.

• GTLB +14%; shares jumped after reported a solid quarter with revs $286.3M beating the $273M estimate on better earnings driven by broad based strength across enterprise accounts, first order traction, and early success with various consumption-based products.
• SIRI +5%; was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank and raise PT to $45 driven by their higher revenue, EBITDA and FCF estimates, as well as an improved terminal value picture based on the growth outlook for digital audio advertising and stability in the SiriusXM subscription radio segment.
• SPWH +9%; shares rose on results as Q2 adj EPS loss (-$0.08) better than est. loss (-$0.11) on in-line revs $295.58M and said gross margin rose 0.5% to 32.5%, helped by lower freight from tighter inventory management and a one-time tariff benefit; Q2 adj EBITDA rose to $8.7M from $8.3M.
• UBER +2%; to cut 3,300 jobs in company overhaul to reduce management layers, Bloomberg reported and said will reduce number of managers by 20%.

• FCEL -11%; after Q3 revs fell -29% y/y to $33M missing the $38.8M estimate and its adj Ebitda loss for Q3 widened to -$36.74M) and missed analyst expectations of (-$11.7M) as revenue drop was mainly due to fewer module deliveries to customers in Korea.
• GIII -3%; mixed Q2 results as EPS topped consensus but sales of $554M missed the $570M consensus while guided Q3 EPS $1.35-$1.45 also missing the consensus $1.74 on revs $870M vs. est. $898.9M.
• MDB -14%; shares slid on mixed results/guide as reported strong Q2 results, beating across all metrics and raising the FY27 guide but shares fell as Atlas growth which grew 29% for Q2 (flat) and sequential deceleration in Atlas growth in FQ3 and FQ4.
• PANW -8%; delivered a strong Q4 print, with bookings accelerating for the second consecutive quarter, all metrics above guidance and consensus expectations, and with most metrics generally in line to above elevated expectations heading into the print. Notable, its 3% NGS ARR beat fell short of expectations.
• PCG -9%; after saying it will defer about $2B in spending for next year (to $11.4B from $13.4B) and launched a strategic review, after an amended state Senate bill raised concerns around wildfire liability costs; the company faces renewed uncertainty over liability costs after a California Senate bill amendment did little to reduce utilities' exposure to expenses related to the fires.

Closing Recap

Wednesday, September 02, 2026

U.S. stocks posted solid returns after slipping the last few days as U.S. Treasury yields pulled back from multi year highs following bullish comments from NY Fed head Williams. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams tried to put a more positive spin on the spike in Treasury yields today in CNBC interview saying the rising long-term bond yields aren’t driven by inflation fears but are instead a reflection of a solid economy. He said he was still collecting information to drive his next monetary policy decision. In terms of the increase in real-world borrowing costs, “what's driving it…is really a strong U.S. economy and a strong economic outlook fueled by big investments in AI and data centers and technology in general, so I see this as more of a reflection of the strength of the economy,” Williams said. That helped yields from going higher…but they still remain elevated. Oil prices started the day lower but worked higher all day. Still, U.S. stock markets rallied as nine of the eleven S&P sectors closed higher, led by Materials, Communications and Financials while Energy and Tech lagged. Plenty of concern still within equities around September, historically the market’s weakest month with the August jobs report on Friday, the FOMC rate decision on 9/16 (rising chances of a hike), both the ECB and BOJ are widely expected to tighten policy on 9/10 and 9/18, respectively and the Trump/Xi summit (Sept 24). DELL was a standout to the upside in tech following a massive beat and raise for earnings, while software names lagged after MDB and PANW results.

• U.S. July factory orders rose +0.9% topping consensus +0.6% and vs June -0.2%; July factory orders ex-transportation +0.6% vs June -0.1% (prev -0.4%); July factory orders ex-defense +1.0% vs June -0.3%; U.S. July Durables orders unrevised at +1.1% and U.S. July nondurables orders +0.7% vs June -0.9%.

• U.S. WTI crude oil futures rose $0.79 or 0.88% to settle at $91.01 per barrel while Brent Crude futures settle at $95.63/bbl, up 98 cents, or 1.04% as both contracts finished strong after starting the day lower on mild profit taking. After earlier falling about 1%, crude prices reversed course to advance as supply worries from the Iran war overshadowed earlier comments from U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who said that more than 17 million barrels of oil flowed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday.

• Bank of Japan Board Member Hajime Takata, one of the central bank’s most hawkish members, left the door open for an outsized interest-rate increase as well as back-to-back hikes, indicating he might push for a faster pace of tightening. The BOJ has raised its benchmark interest rate in quarter-point increments in the most recent three moves, while spacing the moves roughly six months apart

• Footwear & Sporting sector: ADDYY was upgraded from Equal Weight to Overweight at Barclay’s saying the market is missing that Adidas is a much better managed company today with positive market share momentum across key regions, is likely to be a beneficiary of any improvement in sales quality at NKE and has invested in its innovation pipeline and franchise management capabilities. SPWH shares rose on results as Q2 adj EPS loss (-$0.08) better than est. loss (-$0.11) on in-line revs $295.58M and said gross margin rose 0.5% to 32.5%, helped by lower freight from tighter inventory management and a one-time tariff benefit; Q2 adj EBITDA rose to $8.7M from $8.3M.
• Discount retailers: OLLI posted mixed Q2 results as EPS of $1,42 topped estimates but sales $741.1M missed the $751.5M consensus; raised its year EPS outlook to $4.57-$4.65, up from its previous guidance of $4.45-$4.55 as it expects to invest its tariff refunds in lower prices, but they cut annual sales outlook to $2.93B-$2.94B from prior view of $2.98B-$3B
• Food & Grocers: Citigroup opened a downside catalyst watch into Q2 earnings for KR saying they expect Q2 ID sales/comps of +1.0% (cons +1.0%) with EPS of $1.05 (cons $1.05) while the firm lower F26 comp guidance from +1-2% to +1-1.5% (cons +1.4%) and their EPS from $5.10-5.30 to $5.00-5.20.

• Gaming & Lodging: Wolfe's Research initiated CHDN, DKNG, FLUT and Hyatt (H) at Outperform and BYD, LVS, HLT, MAR at Peer perform. In their gaming coverage, says investors should position for megatrends to continue. Digital should command most of the category's growth thanks to gradual legalization, product innovation, and socialization of online sports betting, iGaming, and prediction services. The biggest online Gaming operators (DKNG) are well positioned to compete as prediction markets grow…and create opportunity for data firms like SRAD.

• Utility & Alt Energy sector: PCG said it will defer about $2B in spending for next year (to $11.4B from $13.4B) and launched a strategic review, after an amended state Senate bill raised concerns around wildfire liability costs; the company faces renewed uncertainty over liability costs after a California Senate bill amendment did little to reduce utilities' exposure to expenses related to the fires. FCEL shares fell after Q3 revs fell -29% y/y to $33M missing the $38.8M estimate and its adj Ebitda loss for Q3 widened to -$36.74M) and missed analyst expectations of (-$11.7M) as revenue drop was mainly due to fewer module deliveries to customers in Korea

• EYPT downgraded to Hold at TD Cowen following the failure of Eyepoint's first Phase III wAMD study, as found the LUGANO post-hoc analysis instructive and are sympathetic that the nine patients could represent an anomalous randomization scenario that disproportionately affected the Duravyu Arm.
• QURE shares rose after saying they submitted a marketing application to the FDA seeking accelerated approval of its experimental Huntington's disease treatment, ifezuntirgene inilparvovec (AMT-130); says it has requested a priority review for the application
• TEVA said its experimental drug tev '408 met the main goal in a mid-stage study in celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which gluten damages the small intestine; says a single under-the-skin dose of tev '408 significantly prevented gluten-triggered intestinal damage compared with placebo.

• Medical Equipment sector: ESTA mentioned positively by TD Cowen saying they view the 2025 American Society of Plastic Surgeons statistics as a meaningful positive datapoint for the breast implant maker as U.S. cosmetic surgery market growth accelerated to 7% in 2025, while breast augmentation procedures rose 11% and breast lifts increased 8%, according to the data. These datapoints make a strong case that GLP-1-driven weight loss is becoming an incremental structural demand driver for breast augmentation.
• Ortho sector: SNN was downgraded from Overweight to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley saying current 2025–28E medium-term revenue target looks ambitious and needs to be re-based given challenged growth across Orthopaedics, Wound Biologics and China. Also notes recent earnings misses and ambitious guidance have distracted investors from impressive improvements.

• Metals & Mining: broad strength in the metals space as industrial metals STLD, CLF, NUE as well as precious metal gold/silver miners HL, AG, CDE, WPM saw notable strength as prices recovered following a few day decline on rising yields/dollar.
• Defense sector: broad weakness in the defense stocks GD, LMT, NOC as well as gov’t IT service named CACI, LDOS, SAIC; PLTR shares were broadly lower with some noting Google’s sudden entry into Palantir’s most lucrative territory: specialized government and Defense Ai while weakness maybe related to the ANT changes to their enterprise data retention policy.
• Chemical/fertilizer stocks broadly higher (CF, NTR as well as CE, FMC, EMN others). Many fertilizers are produced in the Middle East because energy prices make up as much as 70% of production costs. About a third of fertilizer flows usually pass through the Strait of Hormuz and have been largely disrupted since the war began. Rabobank notes special concern are phosphate-based fertilizers, prices for which soared in the wake of the U.S.-Iran war and unlike nitrogen-based urea, have not retreated because prices for key input Sulphur — used to produce phosphates — remain at record highs.

• Media Sector: SIRI was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank and raise PT to $45 driven by their higher revenue, EBITDA and FCF estimates, as well as an improved terminal value picture based on the growth outlook for digital audio advertising and stability in the SiriusXM subscription radio segment.
• Hardware & Components: DELL quarterly results crushed expectations driven by better-than-expected datacenter equipment revenue and stronger margins across its entire platform while the company meaningfully increased FY27 guidance for revs/EPS growth of ~70%/150% versus 47%/74% previously; raised FY revs target by $25B to $192B and AI server revenue target by $14B to $74B.
• Cloud software sector: MDB shares slid on mixed results/guide as reported strong Q2 results, beating across all metrics and raising the FY27 guide but shares fell as Atlas growth grew 29% for Q2 (flat) and sequential deceleration in Atlas growth in FQ3 and FQ4. FY27 non-GAAP EPS of $6.39-$6.58 (beat consensus $6.13) and operating Income of $616.3M-$636.3M (consensus $585M).
• Security Software sector: PANW delivered a strong Q4 print, with bookings accelerating for the second consecutive quarter, all metrics above guidance and consensus expectations, and with most metrics generally in line to above elevated buy-side expectations heading into the print. Notable, its 3% NGS ARR beat fell short of elevated investor expectations - Q1 guidance was above consensus across the board, with FY27 top-line guidance metrics (RPO, NGS ARR, Revenue) and FCF Margin above consensus. VRNS shares spiked late day after both Bloomberg and WSJ reported that Thoma Bravo-backed Proofpoint is in talks to buy cybersecurity firm Varonis Systems.
• Software development sector: GTLB shares jumped after reported a solid quarter with revs $286.3M beating the $273M estimate on better earnings driven by broad based strength across enterprise accounts, first order traction, and early success with various consumption-based products. calculated billings accelerating from 12% to 24%, and about 1,700 first orders, more than double a year ago.
• AI Infrastruture/connectivity: CRDO shares fell despite Q1 beat as revs rose 115% y/y to $479M beating the $472M estimate citing AI infrastructure demand and broader portfolio as drivers for growth. Raised Oct Q guide, with the $530.0M revenue guidance midpoint coming in +5.4% higher than its $502.9M prior estimate while FY27E revenue growth guide raised to +85% Y/y (from +80% Y/y). Optics driving 41% FY27-29E CRDO sales CAGR as AECs decelerate.
• AI Power & Cooling sector: VRT said it would acquire Utility Innovation Group, a provider of microgrid solutions and advanced data center power control systems, for about $1.45 billion in cash. ETN said it will invest more than $242 million to build a new manufacturing plant in Arkansas that will double the U.S. capacity of customized electrical enclosures from its Fibrebond business

Street Recommendations

Wednesday, September 2, 2026

• DELL Barclays raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $603 from $550 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following the earnings report. The company increased its fiscal year revenue target by $25B to $192B and AI server revenue target by $14B to $74B, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Dell's traditional server and networking were particularly strong in Q2, growing 122% year-over-year. The company believes AI is driving incremental demand with data center modernization, adds Barclays.
• GTLB Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow raised the firm's price target on GitLab to $47 from $25 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. The company's Q2 results reflect some of its past investments in sales enablement and first order expansion starting to drive momentum, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm views the quarter as "another positive read-through on the developer ecosystem."
• MDB Barclays raised the firm's price target on MongoDB to $480 from $460 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company saw continued strength in Q2 but with MongoDB Enterprise Advanced driving the bulk of the beat and Atlas growth decelerating slightly, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says this mix dynamic could lead to some short-term share pressure given high Atlas expectations. However, MongoDB's AI tailwinds are only starting to play out, contends Barclays.
• PANW Barclays raised the firm's price target on Palo Alto Networks to $375 from $370 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company's organic net new annual recurring revenue growth accelerated again in fiscal Q4, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• RKLB Berenberg initiated coverage of Rocket Lab with a Buy rating and $83 price target. The firm says falling launch costs in the space industry have enabled a "rapidly growing investable universe." Lower costs have driven the space economy past $500B in 2025, and it is on track to exceed $1 trillion by 2030, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Berenberg favors companies with "vertically integrated launch and differentiated/sovereign constellation capability that cannot easily be replicated."

• MDB BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman lowered the firm's price target on MongoDB to $450 from $500 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The magnitude of the company's Q2 earnings beat and guidance raise may have fallen short of elevated investor expectations, though BMO notes that its estimates move higher as the firm believes there could be ongoing upside as the year progresses, the analyst tells investors in a research note. MongoDB is well positioned to benefit from both workload growth and AI adoption, while its Atlas growth remained durable at 29% despite a tougher compare, the firm added.

• GTLB BofA raised the firm's price target on GitLab to $54 from $45 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares after the company's "strong" fiscal Q2 results. Shares are likely to move higher on the beat-and-raise, but the firm sees a balanced risk/reward until there is clearer evidence that Flex can accelerate durable growth, rather than simply introduce revenue timing complexity, the analyst tells investors.
• CRDO BofA lowered the firm's price target on Credo Technology to $275 from $340 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Credo's growth mix is shifting from decelerating, but still growing, AECs toward optics, which the firm believes can drive strong company growth through FY27-29, the analyst tells investors.
• MDT BofA raised the firm's price target on Medtronic to $110 from $95 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Almost every business unit ex-CAS has a growth driver to talk about and is is "beginning to look like a different" Medtronic, contends the analyst, who thinks the stock can work as investors begin to view Medtronic's growth as more sustainable.

• GTLB Canaccord analyst Kingsley Crane raised the firm's price target on GitLab to $70 from $40 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said Q2 was the strongest quarter of GitLab's transition and they increasingly like the setup here for one of the most important software development assets on the planet, just now beginning to see an inflection in consumption traction.
• MDB Canaccord analyst Kingsley Crane raised the firm's price target on MongoDB to $480 from $400 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said they delivered a strong quarter despite the drop in reaction to its results. They believe it is an overreaction as it is more about optics than fundamentals. They continue to view the company as a structurally advantaged asset in the shift toward AI-enabled application development, and think this print only strengthens that case.

• DELL Goldman Sachs analyst Katherine Murphy raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $570 from $510 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its better than expected Q2 results, noting the company's Enterprise refresh and AI demand drove the beat and raise. Dell's durable enterprise IT hardware demand is underpinned by data center modernization trends and growing agentic AI adoption, the AI server demand is accelerating, while its operating margin outperformance is being driven by scale & favorable storage mix, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• SLI Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander initiated coverage of Standard Lithium with a Hold rating and $2.90 price target. The firm says the company offers "long-dated optionality" on domestic battery-grade lithium supply through its Smackover DLE platform. However, commercial scale-up, final financing, residual offtake, and lithium prices remain the key proof points before first production in 2029, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• NB Jefferies initiated coverage of NioCorp with a Hold rating and $4.70 price target. The company, as a fully permitted domestic critical-minerals developer, provides exposure to the Western reshoring theme, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees higher rates weighing the company's on long-dated value propositions.
• MTRN Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander initiated coverage of Materion with a Buy rating and $314 price target. The firm says demand for high-performance engineered materials has accelerated with the surge in investment in capital-intensive, zero-tolerance industrial operations. These growth trends are likely to continue, giving Materion exposure to favorable dynamics, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• IPX Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander initiated coverage of IperionX with a Buy rating and $26 price target. The firm says reshoring initiatives and secular trends are driving demand for electric vehicles, drones, space launch vehicles and satellites. A ahortage of Western titanium supplies offers strong policy support for IperionX, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Jefferies views the shares as attractive at current levels.
• ESI Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander initiated coverage of Element Solutions with a Buy rating and $55 price target. The company offers leverage to the "theme of more electronics in more places," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Element Solutions will see compound growth from the rollout of "physical AI."
• NMG Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander initiated coverage of Nouveau Monde with a Buy rating and C$2.45 price target. Nouveau is developing an integrated mine-to-anode natural graphite platform in Quebec, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes the company could become the largest producer of graphite for battery cathodes outside of China.

• DELL JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $635 from $565 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company reported "another robust quarter" and again raised its full-year outlook, led by continued AI momentum, an increasingly durable IT-infrastructure refresh, and more resilient than feared PC demand, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• EIX JPMorgan lowered the firm's price target on Edison International to $61 from $82 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. California lawmakers concluded the legislative session without passing SB 492 or any broader wildfire reform package, effectively preserving the state's existing utility shareholder contribution framework, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan says Edison's unresolved Eaton exposure keeps it balanced on the shares despite the improved entry point.
• PCG JPMorgan analyst Aidan Kelly lowered the firm's price target on PG&E to $18 from $25 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. California lawmakers concluded the legislative session without passing SB 492 or any broader wildfire reform package, effectively preserving the state's existing utility shareholder contribution framework, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan views the recent multiple compression as likely establishing a valuation floor for PG&E. This sets up attractive forward returns from current levels as the company likely optimizes its capital allocation and shareholder return profile, contends he firm.
• SRE JPMorgan lowered the firm's price target on Sempra Energy to $102 from $113 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. California lawmakers concluded the legislative session without passing SB 492 or any broader wildfire reform package, effectively preserving the state's existing utility shareholder contribution framework, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan views Sempra as attractively priced given its "top-tier" growth outlook and comparatively small California risk versus its in-state peers.
• CRDO JPMorgan lowered the firm's price target on Credo Technology to $310 from $335 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company's fiscal Q1 report shows it remains on track for strong growth across both its copper and optical portfolios, the analyst tells investors in a research note. However, JPMorgan believes Credo's increased outlook is likely to "disappoint not only in magnitude, but also more specifically on the optical ramp."

• DELL Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $600 from $500 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm upped the company's estimates following the Q2 beat. Dell is well positioned with "strong tailwinds" from agentic AI and AI server with high-margin storage attach, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• MDB Mizuho analyst Siti Panigrahi raised the firm's price target on MongoDB to $460 from $400 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm views the company's Q2 report as strong. MongoDB raised its fiscal 2027 outlook on Atlas strength, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• GLPI Mizuho lowered the firm's price target on Gaming and Leisure Properties to $48 from $53 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm says concerns around tenant credit and development-related counterparty risk have overshadowed improving gaming revenue trends across Las Vegas and regional markets. Mizuho does not see a clear catalyst path for the shares in the near-term.
• VICI Mizuho analyst Haendel St. Juste lowered the firm's price target on VICI Properties to $27 from $30 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm says concerns around tenant credit and development-related counterparty risk have overshadowed improving gaming revenue trends across Las Vegas and regional markets. Mizuho does not see a clear catalyst path for the shares in the near-term.

• NWG Morgan Stanley upgraded NatWest to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of 750 GBp, down from 850 GBp. The firm adjusted ratings in the European bank space, saying recent loan growth and PMI readings suggest the capex cycle is broadening out. This increases conviction on the positive medium term earnings picture, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley seeks more exposure to revenue growth.
• BCS Morgan Stanley analyst Alvaro Serrano downgraded Barclays to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of 580 GBp, down from 610 GBp. The firm adjusted ratings in the European bank space, saying recent loan growth and PMI readings suggest the capex cycle is broadening out. This increases conviction on the positive medium term earnings picture, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Morgan Stanley seeks more exposure to revenue growth.
• DELL Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $499 from $434 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Results make clear that companies are significantly investing in AI across cloud, hybrid and on-premise, the analyst tells investors. While the firm questions the durability of Dell's ISG pricing and margin capture, it adds that "blowout" quarters like this should persist as long as supply is short and execution is strong.
• PANW Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall raised the firm's price target on Palo Alto Networks to $394 from $387 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Fiscal Q4 "cleared most top-line bogeys, with particular strength in network, identity, observability," the analyst tells investors in a post-earnings note.
• GTLB Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on GitLab to $57 from $30 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Q2 was "impressive" as revenue growth topped 20%, first orders were up 100% and NRR improved for the first time in years, but transitioning the customer base to Flex pricing is "the key value driver," and this comes with execution risks, the analyst tells investors.
• MDB Morgan Stanley analyst Sanjit Singh raised the firm's price target on MongoDB to $430 from $380 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Atlas grew 28.9% year-over-year, though this was about one point shy of a buyside bar closer to 30% and a slight deceleration from 29.4% year-over-year growth in Q1, the analyst tells investors. Forward estimates are headed higher and the business "remains very solid," the analyst added.
• AAPL Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring says Apple's first foldable iPhone is "the biggest iPhone form-factor change since iPhone X," adding that its first foldable and the largest iPhone price increases in years "creates a critical test of pricing power." Similar to past years, Apple has outperformed in the three months leading up to the iPhone launch event, but for the day of the iPhone launch the firm expects Apple shares to underperform, as they do in most years, reflecting a "sell the news" event. However, the key to outperformance from here will be positive estimate revisions, adds the analyst, who keeps an Overweight rating and $360 price target on Apple.

• RCAT Piper Sandler initiated coverage of Red Cat with a Neutral rating and $9 price target. The firm says Red Cat is a "rapidly growing" U.S.-provider of drones and unmanned systems selling to military and government customers. However, Piper wants to see more validated award activity before recommending the shares.
• GTLB Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on GitLab to $52 from $28 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm says improved execution was evident in Q2 results, with accelerating net ARR growth, accelerating new logo growth and momentum across AI products. This resulted in the largest quarterly beat since Q3 2024, alongside a solid raise to the second half of the year expectations. Piper sees a balanced risk / reward from here, with further multiple expansion likely predicated on acceleration in total revenue growth, something it believes is likely to come in 2028 at the earliest.
• MDB Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on MongoDB to $470 from $400 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Atlas maintained about 29% year-over-year growth for the 5th straight quarter in Q2, a solid result but less than investors were hoping for amidst a backdrop of acceleration for other infrastructure peers. Accelerating cRPO growth, improving NRR and building momentum with AI natives, AI labs and large enterprise customers all keep Piper optimistic about Atlas accelerating over the coming quarters, however.
• PANW Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Palo Alto Networks to $410 from $345 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says Q4 was a strong finish to the fiscal year, with upside across all major financial metrics and continued progress across integrating the recently acquired businesses. The new platform-level framework for guidance provides clearer visibility into the growth outlook, and Piper believes Palo Alto is well positioned to execute on the opportunity ahead as AI drives continued security consolidation.
• LIVN Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on LivaNova to $90 from $87 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Following concerns over the U.S. cardiopulmonary Q2 result and general durability of the CP franchise, the firm sharpened its pencils to better understand the opportunity in front of LivaNova over the next several years. An illustrative modeling analysis gives Piper confidence in the company's CP 2025-2030 LRP of mid to high-single-digit growth and leads the firm to believe the durability of this franchise is better than some investors fear. Importantly, Piper thinks Street numbers for CP continue to sit in a comfortable spot in both FY26 and future years with the potential for upside to ultimately materialize.
• DELL Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Dell Technologies to $558 from $497 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Shares have largely gained back the market selloff following solid Q2 results and an even better guide-up than anticipated as customers are reallocating budgets to IT and modernize for workloads, the firm notes. Demand continues to outstrip supply, and on-premise / edge offer attractive tokenomics and give better control to enterprises for inferencing. Some pushback may be around management not directly answering volume vs. pricing gains, with commentary suggesting its predominately pricing pass-through but that the units will have to come at some point, Piper adds.

• MDB Stifel lowered the firm's price target on MongoDB to $465 from $475 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. While noting that Mongo posted its fifth quarter of consistent 29% year-over-year Atlas growth with about 2% upside, the stock traded off 14% in after-hours as investors "were clearly expecting acceleration post the strong hyperscaler results and consumption trends from the on-calendar names," the analyst says. With Q3 Atlas growth guidance of 26% implying another quarter without acceleration, the outlook also fell below investor's heightened expectations, the analyst added.

• BTI UBS lowered the firm's price target on British American Tobacco to 5,600 GBp from 5,750 GBp and keeps a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the company's Capital Markets Day on September 29-30. Share buybacks could continue to step-up and see BAT deliver 7-8% EPS growth in 2027, says the analyst, who contends that this level of growth is not reflected in the current valuation and sees the recent pullback in the shares as an attractive opportunity.
• DPZ UBS raised the firm's price target on Domino's Pizza to $385 from $375 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Recent investor meetings with Domino's management in Paris and London left the firm incrementally more positive on the company's ability to continue to drive U.S. market share gains and long-term same-store sales momentum, the analyst says.
• JNJ UBS assumed coverage of Johnson & Johnson with a Buy rating and a price target of $320, up from $280, based on new, higher above-consensus estimates. The analyst is "bullish and above consensus" on revenue and EPS to 2030-32 based on accelerating growth and "deep pharma pipeline upside."

• APA Wells Fargo analyst Noah Hungness assumed coverage of APA Corp. with an Equal Weight rating with a price target of $50, up from $49. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.
• CHRD Wells Fargo assumed coverage of Chord Energy with an Overweight rating with a price target of $175, up from $163. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.
• CRGY Wells Fargo analyst Noah Hungness assumed coverage of Crescent Energy with an Overweight rating with a price target of $19, down from $24. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.
• MGY Wells Fargo assumed coverage of Magnolia Oil & Gas with an Equal Weight rating and $36 price target. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.
• MUR Wells Fargo analyst Noah Hungness assumed coverage of Murphy Oil with an Equal Weight rating with a price target of $41, down from $45. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.
• OVV Wells Fargo assumed coverage of Ovintiv with an Overweight rating with a price target of $79, up from $78. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.
• PR Wells Fargo assumed coverage of Permian Resources with an Overweight rating and $27 price target. In line with its Q2 post-view, the firm continues to prefer names that generate elevated free cash flow yields at $70 WTI and can deploy that cash toward debt reduction or share buybacks.

• QURE William Blair resumed coverage of uniQure with an Outperform rating and $73 fair value estimate. The firm sees a "clearer pathway" to FDA approval for AMT-130 in Huntington's disease. UniQure intends to summit an application in Q3 of 2026, setting up AMT-130 to potentially be the first approved therapy to treat the underlying cause of Huntington's in the first half of 2027, the analyst tells investors in a research note. It sees the biologics license application acceptance as an incremental catalyst for the stock, saying it will further remove some regulatory risk.

• HLT Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino initiated coverage of Hilton with a Peer Perform rating and no price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• BYD Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Boyd Gaming with a Peer Perform rating and no price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• H Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Hyatt with an Outperform rating and $203 price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• SRAD Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino initiated coverage of Sportradar with an Outperform rating and $22 price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• RRR Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Red Rock Resorts with an Outperform rating and $73 price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• LVS Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino initiated coverage of Las Vegas Sands with a Peer Perform rating and no price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• WYNN Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Wynn Resorts with an Outperform rating and $128 price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• DKNG Wolfe Research initiated coverage of DraftKings with an Outperform rating and $40 price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.
• CHDN Wolfe Research initiated coverage of Churchill Downs with an Outperform rating and $119 price target. The firm launched coverage of 11 gaming and lodging stocks spanning land-based gaming, online gaming, and the lodging c-corps.

Rating abbreviations…

***OP = Outperform

***SP = Sector Perform

***UP = Underperform

***OW = Overweight

***EW = Equal-weight

***UW = Underweight

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

What’s on Tap Weekly Calendar

• 10:30 AM ET                 Dallas Fed Manufacturing for August

• Earnings After the Close: CANG

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

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

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

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

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

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

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