Early Look

Monday, September 21, 2026

After finishing mixed last week, U.S. stock futures are looking higher to start the trading week as oil prices fell and Treasury yields dipped ahead of the U.S.-China summit. This week, Trump will host Xi at the White House, with trade, tariffs, Taiwan, and artificial intelligence expected to feature prominently in the talks. The summit is scheduled for Sept. 24. Futures on the Nasdaq rose over 1% as shares in chipmakers rallied, along with other AI related trading sectors. Stocks finished mixed on quad-witching Friday as the Nasdaq outperformed, while the S&P 500 was nearly flat and the Dow and Russell 2000 closed lower. Breadth was negative, with most sectors down. Treasuries sold off after initially rallying on the BoJ decision, while crude settled lower after a volatile session. For last week, the S&P 500 fell -0.1%, the Dow fell -1.7% (weekly loss is biggest since March), and the Nasdaq climbed +0.7%. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index was closed for holiday, the Shanghai Index gained 38 points to 3,949, and the Hang Seng Index jumped 291 points to 25,042. In Europe, the German DAX is up 283 points to 25,587, while the FTSE 100 rises nearly 100 points to 10,756. Bitcoin prices add to last week gains, rising another 4.3% to $84,670, seven month highs and boosting the crypto sector further.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -96.11 points, or 0.19%, to 51,681.93
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 104.25 points, or 0.39%, to 26,522.55
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -14.24 points, or 0.50% to 2,860.39

• Earnings After the Close: ABVX

• Oil futures prices eased even as Iran and the United States exchanged new threats and after the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia's capital.

• Greenland Energy (GLND), Greenland Mines (GRML) and Critical Metals (CRML) shares rose late Friday after President Donald Trump announced a security agreement with Denmark and the Arctic territory. The agreement didn't include any announced funding, permits or commercial agreements for the three companies. Trump said the deal would give the United States a permanent role in Greenland’s security and prevent adversaries from establishing military bases or making sensitive investments without U.S. approval.

• Stablecoin issuer Bastion gets conditional approval for U.S. OCC Banking license – WSJ reported.

• Novo Nordisk (NVO) posted its strategic ambitions for 2030 ahead of its Capital Markets Day saying it targets to deliver pipeline sales of more than 150 billion Danish crowns ($23 billion) by 2035 and to increase its obesity customers 10 times.

• Anthropic may release a new AI model to counter OpenAI's momentum since the launch of GPT-6 Astra, Reuters this weekend reports, citing three sources familiar of the matter; this would come ahead of its expected IPO.
• Ciena (CIEN) upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI on sustained growth and raise tgt to $550 from $375 as sees connectivity between and inside data centers becoming an increasingly critical gating factor for frontier LLM monetization and calls Ciena an attractive way to gain exposure to the optical networking space.
• DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng told investors that using more domestic chips for AI training is now a major priority, with Huawei expected to begin deliveries as early as Q4. DeepSeek is training a 2T-parameter model and plans to eventually build an 8T-parameter model.
• Google (GOOGL) was fined $463M by Ireland's Data Protection Commission following an inquiry into the search engine's processing of location data, it said in a statement on Monday.
• Google's (GOOGL) Gemini model accessed the internet and hacked other companies during a test of its cybersecurity capabilities, The Wall Street Journal reported. The hacks, which the company confirmed on Friday, occurred in May as part of a test run by the company Irregular, which was also involved in similar incidents disclosed by OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta (META).
• Lumentum Holdings Inc. (LITE) announced plans for a joint demonstration together with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (QCOM) and Corning (GLW) of a high-density die-to-die (D2D) optical interconnect showcase for AI scale-up architectures at ECOC 2026. The board-level demonstration will combine a D2D interface IP subsystem from Qualcomm Technologies with Lumentum's VCSEL-based optical interconnect platform and Corning multimode fiber connectivity.
• Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is in advanced talks with state attorneys general to allow its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to be completed, though not all of the state AGs are on board. Shares rise for both amid reports that Paramount Skydance is discussing a $1.5B investment in California movie and television production as part of potential concessions to resolve legal challenges to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Mid-Morning Look

Monday, September 21, 2026

U.S. stocks off to a strong start to kick off the trading week, led by gains in Technology (XLK) and Communications (XLC) while Energy (XLE) and defensive sectors see early weakness. Oil prices fall along with Treasury yields improving market sentiment while Bitcoin and crypto prices surge, adding to last week gains as Bitcoin hits 7 month highs around $86,000. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks Sunday in New York on trade, artificial intelligence and other key issues ahead of a pivotal summit this week between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Meanwhile, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said on Monday that U.S. inflation may have moved beyond the tariff and energy prices shocks of the last 18 months and is now being driven by strong demand as well, potentially requiring a faster pace of Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. An overall quiet start the week in what is generally a start to historical weakness the tail end of September heading into buyback blackout periods ahead of Q3 earnings in a few weeks.

• Media sector: PSKY is in advanced talks with state attorneys general to allow its $110 billion purchase of WBD to be completed, though not all of the state AGs are on board. Shares rise for both amid reports that Paramount Skydance is discussing a $1.5B investment in California movie and television production as part of potential concessions to resolve legal challenges to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In Internet/social media, META shares jumped amid renewed excitement around Muse and Meta Connect on Sept. 23–24 holding its annual Connect developer conference, with CEO keynote scheduled at 4pm. Wells Fargo raised its tgt to $796 citing excitement around new Ai releases, including the Muse personal agent app
• Optical sector: CIEN was upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI on sustained growth and raise tgt to $550 from $375 as sees connectivity between and inside data centers becoming an increasingly critical gating factor for frontier LLM monetization and calls Ciena an attractive way to gain exposure to the optical networking space. LITE announced plans for a joint demonstration together with QCOM and GLW of a high-density die-to-die (D2D) optical interconnect showcase for AI scale-up architectures at ECOC 2026. The board-level demonstration will combine a D2D interface IP subsystem from Qualcomm Technologies with Lumentum's VCSEL-based optical interconnect platform and Corning multimode fiber connectivity.

• AMD +8%; among leaders in the semiconductor sector (SOX) in broad rally as shares top $600 for the first time and cross the $1 trillion market cap level for the first tie.
• CIEN +3%; was upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI on sustained growth and raise tgt to $550 from $375 as sees connectivity between and inside data centers becoming an increasingly critical gating factor for frontier LLM monetization and calls Ciena an attractive way to gain exposure.
• COIN +6%; shares of Bitcoin related movers such as HOOD, MSTR, IBIT, and others extended last week’s rally after Bitcoin prices hits their highest levels since January 29, at $85,117.89, last up 4%.
• CRML +36%; along with gains in GRML, GLND after the United States, Denmark and Greenland said they had reached an agreement for the US to expand its military footprint in the self-governed Danish territory.
• META +6%; back above the $700 level amid renewed excitement around Muse and Meta Connect on Sept. 23–24 holding its annual Connect developer conference, with CEO keynote scheduled at 4pm. Wells Fargo raised its tgt to $796 citing excitement around new Ai releases, including the Muse personal agent app.
• VGZ +18%; Artemis Gold has agreed to acquire Vista Gold (VGZ) in an in an all-stock deal valued at around $427M, giving Artemis ownership of the massive Mt Todd gold project in Australia. Vista Gold shareholders will receive 0.0966 shares of Artemis Gold for each share, implying a value of $2.83 a share.
• WBD +7%; amid reports that Paramount Skydance is discussing a $1.5B investment in California movie and television production as part of potential concessions to resolve legal challenges to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.

• HPQ -2%; shares declined after saying they expect industry-wide PC unit volumes to decline in 2027 and assumes industry-wide PC unit volumes decline mid-single-digits in 2027 as compared to calendar year 2026.
• NVO -6%; issues long term guidance; Goldman Sachs noted operating margin suggest c.3% downside to consensus in 2030 while overall views the revenue targets as broadly in line with consensus, but with stable margins anticipated between 2026-30, this suggests c.3% downside to consensus profit ests.

Closing Recap

Monday, September 21, 2026

What Fed rate hike fears? U.S. stocks surged on Wall Street, boosted by Technology (XLK) and Communication (XLC) sectors, as Energy (XLE) stocks fell with a notable drop in oil prices and Treasury yields eased. The S&P 500 (SPX) pushed higher all day with no dips/pullbacks, rising +1.6% or 117 points to 7,767 and approaching all-time highs once again (stands around 7,816) while the Nasdaq Comp also highs +2.3% at 27,139 and not far off all-time highs 27,190.21 on June 1^st as the concern of Fed rate hikes from last week is already in the rear view mirror. There were no major notable stories that drove the gains on Wall Street other than lower oil, dip in bond yields as the heavily weighted tech space outperformed across the board with big gains in META ahead of its developers forum this week, opticals on positive commentary and a massive surge in chip stocks, with INTC, AMD, ARM and others pacing the gains. Even software participated in today’s rally, a rare feat when chips and software bounce together. President Trump again said he will encourage AI. Interest rate sensitive sectors saw gains as yields eased and consumer sectors bounced on the pullback in oil despite no specific positive developments this weekend in the Middle East. Wall Street remains optimistic ahead of China/US talks later this week between Trump/Xi.

Ahead of the U.S.-China summit later this week between President Trump/Chinese President Xi at the White House (with trade, tariffs, Taiwan, and Ai expected to feature prominently), the New York Times reported that the U.S.-China trade truce appears likely to be extended, as the relationship remains fragile as both sides continue actions they view as violations of the prior agreement and risk renewed tensions. Note Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and China Vice Premier He Lifeng held talks Sunday in New York on trade, artificial intelligence and other key issues this weekend ahead of the summit. Separately, progress in diplomatic negotiations between the U.S. and Denmark over the weekend on the status of Greenland also aided sentiment and was likely to allay trade tensions between the countries. US-listed shares of companies exposed to Greenland rose (CRML, GLND, GRML).

Interesting stats: @MikeZaccardi noted on X, “The S&P 500 is negative through its 13th trading day of September. Since 1950, when SPX is down at this stage, the full month has rebounded just once in 34 tries (1953, pre-index launch). The rest of September finishes positive only 38.2% of the time.”

• Treasury yields have hit 20-year highs the last few days, but saw a modest downtick on Monday as oil prices dropped and European bond yields also declined, while the two-year Treasury yield earlier hit a more than two-year high. Oil prices slid as investors hoped for diplomatic progress on the Iran war due to this week's UN meeting. Higher oil prices tied to the war have partly been behind concerns about inflation.
• Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday that US inflation may have moved beyond the tariff and energy prices shocks of the last 18 months and is now being driven by strong demand as well, potentially requiring a faster pace of Fed hikes. The Fed last week raised rates and flagged more hikes in the coming months in an effort to combat persistent inflation.

• Restaurant sector: MCD heads into Wednesday's Investor Day at 52-week lows coming off 1H26 featuring significant U.S. comp deceleration. UBS noted incrementally pressured restaurant sector valuations have surprised the firm recently, with market performance generally worse than industry results and talks with management teams suggest. Discussions continue to focus on industry challenges, but also where the best long opportunities exist within the sector (UBS notes sentiment is improving for YUM, QSR, TXRH).

• Solar sector: Goldman Sachs said they see a more subdued recovery for resi solar fundamentals into year-end with risk to expectations likely persisting into a typically seasonally weaker Q127 period as well. Within the resi sector, highlights ENPH (Buy) given its higher margin profile in conjunction with several near-term growth drivers from new product launches, though it does acknowledge the Bar appears high heading into 2027. Additionally, Goldman acknowledge the potential valuation headwind from rising interest rates on RUN (Buy), while it maintains a cautious view on SEDG (Sell).

• AMRX announced that the FDA has approved its generic formulation of Somatuline Depot (lanreotide) and the product will launch immediately.
• CADL was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Bank America and raised tgt to $18 saying a mature prostate cancer package, on track for a BLA in Q4, and $201.6M of cash improve visibility ahead of potential approval next year as the firm models 2035 probability-adjusted sales of $1B.
• NVO issues long term guidance, sending shares down; Goldman Sachs noted operating margin suggest c.3% downside to consensus in 2030 while overall views the revenue targets as broadly in line with consensus, but with stable margins anticipated between 2026-30, this suggests c.3% downside to consensus profit ests.
• TLX said it has agreed to acquire Germany-based ITM Isotope Technologies Munich SE for about $1.65 billion on a cash- and debt-free basis, further boosting its radiopharmaceutical ambitions.
• Biomedical/Research sector: TEM announced an extension of its data license agreement with RXRX. Additionally, the two companies have entered into a new agreement under which Tempus will license Recursion's RNA Foundation Model. Tempus and Recursion have extended their multi-year data partnership through November 2029. GRAL shares surged over 30% after the WSJ noted an outside advisory committee to the FDA will review (Grail)'s multi-cancer early detection test. Grail’s Galleri test leads a fast-developing field of liquid biopsies that screen asymptomatic patients for signals of cancer in blood. The goal is to diagnose cancers earlier when they are easier to treat, and the odds of survival are higher.

• Paper & Packaging sector: UBS noted Pulp & Paper Week reported September paperboard prices (SW, PKG, GEF, IP) as both the benchmark grade of 42 lb kraft linerboard and recycled linerboard were +$70/ton m/m. Producers were out with price increases in the $80-140/ton range, so while this implies only partial recognition, recent conversations imply that the buyside expectation was in the $40-50/ton range. The industry has now recognized $170/ton of pricing in three increases over 7 months, one of the fastest and largest pricing runs in the history of the US market. The post Covid period is the most comparable, where prices rose $220/ton over four increases from 2020 to 2022.
• Chemical sector: shares of CF, MOS, NTR and other potash and nitrogen stocks slumped after President Trump said the United States is working on a massive deal with respect to purchase of potash from Belarus where pricing would be for substantially less than we are currently paying to Canada.
• Metals & Mining sector: Artemis Gold has agreed to acquire Vista Gold (VGZ) in an in an all-stock deal valued at around $427M, giving Artemis ownership of the massive Mt Todd gold project in Australia. Vista Gold shareholders will receive 0.0966 shares of Artemis Gold for each share, implying a value of $2.83 a share.

• Optical sector: CIEN was upgraded to Outperform at Evercore ISI on sustained growth and raise tgt to $550 from $375 as sees connectivity between and inside data centers becoming an increasingly critical gating factor for frontier LLM monetization and calls Ciena an attractive way to gain exposure to the optical networking space. LITE announced plans for a joint demonstration together with QCOM and GLW of a high-density die-to-die (D2D) optical interconnect showcase for AI scale-up architectures at ECOC 2026. The board-level demonstration will combine a D2D interface IP subsystem from Qualcomm Technologies with Lumentum's VCSEL-based optical interconnect platform and Corning multimode fiber connectivity.
• IT Services & Consulting sector: ACN and Anthropic announced that they are partnering to establish a team of embedded evaluators to work alongside Anthropic's internal teams and safety partners to evaluate and red-team models, conduct alignment assessments, and test model safeguards. The companies each expect to invest at least $1 billion over five years in AI safety. Hardware & Components: HPQ shares declined after saying they expect industry-wide PC unit volumes to decline in 2027 and assumes industry-wide PC unit volumes decline mid-single-digits in 2027 as compared to calendar year 2026.
• Media sector: PSKY is in advanced talks with state attorneys general to allow its $110 billion purchase of WBD to be completed, though not all of the state AGs are on board. Shares rise for both amid reports that Paramount Skydance is discussing a $1.5B investment in California movie and television production as part of potential concessions to resolve legal challenges to its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. In Internet/social media, META shares jumped amid renewed excitement around Muse and Meta Connect on Sept. 23–24 holding its annual Connect developer conference, with CEO keynote scheduled at 4pm. Wells Fargo raised its tgt to $796 citing excitement around new Ai releases, including the Muse personal agent app. RBLX shares jumped after JPM said Roblox's viral engagement inflected higher this past weekend. Peak platform concurrent users reached 28.7M on Saturday, the highest level since mid-December of last year.
• Telecom sector: VZ noted on today's cable cut impacting east coast flights: 'We have a fiber cable running adjacent to an Amtrak rail line in New Jersey. Construction contractors working in the area dug up and cut our cable. Verizon's facilities were fully functional up to that point. Verizon bears no responsibility for this incident. We immediately deployed our technicians to the scene. We and our partners are actively working to repair the damaged cable and restore connectivity as quickly as possible.

• DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng declares using more domestic chips for AI training is now a “major priority” with Huawei deliveries expected as early as Q4.
• MCHP said Monday it has completed the acquisition of Hailo, a provider of accelerated edge AI processors and AI software technologies.

Street Recommendations

Monday, September 21, 2026

• THO BofA analyst Andrew Didora lowered the firm's price target on Thor Industries to $86 from $96 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Thor reports on Tuesday, September 22 and the firm expects similar softness that peers have seen in the RV market, says the analyst, who lowered the firm's Q4 and FY27 EPS estimates ahead of the report.
• SAP BofA raised the firm's price target on SAP to EUR 226 from EUR 223 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm's proprietary survey of 325 U.S. and EU CIOs reinforced the case that SAP remains mission-critical, customer churn is negligible, and cloud and S/4HANA migrations continue to progress, supporting revenue acceleration in 2027, the analyst tells investors.
• CADL BofA upgraded Candel Therapeutics to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $18, up from $12. A mature prostate cancer package, on track for a BLA in Q4, and $201.6M of cash improve visibility ahead of potential approval next year, the analyst tells investors. The firm models 2035 probability-adjusted sales of $1B, the analyst noted.
• RVMD BofA raised the firm's price target on Revolution Medicines to $265 from $225 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Despite falling off all-time highs over the past month, biotech has still outperformed year-to-date, notes the analyst, who adjusted price targets across the firm's biotech coverage to reflect revised asset values.
• AGIO BofA raised the firm's price target on Agios Pharmaceuticals to $50 from $46 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Despite falling off all-time highs over the past month, biotech has still outperformed year-to-date, notes the analyst, who adjusted price targets across the firm's biotech coverage to reflect revised asset values.
• KRYS BofA analyst Alec Stranahan raised the firm's price target on Krystal Biotech to $400 from $392 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Despite falling off all-time highs over the past month, biotech has still outperformed year-to-date, notes the analyst, who adjusted price targets across the firm's biotech coverage to reflect revised asset values.

• AN Citi lowered the firm's price target on AutoNation to $255 from $290 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. AutoNation last week provided cautious comments regarding the industry and its Q3 performance. Citi cut the company's Q3 and 2026 estimates citing weaker than expected new vehicle sales and gross margin.

• CIEN As previously reported, Evercore ISI upgraded Ciena to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $550, up from $375. The firm sees connectivity between and inside data centers becoming "an increasingly critical gating factor for frontier LLM monetization" and calls Ciena an attractive way to gain exposure to the optical networking space that is quickly emerging as a critical bottleneck in the AI buildout. The firm thinks CIEN Ciena sustain greater than 30% sales and greater than 35% EPS growth, which should enable the company to achieve, if not surpass, $25-plus EPS by FY29.

• TMUS JPMorgan analyst Sebastiano Petti lowered the firm's price target on T-Mobile to $260 from $275 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm updated the company's model ahead of the Q3 report to reflect recent conference commentary and industry trends. JPMorgan maintained its Q3 postpaid account net adds forecast of 260,000 but lowered its Q3 wireless service revenue estimate for T-Mobile 0.2% to $19.3B. It cites a lower postpaid service revenue growth outlook for the target cut.
• SRRK JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Scholar Rock to $70 from $63 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following the FDA approval of Isembyld. The firm sees the potential for a strong launch beginning in the U.S. JPMorgan is not alarmed by the language in the label around fracture risk. Apitegromab has demonstrated a safety profile that is well characterized at this point, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• RBLX JPMorgan says Roblox's viral engagement inflected higher this past weekend. Peak platform concurrent users reached 28.7M on Saturday, the highest level since mid-December of last year, the analyst tells investors in a research note. JPMorgan says that on a year-over-year basis, Roblox's average peak platform concurrent users have declined 11% September-to-date, which it attributes to tougher comparisons and back-to-school seasonality. From a viral engagement perspective, Steal An Egg peak concurrent users grew to 14.3M on Saturday versus 9.9M last week, which reflects ongoing algorithm optimizations across age cohorts, contends JPMorgan. The firm is encouraged by this but keeps a Neutral rating on Roblox.

• PAYC KeyBanc raised the firm's price target on Paycom to $280 from $270 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. After further analysis and our discussion with the company intra-quarter, the firm comes away with incremental confidence in the sustainability of Paycom's recent margin expansion efforts. KeyBanc is also encouraged by the company's accelerated pace of product innovation. The firm believes Paycom's more sustainable free cash flow growth prospects are underappreciated, and would be positively biased toward 2027 consensus free cash flow estimates.

• AMH Mizuho upgraded AMH to Outperform from Neutral with a price target of $36, up from $35. The firm upgraded both Invitation Homes and AMH, saying the shares offer attractive valuations at current levels "with less risk on several fronts" compared to other real estate investment trusts. The passage of the Road to Housing Act will lead to portfolio acquisition opportunities, the analyst tells investors in a research note. In addition, Mizuho believes the single family home sector enjoys "incremental defensiveness" compared to apartments.
• ELS Mizuho analyst Haendel St. Juste downgraded Equity Lifestyle to Neutral from Outperform with a price target of $65, down from $72. The ongoing war in Iran suggests "higher-for-longer" oil prices, inflation, and interest rates, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes these will remain headwinds for Equity Lifestyle's multiple expansion. In addition, ongoing Canada tariffs suggest continued recreational vehicle transient segment visitation weakness, says Mizuho. The firm now sees better upside in other residential real estate investment trust names.
• FLNC Mizuho analyst Maheep Mandloi lowered the firm's price target on Fluence Energy to $6 from $8 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. The company's revenue growth is being hit by U.S. factory execution challenges that limit timely capacity growth, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says working capital needs force Fluence to be selective with orders. Both issues delay the company's path to its gross margin target, while Fluence risks facing growing competition from expanding domestic cell manufacturers, adds Mizuho.
• PAA Mizuho raised the firm's price target on Plains All American to $30 from $27 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm updated the company's model to reflect the $585M acquisition of Silver Creek Midstream Powder River Basin and $1.5B in junior subordinated notes offerings. Mizuho views the two transactions positively.
• PAGP Mizuho analyst Gabriel Moreen raised the firm's price target on Plains GP Holdings to $30 from $27 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm updated the company's model to reflect the $585M acquisition of Silver Creek Midstream Powder River Basin and $1.5B in junior subordinated notes offerings. Mizuho views the two transactions positively.
• SUI Mizuho lowered the firm's price target on Sun Communities to $136 from $137 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm sees a mixed setup for the manufactured housing real estate investment trusts in the second half of 2026 and 2027. The group lacks the growth and "fundamental inflection opportunity" offered by other real estate investment trust subsectors, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CRDO Mizuho lowered the firm's price target on Credo Technology to $245 from $290 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm says its channel checks on Credo post earnings continue to be positive. Mizuho cites lower peer group multiples for the target cut but would be buying the stock on the recent selloff.

• CL Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on Colgate-Palmolive to $95 from $98 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says momentum outside the U.S. remains strong, and the company's exposure to emerging markets is a tailwind. U.S. category momentum remains pressured, however. While North America's Q2 one-off inventory de-stocking headwinds at retail are not recurring in Q3, Colgate-Palmolive will likely have a modest, continuous inventory headwind as more of its business shifts to e-commerce channels and as retailers broadly continue to optimize inventory levels, Piper adds. With oil prices now elevated for longer, the firm expects incremental cost pressure in the second half of 2027 and updates its model accordingly.

• AVPT Stephens raised the firm's price target on AvePoint to $17 from $16 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm, which believes AvePoint should benefit from AI tailwinds that are driving greater strategic importance around data protection and resilience, continues to be confident in the company's ability to deliver durable mid-20% ARR growth.

• MGY Truist raised the firm's price target on Magnolia Oil & Gas to $34 from $33 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is updating its model following the company's WildFire Energy acquisition on September 10, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• APA Truist raised the firm's price target on APA Corp. to $44 from $39 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm is updating its model to reflect the company's increased exploration spend as well as better align production estimates with Egypt activity, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• RLJ Truist raised the firm's price target on RLJ Lodging Trust to $11 from $10 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm notes that it continues to lean more positively to REITS that are mostly Upper Upscale and Luxury, but also expects continued RLJ tailwinds from positive macro transient and urban lodging trends, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• DGX Truist raised the firm's price target on Quest Diagnostics to $260 from $250 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares as part of a broader research note updating the firm's model for Healthcare Services. The firm is introducing 2028 estimates and 2027 quarterly estimates across its Healthcare Services coverage with no changes to FY26 estimates or FY27 estimates, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• LH Truist analyst David MacDonald raised the firm's price target on Labcorp to $365 from $350 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares as part of a broader research note updating the firm's model for Healthcare Services. The firm is introducing 2028 estimates and 2027 quarterly estimates across its Healthcare Services coverage with no changes to FY26 estimates or FY27 estimates, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• VNO Truist lowered the firm's price target on Vornado to $35 from $39 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm is raising its 2026 normalized FFO estimate, largely driven by higher net operating income, but also lowering its 2027 estimate due to higher interest rates, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Office fundamentals in New York have been strengthening with good leasing activity and rising rents, but Vornado is levered at 8-times debt to EBITDA and has billions of dollars of debt maturing, the firm added.

• MCD UBS lowered the firm's price target on McDonald's to $320 from $340 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. McDonald's September 23 investor day is expected to outline plans to improve U.S. sales, expand the McDonald's NEXT strategy, accelerate global unit growth beyond 50K stores by 2028, and refresh its long-term financial framework, with U.S. remodel plans and incremental capex support also in focus amid subdued investor expectations and pressured sales trends, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• MLM Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Martin Marietta to $585 from $609 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm updated its model to reflect Q3 margin pressure from elevated energy costs, but raised 2027 LNA expectations as continued strength in steel end markets, which represent roughly one-third of demand, suggests its prior assumptions were too conservative. While Wells remains cautious on aggregates volumes, it sees more resilience in its lime acquisition and Magnesia Specialties business.

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: ABVX

• 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 10:00 AM ET                 Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for September
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $78B in 2-year notes
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: KBH WOR

• Bank America Global Healthcare Conference 2026, 9/22-9/23, in New York
• Barrington Virtual Fall Investment Conference, 9/22
• Jefferies AI Summit, 9/22-9/23, in San Francisco, CA

• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, Sept-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Services PMI, Sept-flash
• 9:45 AM ET S&P Global Composite PMI, Sept-flash
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Inventory Data
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $70B in 5-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: FUL NEOV SFIX

• Bank America Global Healthcare Conference 2026, 9/22-9/23, in New York
• Benchmark Nuclear Summit, 9/23, in Knoxville, TN
• Bernstein 3rd Annual Healthcare Forum, 9/23-9/24, in New York, NY
• DA Davidson 25th Annual Diversified Industrials & Services Conference, 9/23-9/26, in Nashville, TN
• Deutsche Bank Private Software & AI Summit, 9/23 in New York
• Jefferies AI Summit, 9/22-9/23, in San Francisco, CA
• Sidoti Smallcap Conference, 9/23-9/24 (virtual)
• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX
• Truist Healthcare Technology & Digital Health West Coast Bus Tour, 9/23-9/24, in San Francisco, CA

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Current Account Balance for Q2
• 10:00 AM ET                 New Home Sales M/M for August
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data
• 11:00 AM ET                 Kansas City Fed manufacturing for September
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $44B in 7-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: COST LGCY SCHL

• Bernstein 3rd Annual Healthcare Forum, 9/23-9/24, in New York, NY
• DA Davidson 25th Annual Diversified Industrials & Services Conference, 9/23-9/26, in Nashville, TN
• Oppenheimer Insurance Summit 9/24 (virtual)
• Sidoti Smallcap Conference, 9/23-9/24 (virtual)
• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX
• Truist Healthcare Technology & Digital Health West Coast Bus Tour, 9/23-9/24, in San Francisco, CA

• 8:30 AM ET                   Durable Goods – Less Transports for Aug
• 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan Confidence, Sept-final
• 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

• TD Cowen 3rd Annual Energy Conference, 9/23-9/25, in Austin, TX