Early Look

Thursday, August 27, 2026

Its all about technology stocks this morning as the Nasdaq Comp futures rise over 1% led by gains in semiconductors after Nvidia (NVDA) posts strong quarterly results and guidance, with shares rising over 7% and boosting the entire semi complex (AMD, INTC, ARM, MRVL and equipment names AMAT, LRXC, ASML), while also boosting AI related plays (power, data centers, optics). Meanwhile, it was also a monster night for the software sector as Salesforce (CRM) shares jumped after better results/guidance and announces Claudeforce Collaboration with Anthropic, while security software sector gets good numbers from CrowdStrike (CRWD) and Okta (OKTA) as both surged after results/guidance. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index  fell -130 points to 66,131, the Shanghai Index rose 44 points to 3,956, and the Hang Seng Index slips -87 points to 25,565. In Europe, the German DAX is up 79 points to 26,365, while the FTSE 100 falls -50 points to 10,828. With NVDA earnings in the rearview mirror, the focus now turns to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium, where central bank officials will debate the path of interest rate policy. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh is expected to deliver a speech on Friday, though his message is anyone's guess. Bond yields have stabilized after spiking last week as investors continue to weigh Treasury's intervention in the bond market and the likelihood that the Fed would hold rates steady. On the economic front, data on jobless claims, released Thursday, will add to the picture of the labor market.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -113.52 points, or 0.21%, to 53,463.88
• The Nasdaq Composite slipped -21.10 points, or 0.08%, to 26,130.20
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -4.12 points, or 0.14% to 3,005.90

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Advance Goods Trade Balance for July
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data
• 11:00 AM ET KC Fed Manufacturing for August
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $44B in 7-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: ADSK AFRM BBAR ESTC FINV GAP IREN KTCC MRVL PD RBRK S ULTA WDAY

• The bull-bear spread in the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) weekly survey was (-11.5%) vs -4.4% last week. Bulls fall to (32.9%) from 35.5%, Neutrals fall to 22.6% from 24.8%, Bears rise to 44.4% from 39.9%.

• Burlington Stores (BURL) Q2 adj EPS $2.37 vs. est. $2.19; Q2 revs $3.0B vs. est. $3.03B; raises FY26 adj EPS view to $11.77-$11.97 from $11.45-$11.80 (est. $11.84), while narrows FY26 revenue growth view to 10%/11% from 9%-11% from FY25 revenue of $11.57B, consensus $12.86B.
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) Q2 EPS $2.70 with benefit, vs. consensus $1.14; Q2 revs $4.89B vs. est. $4.86B; Q2 comparable store net sales growth of 3.7%; raises FY26 adjusted EPS view to $7.70-$8.05 from $6.70-$7.10 (est. $7.04) and affirms FY26 revenue view $20.5B-$20.7B, consensus $20.67B. Sees comparable store net sales growth in the range of 3%-4%.
• Hormel Foods (HRL) Q3 adj EPS $0.37 vs. est. $0.35; Q3 revs $2.96B vs. est. $3.04B; cuts annual sales forecast and misses Q3 sales estimates; cites lower commodity linked pricing and continued pressure on consumer spending; sees annual net sales of $12.1B-$12.2B down from prior $12.2B-$12.5B and expects annual adjusted EPS of $1.45 to $1.51, vs. previous forecast of $1.43 to $1.51.
• Pernod Ricard (PRNDY) reported steep sales declines in China and the U.S. and said it now expects to achieve only the lower end of its long-term sales target through 2029; said ow expects sales growth at the lower end of its 3% to 6% target range through 2029; sales in the U.S. and China fell 14% and 19%, respectively, in the year ended June 30.
• Urban Outfitters (URBN) Q2 adj. EPS $1.72 vs est $1.73; sales $1.66B vs. est. $1.65B; comparable retail segment net sales +6.2%; gross profit $721.6Mm.

• Titan Machinery (TITN) Q2 EPS loss (-$0.40) vs. est. loss (-$0.36); Q2 revs $496.4M vs. est. $483.8M; reaffirms its prior issued profitability guidance for FY27
• Solar stocks (FSLR, ENPH, SEDG, SHLS) were active late Wednesday after Bloomberg News reported President Trump signs order banning foreign grid equipment. President Trump signed an emergency order that bars the U.S. purchase or installation of certain foreign-made, bulk-power system electrical equipment, and associated software, where it could pose cybersecurity or operational risks,

• Royal Bank of Canada (RY) Q3 adjusted EPS C$4.28, tops consensus C$4.07; Q3 revs C$18.54B, vs. consensus C$18.18B; Q3 CET1 capital ratio 13.5%; Q3 Net income rose 11% yr/yr, driven by Wealth Management and Capital Markets growth.
• Unum Group’s (UNM) Board of Directors authorizes $1B share repurchase program.

• Agilent Technologies (A) Q3 EPS $1.62 tops consensus $1.49; Q3 revs +8.1% y/y to $1.88B vs. est. $1.84B; Q3 Life Sciences and Diagnostics revenue grew 11% to $746M and Agilent Crosslab increased 6% to $786M; sees Q4 EPS $1.71-$1.74, vs. est. $1.71 and Q4 revenue $1.98B-$2.0B vs. est. $1.97B; Raises FY26 revenue view to $7.49B-$7.51B, from prior $7.39B-$7.49B.
• NeoGenomics (NEO) announced that its RaDaR ST molecular residual disease assay has received expanded coverage from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Molecular Diagnostic Services Program to include immunotherapy monitoring for patients with late-stage solid tumors.
• Veeva Systems (VEEV) Q2 adj EPS $2.35 vs. est. $2.22 and revs rise 18% y/y to $928M vs. est. $905.2M; Q2 net income climbs 37% to $273.4M; Q2 Subscription revenue advanced 16% to $766.8M, with management citing record quarter for Vault CRM and rapid acceleration in Veeva Falcon; guides Q3 revenue of $932-$935M above est. $918M and raises FY revs to $3.68-$3.69B from $3.635B-$3.645B.

• Nvidia (NVDA) has agreed to acquire open-source Ai platform Hugging Face for $12.9B, expanding its Ai ecosystem and access to a leading repository of open-source models, - The Information reports https://tinyurl.com/3m6nwa84
• Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) will add an additional 2 million Nvidia Corp. graphics processing units to its data center fleet in the next two years - Bloomberg
• Nebius (NBIS) shares rise after Nvidia (NVDA) CFO says Nebius will be the first early adopter of Groq 3 LPX, Nvidia's new AI inference platform, later this quarter. Nvidia says its Vera Rubin platform is ramping into full production, with Nebius among the partners running the systems.
• Salesforce (CRM) Q2 adj. EPS $5.90 vs. est. $3.27; rev $11.35B vs. est. $11.32B; adj. op margin 34.1%; Q3 rev guidance $11.42B-$11.50B vs. est. $11.41B; Q3 adj. EPS guidance $3.42-$3.44 vs. est. $3.38; FY rev guidance $46.10B-$46.40B vs. est. $46.11B; FY adj. EPS guidance $16.67-$16.71 vs. est. $14.14. Salesforce and Anthropic also announced Claudeforce, an expanded strategic partnership bringing Claude's intelligence and reasoning together with Salesforce's trusted enterprise harness to make its data, workflows, business logic, actions, and governance securely accessible to power agentic experiences.
• CrowdStrike (CRWD) Q2 adj. EPS $0.31 vs. est. $0.29; revenue $1.47B vs. est. $1.44B; gross profit $1.10B; free cash flow $377Mm; FY net new ARR growth guidance raised to 34% at midpoint; Q3 revenue guidance $1.5232B-$1.5292B vs. est. $1.515B; Q3 adj. EBIT guidance $372.7Mm-$375.9Mm vs est $369.31Mm; Q3 adj. EPS guidance $0.31 vs. est. $0.31; FY rev guidance $5.9911B-$6.0111B vs. est. $5.93B; FY adj. EBIT guidance $1.4972B-$1.5084B vs est $1.467B.
• Everpure (P) Q2 adj EPS $0.70 vs. est. $0.58; revenue $1.20B vs. est. $1.10B; adj. gross margin 69.9%; adj. operating margin 19.4%; adj. operating Income $230Mm vs. est. $201.1Mm; free cash flow loss $238Mm; Q3 revenue guidance $1.325B-$1.335B vs. est. $1.137B; FY revenue guidance $5.03B-$5.07B vs. est. $4.50B; FY adj. operating Income guidance $940Mm-$960Mm vs est $849.44Mm.
• Hewlett Packard (HPQ) Q3 adj. EPS $0.83 vs. est. $0.69; revs $15.68B vs. est. $14.38B; Personal Systems revenue $11.77B; Printing revenue $3.91B; Services revenue $852Mm; adj. operating margin 6.5%; free cash flow $1.57B; Q4 adj. EPS guidance $0.69-$0.79 vs. est. $0.67; FY adj. EPS guidance $3.19-$3.29 vs. est. $3.04, raised from prior $2.90-$3.10; FY free cash flow guidance $3.0B-$3.2B vs. prior $2.8B-$3.0B.
• Nutanix Corp. (NTNX) Q4 adj. EPS $0.60 vs est $0.49; revenue $757.1Mm vs. est. $738.3Mm; ARR $2.55B; adj. operating margin 26.2%; adj. gross margin 87.7%; Q1 revenue guidance $755Mm-$765Mm vs est $755.47Mm; Q1 adj. operating margin guidance 26%-28%; FY revenue guidance $3.18B-$3.23B vs est $3.199B; FY adj. operating margin guidance 24%-25%; FY free cash flow guidance $850Mm-$950Mm.
• Okta Inc. (OKTA) Q2 EPS $1.05 tops consensus $0.96; Q2 revs $805M vs. est. $793.03M; Sees Q3 revenue $813M-$817M, above consensus $808.16M and Q3 current RPO $2.59B-$2.6B; raises FY27 EPS view to $3.90-$3.94 from $3.79-$3.87 (est. $3.84) and boosts FY27 revenue view to $3.216B-$3.226B from $3.185B-$3.205B, vs. consensus $3.2B; Q2 subscription backlog +17% y/y to $4.86B.
• Ooma Inc. (OOMA) Q2 revs rose 25% y/y to $83.22M vs. est. $81.6M; Q3 EPS $0.35 vs. est. $0.33; sees FY26 $15.04-$15.10, above consensus $14.79 and sees FY26 revenue $9.69B-$9.74B vs. est. $9.68B; Q2 adj EBITDA climbed to $12.4M and outstanding debt fell to $47M; raises FY27 adjusted EPS view to $1.35-$1.38 from $1.26-$1.31 and boosts FY27 revenue view to $332M-$333.5M from $326M-$328.5M.
• Synopsys (SNPS) Q3 adj EPS $3.91, tops consensus $3.67 and revs rose 42.4% y/y to $2.477B vs. est. $2.44B; raising expectations for full-yr total rev to $9.715B at midpoint and full-yr non-Gaap eps guidance to $15.07 at midpoint on continued ai-driven demand strength (vs. est. $14.79).
• Tenable Holdings Inc. (TENB) will replace Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Monday, August 31. S&P MidCap 400 constituent Somnigroup International Inc. (SGI) is acquiring Leggett & Platt in a deal expected to be completed soon, pending final closing conditions.
• Midmarket firm GenNx360 Capital Partners has raised about $865 million to back companies that the firm sees as benefiting from artificial intelligence or as shielded from its disruption. After successfully navigating a three-year fundraising cycle in one of the toughest environments for private equity, the New York firm is using its latest fund to zero in on such AI-resistant areas as aerospace and defense, data centers and other highflying industries

Mid-Morning Look

Thursday, August 27, 2026

U.S. stock markets are higher as heavily weighted technology stocks are leading (XLK +2.3%), but overall breadth is weak as ten of eleven S&P sectors are currently lower, led by declines in defensive related sectors such as Healthcare, Utilities and Consumer Staples as money rolls back into semis and software names behind strong earnings from NVDA, CRM, CRWD and OKTA overnight. Nvidia's bullish outlook boosted tech shares, though caution ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole speech on Friday and uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz checked appetite for risk. Nvidia's revenue forecast exceeded expectations, sending its shares up 7% and boosted semis (SOX) and AI plays. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeffrey Schmid said the current setting of central bank rates is not providing restraint to the economy, suggesting he still favors raising rates to get inflation back to 2%. When it comes to rate policy “I don't know what we're restricting currently with the rate policy that we're at today,” he said. Early strength in oil prices and treasury yields as gold slips and the dollar little changed ahead of Warsh Friday.

• Discount/Dollar stories: mixed reactions as DG rises after raised its annual comp sales forecast to range of 2.5%-2.9%, vs. prior forecast of 2.2%-2.7% after posting Q2 comp sales growth +3.5%; also raises FY26 EPS view to $7.80-$8.00 from $7.20-$7.45 and ups FY26 net sales growth view to 4%-4.3% from 3.7%-4.2%. DLTR shares fell as Q2 beat EPS/sales helped by tariff benefit and raises FY26 adj EPS view to $7.70-$8.05 from $6.70-$7.10 (est. $7.04) but only affirms FY26 annual net sales and comparable sales forecasts amid macroeconomic uncertainty weighing on consumer spending.
• Food & Beverage sector: HRL posted mixed results/guidance as adjusted EPS of $0.37 topped a Street estimate of $0.35 and management lifted the lower end of the FY26 EPS range. On the negative side, organic sales growth declined 2% and management lowered full-year targets. Pernod (PRNDY) said it now expects to achieve only the lower end of its long-term sales target through 2029; said Overweight expects sales growth at the lower end of its 3% to 6% target range through 2029; sales in the U.S. and China fell 14% and 19%, respectively, in the year ended June 30. CELH was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank with $35 PT saying expectations are rising faster than evidence and says fundamental challenges have continued to mount.
• Power sector: BWXT was upgraded to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo ahead of its investor day Sept 29 where WELLS expects a multi-year forecast for MSD- HSD revenue & HSD+ EBITDA growth, roughly in line with consensus expectations. Piper noted it has been a tumultuous two weeks for the Power Services group as SEI has fallen 21% since 8/17/26 with LBRT -17%, PUMP -17%, KGS -9%, and AESI -6%, as a combination of Ai data center moratoriums and publicity around Equipment/permits have given investor pause. Ai data center moratoriums in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Michigan with additional States pushing back on development, have clearly indicated data Centers will be a political hot button issue for November midterms. Furthermore, publicity questioning power Generation Equipment performance and emission related permits has given investors pause on the Ai related trade. TE receives approval to develop data center at Giga Arctic Campus in Norway; expects 50 mw data center operational in 2027 with expansion potential; holds 50-year lease with extension options on giga arctic site; engaged in conversations with multiple parties to explore options.

• CRWD +17%; Q2 ARR rose 25% y/y, beating by $46M, the largest beat in several years per Keybanc, and raised FY ARR by $63M, on top of an already large raise in FQ1; Q2 $333M NNARR 51% YoY (>Q4’26 high watermark), and FY ARR/NNARR growth upped ~1pt/~6pts to 26%/34% above views.
• NVDA +7%; Q2 results solidly beat ($96.2B/$2.22 vs Street at $92.3B/$2.09). Datacenter upside on continued Blackwell momentum with strength across both Hyperscale customers (up 13% QoQ and 102% YoY) and guidance also well above consensus.
• OKTA +23%; delivered a strong Q2, with accelerating cRPO growth (14.1% Y/y cRPO growth that accelerated vs 12.2% last qtr and topped consensus at 10.8%), record non-Q4 bookings, and improving enterprise and new-product momentum; also raised FY27 guidance across revenue, operating Income, EPS, and free cash flow.
• TE +10%; after receives approval to develop data center at Giga Arctic Campus in Norway; expects 50 mw data center operational in 2027 with expansion potential; holds 50-year lease with extension options on giga arctic site; engaged in conversations with multiple parties to explore options.
• TENB +11%; on news it will replace LEG in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Monday, August 31. S&P MidCap 400 constituent SGI is acquiring Leggett & Platt in a deal expected to be completed soon, pending final closing conditions.
• VEEV +19%; delivered a strong Q2 with total revs ~2.5% above consensus and R&D subscription revenue growth of 19% above consensus of 17%; also Q2 normalized billings came in 4.7% above consensus and raised its FY27 billings guide by 1.2% alongside revenue and adj. EBIT.

• CELH -4%; downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank with $35 PT saying expectations are rising faster than evidence and says fundamental challenges have continued to mount.
• CSIQ -2%; shares fell after quarterly results/guidance as reported a wider Q2 EPS loss (-$1.40) vs. est. loss (-$1.23); Q2 revenue $1.21B, tops consensus $1.14B but guides Q3 revs $1.3B-$1.5B.
• HPQ -7%; overall results mixed, with an EPS beat but concerning margin trends in PCs and Print as Bank America noted the outlook as challenged by rising memory costs, demand elasticity from higher pricing and FQ4 PS OM expected below FQ3.
• HRL -8%; posted mixed results/guidance as adjusted EPS of $0.37 topped a Street estimate of $0.35 and management lifted the lower end of the FY26 EPS range. On the negative side, organic sales growth declined 2% and management lowered full-year targets.
• MRNA -4%; after announces proposed private placement of $2.0B of convertible Senior notes
• PRNDY -6%; said it now expects to achieve only the lower end of its long-term sales target through 2029; said Overweight expects sales growth at the lower end of its 3% to 6% target range through 2029; sales in the U.S. and China fell 14% and 19%, respectively, in the year ended June 30
• WEN -12%; shares tumbled after Reuters reported Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management has no plans to make a take-private bid for Wendy's at this time https://tinyurl.com/yb68p6b7

Closing Recap

Thursday, August 27, 2026

U.S. stock markets finished higher as earnings from tech giants Nvidia (NVDA) in semiconductors, and Salesforce (CRM), Okta (OKTA) and CrowdStrike (CRWD) in software lifted the tech trade as investors awaited the Fed's Jackson Hole gathering. While the Nasdaq rose over 1% and the S&P 500 (SPX) +0.5%, it was primarily tech (XLK +3.17%) that did all the work as nine of the eleven S&P sectors finished lower amid the rotation into semis/software today, with Healthcare (XLV), Consumer Discretionary (XLY), and Consumer Staples (XLP) all down over 1%. Nvidia (NVDA) stock leaped 8% higher after the company reported an earnings beat and signaled strong AI demand throughout next year. Retailers DLTR, BBW, and BURL all declined on earnings results. With the AI bellwether's report in the rearview mirror, the focus now turns to the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole Symposium, where central bank officials will debate the path of interest rate policy. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh is expected to deliver a speech on Friday, The dollar and Treasury yields were little changed today, while oil pushed higher and Bitcoin stayed above $80K.

Ahead of Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh speech at the Fed Jackson Hole symposium tomorrow morning, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said Thursday worries about persistently high inflation continue to argue in favor of the central bank raising interest rates. “We've got a lot of time before our next meeting, so I don't want to prejudge anything,” Hammack said in a CNBC interview. “But I believe now is the time to act” given inflation’s continued trend above the 2% target, she said. Hammack dissented in favor of an interest rate increase at the Fed's late July policy meeting. Meanwhile, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in an interview on the sidelines of the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Wyoming that "I am open to supporting an increase if I see conditions as not providing that evidence of continued disinflation that I'm looking for."

• August Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index up to +10 vs. +10 est. & +9 prior … new orders strong at +16 (+10 prior), shipments eased a bit to +17 (+20 prior); prices paid up to +55 (+52 prior).

• @GlobalMktObserv noted on X, “The largest US physically gold-backed ETF, $GLD, attracted +$3.4 billion in inflows last week, the 4th-largest weekly intake on record. This put the fund in the top 10 of the ETF flow rankings last week. So far this month, $GLD has attracted +$5.8 billion in inflows, putting it on track for its largest monthly inflow on record. That would exceed the combined January and February inflows of +$2.6 billion and +$2.5 billion during the gold market frenzy.”
• U.S. WTI crude oil futures settle at $83.53/bbl, up $1.30, or 1.58% and brent crude gained $1.86 or 2.12% to settle at $89.70 per barrel as all was quiet the last few days on the U.S./Iran headlines with no new changes of late. A WSJ report said U.S. President Trump is not interested in returning to terms of a memorandum of understanding reached with Iran in June.

• Off Price Retail: last of the group reported today (TJX, ROST reported recently) as BURL Q2 adj EPS $2.37 tops consensus $2.18 on sales of $3B as raises full-year adj EPS guidance to $11.77-$11.97 and expects full-year comp sales growth of 3%-4%, but shares fell as guided Q3 results below views with EPS $1.60-$1.70, vs. consensus $2.03 and Q3 rev growth 9%-11% from $2.71B last year (est. $2.99B).
• Specialty retailers: BBW shares were weak after results as Q2 revs fell -7% y/y and EPS also down on a y/y basis and lowers FY26 revenue view to $500M-$525M from $530M-$550M (est. $538.78M) and lowered its FY26 pre-tax income view to $60M-$68M from $72M-$78M; said increased promotional activity contributed to lower gross margin in Q2.
• Electronic Retailers: BBY shares fell despite beat and raise as reported Q2 adj EPS $1.47 vs. est. $1.33 on revs $9.78B vs. est. $9.59B and guides FY adj EPS in the range of $6.70-$6.90, compared with prior guidance of $6.30-$6.60 on better rev view of $42.3B-$42.8B; said in Q2, incurred $6M reduction to restructuring charges versus $114M of restructuring charges last year.

• Restaurant sector: WEN shares tumbled after Reuters reported Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management has no plans to make a take-private bid for Wendy's at this time. The move comes after the investment firm, a longtime Wendy's shareholder with around 16% of the fast food chain, was earlier this month reported by Reuters and others to be working on preparing a bid with the help of a consortium of investors. https://tinyurl.com/yb68p6b7 ; casual dining and restaurant stocks were down broadly on the day with DRI, EAT, WING, BJRI, RRGB all notably lower.

• Power sector: BWXT was upgraded to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo ahead of its investor day Sept 29 where WELLS expects a multi-year forecast for MSD- HSD revenue & HSD+ EBITDA growth, roughly in line with consensus expectations. Piper noted it has been a tumultuous two weeks for the Power Services group as SEI has fallen 21% since 8/17/26 with LBRT -17%, PUMP -17%, KGS -9%, and AESI -6%, as a combination of Ai data center moratoriums and publicity around Equipment/permits have given investor pause. Ai data center moratoriums in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Michigan with additional States pushing back on development, have clearly indicated data Centers will be a political hot button issue for November midterms. Furthermore, publicity questioning power Generation Equipment performance and emission related permits has given investors pause on the Ai related trade. TE receives approval to develop data center at Giga Arctic Campus in Norway; expects 50 mw data center operational in 2027 with expansion potential; holds 50-year lease with extension options on giga arctic site; engaged in conversations with multiple parties to explore options. EOSE said it will consolidate Battery manufacturing operations at its Thorn Hill facility in Pennsylvania; says the move is expected to reduce conversion costs by about 10% to 15%, with benefits beginning in 2027.
• MLPs and Pipeline sector: ENB said it had agreed to form a joint venture with KKR and APO to invest about C$2.7 billion ($1.95 billion) in expansions of its Westcoast natural gas pipeline system in British Columbia. Demand for natural gas infrastructure in Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest is also growing, with Enbridge's Westcoast system providing a route to international LNG markets.

• REIT sector: LTC was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank as see poised for earnings growth acceleration & multiple expansion beyond '26 after recently took the management team on a non-deal roadshow (NDR) in Chicago. EXR upgraded from Market Perform to Outperform at BMO Capital calling it their top pick W/ $170 PT and SMA downgraded to Market Perform. MAC was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper as its revised 2027 estimate as likes that management is starting down the path to unencumbering its wholly owned assets.
• Crypto sector: MSTR shares surged as Bitcoin prices topped $80,000 again, as MSTR approaching its 200dma resistance of $141.60 (has not been above 200dma since October 2025); COIN also advanced and also approaching its 200dma resistance which stands at $196 (hasn't been above 200dma since November 2025); Bitcoin miners along with other names in the space like BMNR, IBIT, HOOD outperformed.
• FinTech/Payments: XYZ shares rose after positive comments from Cleveland Research saying seller momentum remains strong with some further acceleration driven by continued domestic share gains. Meanwhile, the firm was cautious on FOUR saying their work remains cautious on restaurant share loss and continued distribution pressure/churn.
• Insurance sector: PRI was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Truist and lower PT to $320 from $370 citing concern that Primerica's recent underperformance in new Term Life sales will restrain topline expansion, which may no longer be offset by ISP upside, depending on the S&P 500.

• CELU shares jump to 4-month highs after saying earlier it will manufacture Dezawa MuseCells, an experimental cell therapy platform, and related products in the U.S. under a collaboration with MuseCell Innovations
• MRNA announces proposed private placement of $2.0B of convertible Senior notes, which pressured shares this morning.
• NVO downgraded to Sell from Hold at Deutsche Bank and cut tgt saying ziltivekimab is now effectively out of the picture while the Medicare prescription upside seems limited and the firm is concerned over Novo returning to growth in 2027 and patent cliffs longer term.

• Life Sciences & Tools sector: WAT was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper and raise PT to $480 from $400 saying they believe the $7–9B global mass spectrometry market is entering a durable instrument replacement Cycle. Piper believes WAT, TMO, A should all benefit from this proteomics-led growth, but believes WAT is best positioned in mass spectrometry through its strength in regulated Pharma QA/QC, targeted quantitation and Integrated UPLC–MS software.
• Medical Equipment: Agilent (A) delivered strong results for Q3 and raised guidance; core organic growth of 7.3% was above guidance of 4.4%-5.9% and consensus of 5.4%; showed an acceleration in Pharma, which grew 12% (6% in Q2, 7% in Q1). Some meaningful tailwind to Pharma performance was China strength and Specialty CDMO growing 30%.

• Materials sector: in lithium space, SQM was upgraded to Buy at Citigroup based on the Lithium market likely to remain in deficit in 2026 and return to balance in 2027 and positive near-term outlook as restocking and further export front-loading support a recovery in prices. Precious metal miners AG, FSM, HL, CDE outperformed.
• Industrials and Machinery: TITN shares fell after results as Q2 revenue fell y/y to $496.4M but beat analyst expectations of $484M while posted a wider net loss as revenue declined and operating expenses rose; gross margin improved 150 bps y/y as inventory actions lifted equipment margins.

• The Trump administration is considering broad new semiconductor tariffs that could extend to chip-containing products such as laptops and data-center servers, potentially raising AI infrastructure costs while linking tariff relief to U.S. manufacturing investment – Politico reported overnight.
• Memory sector benefits early from NVDA results while news also out that Kioxia (KXIAY) and SNDK to invest over $31B in Japan, continuing leadership in memory industry. However, SNDK, MU, WDC all gave up early gains and reversed lower by mid-afternoon.
• AI sector: Claude maker Anthropic is weighing allowing its existing shareholders sell some stock in its blockbuster IPO while also mulling longer-than-usual lockup periods for sales after it goes public, The Information reported.
• Hardware & Components sector: HPQ reported FQ3 revs/EPS of $15.7B/$0.83, above Street at $14.4B/$0.66, and raised F26 EPS guide to $3.19-$3.29; overall results mixed, with an EPS beat but concerning margin trends in PCs and Print as Bank America noted the outlook as challenged by rising memory costs, demand elasticity from higher pricing and FQ4 PS OM expected below FQ3.
• Storage sector: NTNX delivered Q4 revenue of $757M, 2% above the high end of guidance and up 16% YoY as ARR reached $2.549B, up 16%, with growth accelerating sequentially, while NRR held at 106%. Mgmt said saw no unusual pull-ins or future-start-date catch-up; FY26 TCV bookings grew in the high teens versus 12% revenue growth.

• SaaS software sector: CRM shares rallied behind results and Anthropic expanded their partnership with Claudeforce, a new Claude integration that lets sales teams access Salesforce data and take actions directly inside Claude. Q2 results were highlighted by upside to cRPO results and guidance and management's reiteration that the business is set to reaccelerate in 2H:FY27. Agentforce and related Ai metrics continue showing robust growth; raised the FY guide by $100M organically. (the group was broadly higher in sympathy NOW, TEAM, MNDY, HUBS, MDB, etc.)
• Quantum sector: INFQ shares active after NASA awards Co $20M follow-on contract to build a space-based Quantum Gravity sensor, bringing its investment in the program to $40M.

Street Recommendations

Thursday, August 27, 2026

• OKTA Barclays raised the firm's price target on Okta to $180 from $170 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q2 report. The company's remaining performance obligation growth came in ahead of expectations at 14% year-over-year, driven by growth in large customer cohorts and partner engagement, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm sees potential subscription revenue acceleration in the second half of 2026 for Okta.
• CRM Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $276 from $236 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q2 report. It is becoming clearer that Salesforce's reacceleration story remains intact, which is what should matter to investors, especially given the low sentiment and valuation level, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• SNOW Barclays raised the firm's price target on Snowflake to $332 from $285 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares as part of an earnings preview. The firm says Snowflake's AI traction supports continued sales strength. However, the analyst is unsure the company's growth will accelerate further in Q2 given tough compares.
• URBN Barclays raised the firm's price target on Urban Outfitters to $102 from $100 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares post the Q2 report. The company saw positive comps across all banners, including a growing contribution from Nuuly, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• A Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Agilent to $180 from $155 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes Agilent reported a Q3 beat and raise Wednesday. Core organic growth of 7.3% was above guidance of 4.4%-5.9% and consensus of 5.4%.
• CRM Bernstein raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $195 from $173 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm notes Salesforce delivered a decent Q2 and guided up. But excluding the tailwinds from M&A to revenue and strategic investments to EPS, the results were basically in-line, says Bernstein. Nonetheless, the stock bounced up 13%. The stock has been punished by the AI apocalypse but as investors come back to software as they realize the headwind is not that big the stock reacted positively to the good results, the firm adds.

• CRM BMO Capital analyst Keith Bachman raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $260 from $230 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company's Q2 results saw CRPO in quarter topping estimates for the first time since Q3 of last year, while demand commentary was broadly positive, including around net new Annual Order Value, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The partnership with Anthropic is a near-term positive, though longer-term growth questions remain for the front office application segment, the firm added.
• CRWD BMO Capital raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $235 from $186.25 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company delivered an impressive quarter across the board with highlights that include accelerating net new annualized recurring revenue growth, ARR, a raised FY27 net new ARR guide, and an accelerating core endpoint business, the analyst tells investors in a research note. While AI remains in its early innings, CrowdStrike's traction in product areas like AI Detection and Response and Next-Gen SIEM, as well as growing Falcon Flex deals, demonstrate that the company is well positioned to extend its security leadership through the AI era, BMO added.
• OKTA BMO Capital raised the firm's price target on Okta to $187 from $168 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The company delivered another solid quarter with a CRPO beat of about 3 points, and CRPO growth that accelerated vs. the past two quarters, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Although the management commented that AI is not generating material contribution to bookings, it is expanding the pipeline, and this points to growth acceleration potential in FY28, when AI should more materially impact bookings, BMO added.
• VEEV BMO Capital raised the firm's price target on Veeva to $270 from $175 and keeps a Market Perform rating on the shares. The company's key to revenue and earnings were ahead of estimates, with upside being more heavily weighted towards Services, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm further cites the company's quickly accelerating product development of Falcon with its agentic labor capabilities generating meaningful commercial interest, as well as the planned deployment of Aspen CRM later this year.

• OKTA BofA upgraded Okta to Neutral from Underperform with a price target of $170, up from $75. Q2 results were "solid across the board and especially where it counts," the analyst tells investors. Okta's newer products continued to gain traction, representing 30% of bookings in Q2, notes the analyst, who adds that consecutive quarters of RPO outperformance "bodes well for the year."
• HPQ BofA analyst Wamsi Mohan raised the firm's price target on HP Inc. to $21 from $18 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. Positives in fiscal Q3 include pricing execution, premium/AI PC adoption, share gains and resilient reported Print profitability, but the firm sees the outlook as challenged by rising memory costs and demand elasticity from higher pricing, the analyst tells investors in a post-earnings note. The firm uses a higher multiple on improved earnings visibility and execution, offset by continued unit and cost pressures.
• WSM BofA raised the firm's price target on Williams-Sonoma to $263 from $261 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm, which is "encouraged" that Q2 comps were broad-based across brands and particularly encouraged by the improvement at Pottery Barn, views Williams-Sonoma as a structural share gainer with opportunities to continue expanding operating margins beyond this year.
• URBN BofA analyst Lorraine Hutchinson raised the firm's price target on Urban Outfitters to $100 from $90 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm is increasing its FY27 and FY28 EPS estimates by 4% each after a quarter that it says displayed Urban Outfitters' "consistency."
• SNPS BofA analyst Vivek Arya lowered the firm's price target on Synopsys to $500 from $600 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm raised its FY27 and FY28 pro-forma EPS estimates 3% following the company's Q3 report, but lowered its multiple. The investor day upcoming at the end of September will be a key catalyst to drive higher confidence and potential multiple recovery, the analyst tells investors.
• KSS BofA analyst Lorraine Hutchinson raised the firm's price target on Kohl's to $16 from $14 and keeps an Underperform rating on the shares. The firm is raising its FY26 and FY27 EPS estimates to reflect the tariff refund and better credit trends, adding that Kohl's is executing better and the FY26 outlook points to "stabilization, but not a return to growth."
• LI BofA lowered the firm's price target on Li Auto to $15.10 from $16.50 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares after the company's Q2 report. The firm sees sales volume growth and margin pressure in 2026, but also favors the company's "strong technology reserve in autonomous driving," the analyst tells investors.
• AMKR BofA initiated coverage of Amkor Technology with a Buy rating and $70 price target, calling it "an underappreciated beneficiary of rising semiconductor packaging complexity." The firm believes the market is not fully reflecting the company's mix shift toward Advanced Products, its growing role in 2.5D, HDFO-RDL/bridge, CPO and test, and the long-term strategic value of its upcoming Arizona facility, the analyst tells investors.

• OKTA BTIG analyst Gray Powell raised the firm's price target on Okta to $187 from $167 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported exceptional Q2 results and raised its guidance for the year, with CRPO growth accelerating 200bps sequentially to 14%, the fastest pace in over a year, and this was largely driven by the core business rather than AI agent revenue, which management noted remains immaterial, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CRM BTIG raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $300 from $255 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company delivered a narrative-changing quarter, pairing strong financial results with a clearer message that the company is well positioned and still in the early innings of benefiting from AI, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The management's guidance implies constant currency organic total revenue growth re-accelerates next quarter, and steps up by more than a point in Q4 to 7.6%, the firm added.

• CRWD Canaccord analyst Kingsley Crane raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $210 from $185 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said CrowdStrike delivered the best quarter in its history in FQ2'27, with net-new ARR of $333M (growing 51% year over year), up from $256M last quarter and $48M above the $285M guidance midpoint, the largest beat of the post-outage re-acceleration series and an all-time quarterly record set in the seasonally softer half of the year.
• ELF Canaccord analyst Susan Anderson raised the firm's price target on Elf Beauty to $123 from $110 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said the company has officially rolled back the majority of price investments it made in late May and into June. It does look like the lower prices were helpful, but it doesn't look like it was the only driver of e.l.f.'s return to growth.
• OKTA Canaccord analyst Kingsley Crane raised the firm's price target on Okta to $175 from $115 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said Okta delivered a strong FQ2, with total revenue of $805M (+11% year over year) and cRPO of $2.585B (+14% year over yeary) both comfortably ahead of the high end of guidance.
• VEEV Canaccord raised the firm's price target on Veeva to $260 from $220 and keeps a Hold rating on the shares. The firm said Veeva's Q2 was one of its cleanest quarters in some time and, admittedly, leaves them warming up to the story. The most meaningful change was in Commercial, where several of the firm's prior concerns have eased. Subscription revenue grew roughly 13%, and the business excluding Crossix still expanded at a double-digit rate, demonstrating that Commercial momentum was broad-based rather than dependent on a single product.

• CRWD Citi raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $260 from $250 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares post the Q2 report. The company's annual recurring revenue accelerated to 25% year-over-year, the best beat since Q4 of 2024, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi tells investors to buy into the post-earnings rally.
• CRM Citi analyst Tyler Radke raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $233 from $204 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm company reported "improved" Q2 results but the earnings print is "not quite a step change," the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• NVDA Citi raised the firm's price target on Nvidia to $315 from $300 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company reported better than expected results due to "robust" AI demand, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Citi says Nvidia's fiscal 2027 outlook topped estimates.
• DKS Citi lowered the firm's price target on Dick's Sporting to $190 from $280 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares post the Q2 report. The firm says the company's "sudden shift" in tone regarding the challenged industry backdrop relative to Q1 "seemingly came out of nowhere." Citi, however, remains bullish on the shares, extracting further Foot Locker synergies and buybacks at lower prices.

• CELH Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers downgraded Celsius to Hold from Buy with a $35 price target. The company's fundamental challenges have continued to mount, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the core Celsius trends further weakened through Q2, its revenue and profitability missed expectations, and management pushed out the timing of a meaningful recovery to fiscal 2027. Deutsche now has reduced confidence in the pace of a reacceleration. It believes "expectations are rising faster than evidence."
• LU Deutsche Bank resumed coverage of Lufax with a Hold rating and $1.40 price target. The company has "normalized" its financial disclosures and its new auditor has reviewed the historical financial statements, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm views this as a "key milestone" for Lufax, suggesting its "extensive" business model overhaul and internal control remediation are now largely behind the company.
• LTC Deutsche Bank upgraded LTC Properties to Buy from Hold with a price target of $55, up from $38, after meeting with management. The company's senior housing operating platform strategy is "sound" and should drive earnings growth acceleration, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes LTC has built a platform to ensure senior housing delivers consistent low double digit same store net operating income growth over the next few years. It sees multiple expansion for the shares beyond 2026.
• RF Deutsche Bank analyst Matt O'Connor last night downgraded Regions Financial to Hold from Buy with an unchanged price target of $34. Despite a solid long-term track record, it is unclear what could drive meaningful further upside to either RF's earnings or the stock, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the bank's earnings growth expectations are below average in 2027 and 2028, either suggesting a lower bar than peers or slower growth. Deutsche sees increased competition in Regions' core markets.

• JKS Goldman Sachs lowered the firm's price target on JinkoSolar to $11 from $15 and keeps a Sell rating on the shares. JinkoSolar reported weak Q2 results, with lower-than-expected revenue, margins, and earnings, while significantly cutting FY26 shipment guidance as it prioritizes profitability, cash flow, and higher-quality orders, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CRM Goldman Sachs analyst Gabriela Borges raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $271 from $242 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Salesforce's outlook reflects about 200 basis points of 2H acceleration and improving AI monetization, with premium-tier upgrades and partnerships creating multiple avenues for stronger ACV growth as Agentforce adoption matures, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CRWD Goldman Sachs raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $230 from $208 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. CrowdStrike sees an earlier-than-expected security budget inflection as AI projects accelerate security modernization, driving stronger platform adoption, AIDR growth, and improved Flex metrics, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• VEEV Guggenheim raised the firm's price target on Veeva to $310 from $276 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after a "strong" fiscal Q2 exceeding consensus estimates across top and bottom line metrics. Veeva is "a quintessential vertical software company that has grown to become indispensable for its customers," which was further evidenced by two top-20 CRM wins intra-quarter, the analyst tells investors.
• GWRE Guggenheim raised the firm's price target on Guidewire to $210 from $180 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the company reporting earnings after market close on September 3. The firm expects Guidewire to at least meet fiscal Q4 estimates, if not exceed them, as consensus implies "a significant decline in business momentum that we believe is unlikely to transpire," the analyst tells investors in a preview.
• AMLX Guggenheim raised the firm's price target on Amylyx to $57 from $55 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm, which is updating its model for financing and "compelling" LUCIDITY results, cites an increased view of avexitide's odds of success to 95%, partially offset by modest equity dilution.

• CRWD Jefferies raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $240 from $230 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's annual recurring revenue growth of 25.4% year-over-year in Q2 accelerated for the fourth straight quarter, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says CrowdStrike is benefitting from post-Mythos tailwinds and expressed high confidence in its outlook.
• OKTA Jefferies raised the firm's price target on Okta to $200 from $170 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's remaining performance obligation growth accelerated to 14.1% year-over-year in Q2, beating consensus by 3.0%, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Okta's guidance continues to embed minimal agentic materialization, which should "buoy growth" into fiscal 2028. It views the company's Q2 repot as "great."

• NVDA JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur raised the firm's price target on Nvidia to $320 from $280 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company reported July quarter results and an October quarter revenue outlook "solidly ahead" of Street expectations, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Nvidia's data center growth is accelerating on sustained Blackwell Ultra demand and a "step-up" in sovereign, AI-native, and enterprise revenue. Nvidia introduced its first-ever formal forward-year revenue framework for fiscal 2028 and characterized the outlook as supply-constrained, with unconstrained demand pacing materially higher, says JPMorgan. The firm views the outlook as likely conservative given the pace of agentic AI adoption and sovereign momentum globally.
• DY JPMorgan lowered the firm's price target on Dycom to $570 from $650 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company reported solid Q2 results but its updated guidance was mixed, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Dycom's communications segment reported in-line revenue with soft margins as the company is investing to win more fiber-related business and dealing with rising fuel costs.
• A JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Agilent to $190 from $180 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company reported a Q3 beat driven by an end market recovery and strong commercial execution, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the quarter was highlighted by strength in China.
• DUOL JPMorgan analyst Bryan Smilek raised the firm's price target on Duolingo to $135 from $125 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm upped the company's daily active user estimates to reflect an improving top of funnel. 2026 remains an investment year for Duolingo, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• CRM JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $265 from $250 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company's revenue and operating margins were above expectations in Q2, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes Salesforce's partnership with Anthropic will likely lead investors to "take further note of the limited disruption risks" given the company's willingness to partner to expand the total addressable market rather than offer competing products to frontier large language model companies.
• OKTA JPMorgan raised the firm's price target on Okta to $190 from $165 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The company reported "healthy" Q2 results that exceeded expectations, driven by the durability of the core identity business, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Okta saw broad-based strength across workforce and customer identity.

• DRI KeyBanc raised the firm's price target on Darden to $237 from $228 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. The firm is also adjusting its estimates. While its Olive Garden comparable sales estimate does move lower, KeyBanc is encouraged by recent improvement in Key First Look Data trends.
• DY KeyBanc lowered the firm's price target on Dycom to $423 from $610 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm thinks the recent stock underperformance is an overreaction to $150M revenue pushout and Communications margins reflecting increased inventory for multiple growth drivers emerging in 2028. Further, KeyBanc sees strong balance sheet margin being overlooked since it doesn't think strong Q2 is a one-time event.
• NTNX KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel raised the firm's price target on Nutanix to $79 from $75 on a higher valuation multiple, while keeping an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says Q4 showed Nutanix is getting back to its typical cadence. Going forward, FY27 guidance appears conservative calling for about 12% growth, which appears to factor in lower second half of the year growth from supply chain-related uncertainty, KeyBanc says.
• OKTA KeyBanc raised the firm's price target on Okta to $190 from $180 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes Okta reported a strong Q2 beat and raise. While AI agents is still not a material contributor, management noted dozens of Okta for AI Agents deals, several of which are more than $1M and the average AI agent deal size over traditional deals. KeyBanc continues to see identity as a key security control for AI agents with Okta the early leader.
• WSM KeyBanc raised the firm's price target on Williams-Sonoma to $270 from $250 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says the company continues to gain share despite a challenging industry backdrop. Q2 sales were the strongest in four years, with broad-based growth across brands and channels. Williams-Sonoma raised 2026 guidance, and KeyBanc revises its estimates higher. Looking ahead, the firm believes Williams-Sonoma can continue to gain share through strong merchandising and marketing effectiveness, while improving margins through internal initiatives and the use of AI.

• CRM Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Wood raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $235 from $185 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Q2 was "a step in the right direction" and cRPO upside, better AI monetization signals and a modest organic guide raise increase confidence in second half acceleration. However, legacy portfolio drags and still-emerging evidence Agentforce can sustain better organic growth "keep the durability debate open," the analyst tells investors.
• HPQ Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on HP Inc. to $19 from $17 and keeps an Underweight rating on the shares. Fiscal Q3 results were "mixed," with an EPS beat but "concerning" margin trends in PCs and Print, says the analyst, who adds that the setup into FY27 "looks increasingly challenging."
• ANF Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Abercrombie & Fitch to $134 from $87 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The Q2 report "materially improves" the near-term setup, but the firm thinks "the stock moved more than the thesis did," the analyst tells investors.
• OKTA Morgan Stanley analyst Meta Marshall raised the firm's price target on Okta to $200 from $180 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. After Q2 results "beat across the board," the firm notes that Okta posted its biggest cRPO beat in five quarters with year-over-year growth continuing to reaccelerate.
• CRWD Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $238 from $227 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Fiscal Q2 results "extinguished concerns around how long it would take for the increased threat environment to turn to customer traction" as the threat environment has stepped up meaningfully, reflected in the growing NNARR beat. Continued acceleration in EDR, exposure management, and AIDR all point to growing reliance by customers on CrowdStrike, the analyst added.
• VEEV Morgan Stanley analyst Craig Hettenbach raised the firm's price target on Veeva to $275 from $215 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Veeva beat across the board in Q2 and guided a touch ahead of the Street for Q3, says the analyst, who adds that a deeper look into its AI strategy and financial implications is "vital" as the bar rises into the company's investor day.
• BBWI Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on Bath & Body Works to $20 from $22 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. Q2 was "modestly better" and Bath & Body is "taking increasingly credible steps to support a turnaround," but the firm still sees limited evidence to underwrite a FY27 sales inflection or consensus' mid-term growth trajectory, the analyst tells investors.

• TCBX Piper Sandler analyst Stephen Scouten initiated coverage of Third Coast Bancshares with an Overweight rating and $53 price target. In an environment where banks are reaching current cycle net interest margin high's, outsized growth will be essential to driving above-peer earnings growth and share price performance, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Piper favors Third Coast in this environment.
• WAT Piper Sandler upgraded Waters to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $480, up from $400. The firm cites the "strong" replacement cycle and its work in flow cytometry and mass spec for the upgrade. Piper sees the replacement cycle trend as the "most tangible" life science tools driver. The product refresh is still in the earlier innings and Waters' current growth profile remains below what would be expected if the broader installed base were fully current, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes this suggests replacement demand can continue even as investment in GLP-1 manufacturing, generics and other new capacity moderates.
• MAC Piper Sandler upgraded Macerich to Overweight from Neutral with a price target of $30, up from $28, as the firm's revised 2027 estimate on the same target multiple implies over 20% upside. The firm is pleased Macerich intends to use the recent convert issuance to pay off wholly own encumbrances as management wants a bridge to unsecured. Piper has long advocated for Macerich to make the transition to investment grade and believes this is the first step. Given its JV malls are encumbered, the firm thinks Macerich would have to significantly pay off its wholly owned mortgages.
• BXP Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on BXP to $88 from $90 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes BXP is adamant about driving earnings growth while repositioning the portfolio and balance sheet. Historically, asset sales and debt reductions would be dilutive to growth. What's different this time is the lack of supply is accelerating office leasing while today's elevated interest rates make debt payoffs more beneficial, especially as BXP harvests low-yielding land and re-entitled residential sites, Piper adds.
• CSR Piper Sandler lowered the firm's price target on Centerspace to $58 from $60 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares as the company works through its repositioning into 2027. The firm caught up with management this week to walk through the repositioning earnings impact and capital plans. Piper thought management sounded more upbeat on the recent Q2 earnings call as they are now able to freely talk about the future of the company versus the previous "can't comment" during the strategic review process.
• VEEV Piper Sandler raised the firm's price target on Veeva to $320 from $295 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes the company delivered a strong Q2 evident in the subscription revenue acceleration to 16% fueled by balanced performance across both the Commercial and R&D segments. Piper walked away from the print with greater confidence in the overall growth algorithm for the business going into second half of the year and beyond.
• NTNX Piper Sandler analyst James Fish raised the firm's price target on Nutanix to $75 from $60 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says shares are higher following a top-line acceleration with positive lead-metrics and a better than feared guide, which are largely supported by multiple growth drivers around external storage partnership contribution, VMware replacements, AI / Kubernetes, and future-startdate orders coming in.
• ATRC Piper Sandler analyst Matt O'Brien raised the firm's price target on AtriCure to $60 from $50 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. Earlier this year, STS introduced a new quality measure focused on pre-operative AF treatment during cardiac surgery, which the firm believes represents an underappreciated catalyst for AtriCure's open ablation business. Despite clinical guideline recommendations, adoption remains underpenetrated, adds Piper.

• OKTA Raymond James raised the firm's price target on Okta to $185 from $115 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. Okta's accelerating mid-teens cRPO growth supports the stabilization thesis, while further upside increasingly depends on its AI product opportunity, which could grow from a $25M-$50M initial market to $1B+ over time, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• CRWD Rosenblatt analyst Catharine Trebnick raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $250 from $206 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. CrowdStrike beat every guided metric and "then did the thing that matters more: it put the beat into the full-year outlook and added to it," the analyst tells investors. Management called it the best quarter in company history and the guidance is "what makes that more than a characterization," adds the analyst.

• NVDA Stifel analyst Ruben Roy raised the firm's price target on Nvidia to $315 from $282 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Management issued its first longer-term, full-year outlook in company history, with expectations for FY28 revenue growth of approximately 70%, though the demand environment was characterized as supportive of 100% revenue growth, the analyst tells investors.
• OKTA Stifel raised the firm's price target on Okta to $180 from $160 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after a "strong" fiscal Q2, with all key metrics above guidance and/or Street estimates. The firm was also "pleased to once again see" growing traction across Okta's emerging product portfolio, the analyst tells investors.

• CRWD TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on CrowdStrike to $250 from $235 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm views the company's fiscal Q2 report as "stellar." The earnings print "marks a pivotal inflection point" for accelerated growth in the coming quarters, the analyst tells investors in a research note. TD says that as AI is expanding the attack surface, CrowdStrike's Falcon platform "stands to disproportionately benefit."

• DOCN Truist analyst Miller Jump initiated coverage of DigitalOcean with a Buy rating and $175 price target. The firm says the company has been a core independent player in serving compute to small and mid-size businesses through multiple cloud eras. DigitalOcean is benefiting from favorable supply/demand dynamics that could support shares moving higher in the near term, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Truist sees durable growth and profitability in the longer term for the company.

• CRM UBS analyst Karl Keirstead raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $240 from $210 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Salesforce shares rose about 13% after reaffirming FY27 organic revenue growth, operating margin, and cash flow guidance, easing concerns that weak CRM demand would derail the expected 2H acceleration, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• ANF UBS raised the firm's price target on Abercrombie & Fitch to $185 from $153 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Abercrombie & fitch remains well positioned for sustainable growth through brand momentum, product innovation, disciplined inventory, and international expansion, with durable earnings power supporting a 13% five-year EPS CAGR, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• VEEV UBS raised the firm's price target on Veeva to $290 from $190 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Veeva posted a clean beat and raise quarter, the analyst tells investors in a research note.
• URBN UBS raised the firm's price target on Urban Outfitters to $82 from $80 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares.
• PGR UBS analyst Brian Meredith raised the firm's price target on Progressive to $234 from $225 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. Proposed tariffs on Canada auto parts could pressure personal auto insurers 2027 EPS estimates by low single digits percent, the analyst tells investors in a research note.

• SJM Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on J.M. Smucker to $144 from $129 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm notes the stock has been strong year-to-date, but Wells sees flex to beat the FY27 outlook, namely into Q2, and it believes valuation is higher but still not demanding.
• URBN Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Urban Outfitters to $80 from $75 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm cites a better Q2 print, notably with confidence on Anthro's trajectory seemingly improved. With better Q2 plus an upbeat tone, Wells says there is not much to poke at as Urban continues to navigate. However, numbers likely not moving either, the firm adds.
• DY Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Dycom to $550 from $650 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says a cut to organic revenues from a wireless deferral plus softer margins clearly spooked investors, but now creates a very favorable risk/reward going forward, with Wells' 2027 numbers moving higher and multiple medium-term growth catalysts intact.
• CRM Wells Fargo raised the firm's price target on Salesforce to $230 from $205 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm sees Q2 results as nuanced given full year raise fueled by new inorganic contribs and INFA outperformance, and organic exit rate still less than 9%, below levels needed to hit FY30 numbers. Multiples may recover some off record lows, but narrative is largely unchanged, says Wells.
• NTNX Wells Fargo analyst Aaron Rakers raised the firm's price target on Nutanix to $65 from $55 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm is raising estimates on stronger-than-expected profitability / operating margin. Impact of hardware supply constraints on FY27 growth will be a focus, adds Wells.
• BBWI Wells Fargo lowered the firm's price target on Bath & Body Works to $24 from $26 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The firm says Q2 showed that post reset, Bath & Body Works' turnaround story is right where it should be. Innovation is now hitting/delivering, investment spend accelerating behind it, and second half of the year inflection remains in reach, Wells adds.

Rating abbreviations…

***OP = Outperform

***SP = Sector Perform

***UP = Underperform

***OW = Overweight

***EW = Equal-weight

***UW = Underweight

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

What’s on Tap Weekly Calendar

• Earnings After the Close: PICS TUYA

• 8:55 AM ET                   Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 9:00 AM ET                   Monthly Home Prices M/M for June
• 9:00 AM ET                   CaseShiller 20-city index M/M for June
• 10:00 AM ET                 New Home Sales M/M for July
• 10:00 AM ET                 Consumer Confidence for August
• 10:00 AM ET                 Richmond Fed Index for August
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $69B in 2-year notes
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: BOX ELMD HEI INTU JOYY NCNO NOAH QFIN SMTC STRT ZM

• Jefferies Semis, IT Hardware & Comm Tech Conference, 8/25-8/26 in Chicago, IL
• Piper 2026 Chicago Summer Trading Tour, 8/24-8/25 (virtual)
• Stifel Tech Executive Summit, 8/25-8/26, in Deer Valley, UT

• 8:30 AM ET                   Personal Income M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Personal Spending M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET PCE Price Index M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET PCE Price Index Y/Y for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Core PCE Price Index M/M for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Core PCE Price Index Y/Y for July
• 8:30 AM ET                   Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Q2, 2^nd estimate
• 8:30 AM ET GDP Consumer Spending for Q2, 2nd estimate
• 8:30 AM ET GDP Price deflator for Q2, 2nd estimate
• 8:30 AM ET PCE headline prices for Q2, 2nd estimate
• 8:30 AM ET                   Core PCE headline prices for Q2, 2nd estimate
• 10:00 AM ET                 Dallas Fed PCE for July
• 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: A AVAT CRM CRWD HPQ LTRX NTNX NVDA OKTA OOMA P SNPS STDN URBN VEEV

• Stifel Tech Executive Summit, 8/25-8/26, in Deer Valley, UT

• 8:30 AM ET                   Continuing Claims
• 8:30 AM ET                   Advance Goods Trade Balance for July
• 10:30 AM ET                 Weekly EIA Natural Gas Inventory Data
• 11:00 AM ET KC Fed Manufacturing for August
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $44B in 7-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: ADSK AFRM BBAR ESTC FINV GAP IREN KTCC MRVL PD RBRK S ULTA WDAY

• 10:00 AM ET                 University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations, Aug-final
• 1:00 PM ET                    Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data