Futures Indices:
- Dow Futures: +0.3%
- S&P 500 Futures: +0.3%
- Nasdaq 100 Futures: +0.3%
Market Environment
US markets are starting the day on a positive note, supported by a jobs report in line with expectations. In December, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000, close to the consensus of 55,000, while the unemployment rate fell to 4.4% versus an expected 4.6%.
Average hourly earnings increased by 0.3% over the month, slightly above the consensus (+0.2%), and by 3.8% year-on-year.
Bond yields are trending higher:
- US 2-year yield: 3.51% (+1.7 bps)
- US 10-year yield: 4.19% (+1.3 bps)
- US 30-year yield: 4.86% (+1.6 bps)
Stocks to Watch Today
- AQST -37.92%
Aquestive plunges after the FDA raised concerns with its Anaphylm drug marketing application. A response is expected by the end of the month. - VST +17.76%
Vistra jumps following the announcement of three major nuclear deals to support Meta’s artificial intelligence ambitions. - QURE +16.11%
uniQure surges as the FDA set a meeting regarding its gene therapy. - KALV +14.22%
KalVista climbs after expecting revenues of $49M in 2025 for its Ektery treatment. - TLRY +13.03%
Tilray beats expectations with revenue of $217.5M (above the consensus of $6.36M) despite an adjusted loss of -$0.02/share. - IBIO +12.34%
iBio soars after raising about $26M via a private placement.
Recommendation Changes
Upgrades
- Airbnb ($ABNB) → Wells Fargo upgrades to market weight (neutral), target $118 ➝ $128
- Altria Group ($MO) → UBS upgrades to buy, target raised from $61 ➝ $63
- Cleveland-Cliffs ($CLF) → Morgan Stanley upgrades to overweight, target $17
- Crowdstrike ($CRWD) → Berenberg upgrades to buy, target $600
- Donaldson ($DCI) → Jefferies upgrades to buy, target $120
- Marriott ($MAR) → BMO raises to outperform, target $285 ➝ $370
- Quanta Services ($PWR) → Seaport upgrades to buy, target $503
- RPM International ($RPM) → JP Morgan upgrades to overweight, target adjusted to $115
- SiteOne Landscape ($SITE) → RBC upgrades to outperform, target $151
- Sotera Health ($SHC) → Piper Sandler upgrades to overweight, target $24
Neutral
- American Airlines ($AAL) → Rating maintained, target raised from $12 ➝ $16
- Applied Materials ($AMAT) → Maintained, target raised to $425
- Fedex ($FDX) → Maintained, target raised to $306
- SanDisk ($SNDK) → Maintained, target raised to $410
Downgrades
- American Tower ($AMT) → BMO downgrades to neutral, target $210 ➝ $185
- Equity Residential ($EQR) → BMO downgrades to neutral, target $70 ➝ $68
- Mattel ($MAT) → Goldman Sachs downgrades to neutral, target $21
- Nucor ($NUE) → Morgan Stanley downgrades to neutral, target raised to $180
- On Holding ($ONON) → Williams Trading downgrades to neutral, target $47
- Qualcomm ($QCOM) → Mizuho downgrades to neutral, target $175
- Regency Centers ($REG) → Mizuho downgrades to neutral, target $74
- Steel Dynamics ($STLD) → Morgan Stanley downgrades to neutral, target $194
- Zillow ($Z) → Mizuho downgrades to neutral, target $70
Have a great session, everyone.
