US PREMARKET ACTIONS: September 25, 2025
**Futures Indices**
Dow Futures: 0.00%
S&P 500 Futures: -0.20%
Nasdaq 100 Futures: -0.30%
US 10-year yield: 4.14% (+1bp)
Market Environment
US indices are edging lower this Thursday as investors brace for a busy day of macroeconomic releases and comments from Fed members.
Pressure on tech stocks intensified on Wednesday, weighing on the S&P 500 for a second consecutive session. Jim Reid (Deutsche Bank) notes:
“Risk assets have struggled to find their footing... decent housing data and stronger oil prices yesterday led to some doubts about the prospect of rapid rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.”
Key releases expected today:
- Durable goods orders (August): forecasted to fall by -0.5%.
- Q2 GDP (final revision): expected unchanged at +3.3%.
- Weekly jobless claims: consensus at 238K.
- Goods trade balance (August): estimated at -$94.4bn (vs -$103.9bn in July).
- Existing home sales: expected at 3.95M (vs 4.01M in July).
- Fed balance sheet report in the evening.
Fed member speeches scheduled:
Goolsbee, Williams, Barr, Daly, among others.
Paul Donovan (UBS) notes:
“U.S. growth has been distorted this year... This exaggerates first-quarter weakness and second-quarter strength.”
Stocks to Watch
PEPG +146.24%
PepGen surges after announcing a public offering to fund its clinical trials.
IMRX +25.03%
Immuneering jumps following promising interim results for its pancreatic cancer treatment.
CIFR +7.00%
Cipher Mining rises after announcing an issuance of convertible senior notes.
FTEL +0.75%
Fitell remains under pressure despite a $100M Solana deal, continuing the decline started earlier this week.
SFIX -5.50%
Stitch Fix declines despite optimistic Q1 results. The drop in subscriber numbers remains a drag.
HTZ -5.74%
Hertz slumps despite a $250M private convertible bond offering. The market seems cautious.
SPRU -
Spruce Power falls after announcing a restructuring plan to reduce costs.
Rating Changes
Upgrades
Amentum Holdings, Inc. ($AHE) → Cantor Fitzgerald upgrades to overweight (vs neutral), price target raised from $25 to $35.
Boeing ($BA) → President Capital upgrades to buy (vs neutral), target raised from $235 to $256.
Crowdstrike ($CRWD) → Scotiabank upgrades to sector outperform, target raised to $600 (vs $440).
CSX Corp ($CSX) → Wells Fargo upgrades to overweight, target raised to $40 (vs $37).
Kratos Defense ($KTOS) → RBC maintains outperform, target raised to $90 (vs $65).
Reddit ($RDDT) → Baird maintains neutral, target raised to $240 (vs $177).
Snap ($SNAP) → Loop Capital maintains buy, target raised to $15 (vs $12).
Thor Industries ($THO) → BNP Paribas Exane maintains underperform, but raises target to $79 (vs $51).
TKO Group ($TKO) → Morgan Stanley remains equalwt, target raised to $205 (vs $165).
Neutral
Intel ($INTC) → Seaport Global upgrades from sell to neutral.
Downgrades
Freeport-McMoRan ($FCX)
- Bernstein upgrades to outperform but lowers price target from $50.50 to $48.50.
- Scotiabank downgrades to sector perform, target cut to $45 (vs $55).
Qualcomm ($QCOM) → Aletheia Capital downgrades to hold (vs buy).
Reinsurance Group ($RGA) → Baptista Research moves to outperform (vs buy), target cut to $230.20 (vs $242.60).
West Pharma ($WST) → Zacks moves to neutral (vs outperform), target cut to $263 (vs $293).
Have a good session, everyone
Sylvain Mouilhaud: Equity Coach