10 things to watch in the stock market Friday including more bullishness on Eli Lilly
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10 things to watch in the market Friday, August 16 1. Wall Street is lower Friday morning after a strong session Thursday, which put the S & P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on track to record their biggest weekly gains since November 2023. Better-than-expected retail sales and initial jobless claims helped fuel Thursday’s move, further demonstrating that good news about the U.S. economy is good news for stocks. 2. Applied Materials reported a better-than-expected quarter, but its fourth-quarter revenue guidance was merely in line with expectations. That’s putting some pressure on the semiconductor equipment stock, which closed Thursday’s session up nearly 31% year to date. 3. A handful of analysts boosted their price targets on Walmart after the retail giant’s strong earnings report sent the stock to a record close Thursday. TD Cowen and Jefferies both raised their PTs to $85 a share from $80 and maintained their buy-equivalent ratings. Jefferies noted that Walmart executives said the company is using generative AI to make picking online orders more efficient. Despite questions on whether AI investments will pan out, that sounds like a real-word use case to us. 4. Bank of America downgraded Club name Estee Lauder to a hold-equivalent rating ahead of earnings next week, citing weakness in China’s beauty market. Estee Lauder’s significant exposure to that market has been a drag on its business for a while now. We sold some stock last month to free up cash for more attractive opportunities. 5. Guggenheim raised its price target on Club holding Eli Lilly to $1,030 a share from $884 and kept its buy rating. Improved supply of its booming GLP-1 drugs is a key driver of near-term business momentum, analysts said. Rapid advancements to Lilly’s drug pipeline, though, is bolstering analysts’ confidence that the momentum can be sustained in the future. During the Investing Club’s Monthly Meeting earlier this week , Jim Cramer said Lilly has so far reported the best quarter of any stock in the portfolio. 6. Sphere Entertainment was upgraded to a buy-equivalent rating at JPMorgan. Analysts argued the company’s operating model has been proven out while the venue “has established itself as a mainstay in the destination tourism market with travelers and artists alike.” In addition to the buzzy Las Vegas venue, Sphere owns MSG Networks. Shares of Sphere are up 36% year to date. 7. Evercore ISI placed Club name Palo Alto Networks on its list of “tactical underperform” ideas ahead of the cybersecurity provider’s earnings report Monday night. Analysts said their quarterly partner survey suggested the long-term trends for Palo Alto were intact, but the near-term implications were mixed. Elsewhere, Baird upped its PT on the stock to $375 from $360. 8. Wells Fargo doubled upgraded Fox Corp. to a buy-equivalent rating from underweight. Analysts said they’ve done extensive work on the forthcoming sports streaming service Venu — a joint venture between Fox, Club holding Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — and see more opportunities than risks. The firm’s price target on Fox is now $46 a share, up from $29. 9. Bank of America lifted its price target on Salesforce to $316 a share from $288 and maintained its buy rating on the Club stock. Ahead of Salesforce’s fiscal Q2 earnings report later this month, analysts said their recent discussions point to deal activity remaining steady around first-quarter levels. 10. Texas Instruments is set to receive up to $1.6 billion in grants and up to $3 billion in loans from the U.S. government to help pay for three projects that will boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. It’s the latest funding announcement tied to the so-called CHIPS Act, which became law in 2022. Intel , GlobalFoundries and Samsung are among the other chip firms receiving financial support. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
10 things to watch in the market Friday, August 16
1. Wall Street is lower Friday morning after a strong session Thursday, which put the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on track to record their biggest weekly gains since November 2023. Better-than-expected retail sales and initial jobless claims helped fuel Thursday’s move, further demonstrating that good news about the U.S. economy is good news for stocks.
2. Applied Materials reported a better-than-expected quarter, but its fourth-quarter revenue guidance was merely in line with expectations. That’s putting some pressure on the semiconductor equipment stock, which closed Thursday’s session up nearly 31% year to date.
3. A handful of analysts boosted their price targets on Walmart after the retail giant’s strong earnings report sent the stock to a record close Thursday. TD Cowen and Jefferies both raised their PTs to $85 a share from $80 and maintained their buy-equivalent ratings. Jefferies noted that Walmart executives said the company is using generative AI to make picking online orders more efficient. Despite questions on whether AI investments will pan out, that sounds like a real-word use case to us.
