String of acquisitions fuels biotech optimism
In the past month, the S&P Biotech ETF surpassed March 2020 levels.
Micron jumps after rare double upgrade by BNP Paribas Exane, which lifts price target to Street high of $270
Micron, the best-performing member of the VanEck Semiconductor ETF this year, is jumping on Monday thanks to converting its biggest doubter on Wall Street into its biggest fan.
BNP Paribas Exane analyst Karl Ackerman went through with a rare double upgrade of the memory chip specialist to “outperform” from “underperform.” In the process, he more than doubled his price target on the stock to $270 — the highest among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg — from $100, which had previously been the lowest price target on the Street.
“We now fully embrace high-bandwidth memory (HBM) as a sustainable, separate growth vector, and we beleive we are in the early innings of a memory supercycle,” he wrote.
Separately, analysts at Evercore ISI also boosted their price target on Micron to $137 from $100.
IonQ soars after announcing “significant advancement in quantum chemistry simulations”
IonQ is ripping higher in early trading after the quantum computing company announced “a significant advancement in quantum chemistry simulations.”
In particular, this demonstration, performed in collaboration with a major automotive manufacturer, was more accurate than classical computing in calculating “nuclear forces at critical points where big changes occur.”
Knowing how different compounds behave and respond to force has potentially very useful commercial applications because it helps us discern how those materials can best be designed and utilized for different purposes.
“This research demonstrates a clear path for quantum computing to enhance chemical simulations that are foundational to decarbonization technologies,” said Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO. “Our work goes beyond academic benchmarks. It demonstrates a practical capability that can be integrated into molecular dynamics workflows used across pharmaceuticals, battery, and chemical industries.”
IonQ is the most commercially advanced pure-play quantum computing company, generating over $52 million in revenues over the past 12 months, well more than D-Wave Quantum, Rigetti Computing, and Quantum Computing combined.
Now, is this the reason why IonQ (and its peers) are on a tear today? Maybe. There’s a big rebound in most speculative pockets of the market after Friday’s tariff threat induced a tumble.
At the very least, this is a useful excuse. Traders have been exceedingly happy to bid up shares of quantum computing companies on their long-term potential, often (ironically) through short-term call options.
Rocket Lab may be “alternative to SpaceX in the making,” says Morgan Stanley
Rocket Lab surged early Monday after Morgan Stanley analysts lifted their price target on the stock to $68 from $20, making them the high bidder among analysts covering the popular, but still money-losing, commercial space launch company.
The $68 target — right around where the shares are currently trading — is the highest among the 17 analysts tracked by FactSet.
And while Morgan Stanley analysts couldn’t bring themselves to upgrade the stock to a “buy,” leaving their rating at “equal weight,” they gave the stock a pretty bullish review, writing:
“We see a potential alternative to SpaceX in the making. The company is mirroring SpaceX’s footsteps in a number of respects, including scaling up rocket lift capacity, embracing booster reusability, and ultimately moving out on a constellation of its own (ala Starlink). Meanwhile, successive Electron launches and a growing manifest reinforce the company’s already-impressive track record. The market, in our view, is now taking valuation cues for RKLB from SpaceX’s implied valuation, which has grown from a reported ~$100bn at the end of 2021 to ~$400bn today.”
Rocket Lab shares have emerged as a favorite of retail traders this year, thanks to their gain of more than 150%. The stock is up roughly 600% over the last 12 months.
Broadcom soars after announcing deal with OpenAI to deploy 10 gigawatts of AI accelerators starting next year
Broadcom is spiking in early trading after the chip designer announced that it’s collaborating with OpenAI to develop and deploy 10 gigawatts of custom AI accelerators for use across data centers.
The companies said these racks and systems will start to be in service in the second half of 2026 and fully completed by the end of 2029.
Broadcom soared during its Q3 earnings call when CEO Hock Tan said the chip designer booked a major new customer that the Financial Times later reported was OpenAI. However, CNBC is reporting that Charlie Kawwas, Ph.D. and president of the semiconductor solutions group for Broadcom, indicated that OpenAI is not that mystery $10 billion buyer.
There were no details on financial terms in today’s press release, though The Wall Street Journal says the new agreement is worth “multiple billions of dollars,” citing people familiar with the matter.
“The racks include Broadcom’s end-to-end portfolio of Ethernet, PCIe and optical connectivity solutions, reaffirming our AI infrastructure portfolio leadership,” said Kawwas in the press release.
“By building our own chip, we can embed what we’ve learned from creating frontier models and products directly into the hardware, unlocking new levels of capability and intelligence,” said Greg Brockman, OpenAI cofounder and president.
The calendar is telling me it’s fall, but it really feels like OpenAI announcement season. Just last week, the ChatGPT developer struck a megadeal that sees it get an up to 10% stake in Advanced Micro Devices, rounding out a series of massive commitments that will require the venture to find (and burn) much more cash.
Rare earth stocks soar after JPMorgan announces $10 billion investment plan in sector, continued expectations of US government involvement
Suppliers of the critical materials known as rare earths, at the heart of the latest trade tensions between China and the US, soared early Monday after JPMorgan announced a $10 billion plan to focus on financing and taking direct stakes in companies.
Companies such as American Battery Technology Co., United States Antimony Corp., USA Rare Earth, and Critical Metals were all posting double-digit gains before the start of trading in New York, putting them near the top of the small-cap Russell 2000 (iShares Russell 2000 ETF).
The upswing came as JPMorgan announced a new, 10-year effort to “finance and invest in industries critical to national economic security and resiliency,” including $10 billion in venture capital and direct equity investments in companies in sectors like “critical minerals.”
Rare earth stocks also jumped Friday, after President Trump reignited trade worries with a Truth Social post suggesting some traders were betting on further government involvement in the sector after Uncle Sam recently took a stake in MP Materials.
Over the weekend, a Financial Times story on rare earths was tonally consistent with that view, with an unnamed former defense official telling the pink paper, “They’re definitely looking for more, and they’re doing it in a deliberate and expansive way, and looking for new sources of different ores needed for defense products.”
The upswing came as JPMorgan announced a new, 10-year effort to “finance and invest in industries critical to national economic security and resiliency,” including $10 billion in venture capital and direct equity investments in companies in sectors like “critical minerals.”
Rare earth stocks also jumped Friday, after President Trump reignited trade worries with a Truth Social post suggesting some traders were betting on further government involvement in the sector after Uncle Sam recently took a stake in MP Materials.
Over the weekend, a Financial Times story on rare earths was tonally consistent with that view, with an unnamed former defense official telling the pink paper, “They’re definitely looking for more, and they’re doing it in a deliberate and expansive way, and looking for new sources of different ores needed for defense products.”
StubHub soars as Wall Street initiates largely positive coverage
StubHub jumped over 6% in early trading Monday morning after analysts began rolling out coverage on the ticketing platform, following the end of its so-called post-IPO “quiet period.” The stock has had a rocky start since debuting in September, but Wall Street sees room for improvement as demand for live events stays strong.
Here’s how analyst calls stacked up:
Bank of America: Buy | Price target $25
JPMorgan: Buy | Price target $24
BMO Capital: Buy | Price target $30
Evercore ISI: Buy | Price target $29
Mizuho: Buy | Price target $24
Global automakers sink as Trump implies the trade war is heating back up
Shares of several major automakers with large footprints in China sank on Friday following President Trump’s threats to massively increase tariffs on goods from China in response to what he called “hostile” export controls.
Chinese EV titans like BYD, Nio, and XPeng plunged after Trump’s Truth Social post, along with automakers like Tesla and Stellantis that heavily rely on revenue from sales in the country.
EV makers like Rivian and Lucid, which source raw materials and or batteries from China, were also down following the post.
The move comes at a rocky time for US automakers, with the end of the EV tax credit expected to heavily ding sales for the rest of the year.
Rare earth stocks spike after Trump says China should not be allowed to hold the world “captive” on rare earths
Shares of rare earth metal producers soared Friday after the president published a Truth Social statement decrying what he describes as Chinese efforts to control the pipeline of the sought-after minerals.
Companies such as MP Materials — which the US government recently took a stake in — USA Rare Earth, and Critical Metals jumped, suggesting investor bets that the the administration could play a bigger role in ensuring US access to rare earths.
Companies such as MP Materials — which the US government recently took a stake in — USA Rare Earth, and Critical Metals jumped, suggesting investor bets that the the administration could play a bigger role in ensuring US access to rare earths.
US stocks sink after Trump says he’s considering a “massive increase” of tariffs on Chinese imports
More tariffs might be back on the menu.
US stocks reversed lower after US President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he is considering a “massive increase” on tariffs of Chinese imports.
Trump said he’s mulling higher levies as well as “many other countermeasures” because of “the hostile ‘order’ that they have just put out” restricting the export of rare earth metals. He also seemingly canceled his upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea in two weeks, saying “now there seems to be no reason to do so.”
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF, Invesco QQQ Trust, and iShares Russell 2000 ETF all gave up early gains to fall more than 1%. A basket of stocks compiled by Goldman Sachs of US companies that have significant revenue exposure to China is off more than 2%.
Wafer fab equipment stocks Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA Corp, which all count China as their top market, are underperforming, as is iPhone seller Apple.
Chip stocks Advanced Micro Devices, Intel, Broadcom, and Nvidia are all getting hit on the news, as rare earths are needed components for semiconductor production. For Tesla, it’s a similar story given its footprint in China and the importance of rare earths for EVs.
There’s also a lot of plain old dumping of recent winners.
Super Micro Computer, Coinbase, and Robinhood Markets are among the biggest laggards since Trump’s post as investors cut risk.
(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)
The rare earth curbs are far from the only recent example of China stepping up its defense of domestic industry and resources. Qualcomm is the subject of an antitrust investigation, stringent checks of semiconductor shipments are reportedly in place as officials look to keep Nvidia’s chips from entering the country, and separate reporting indicates that US ships will be charged an escalating fee for docking at Chinese ports.
Oklo surges amid heavy activity in call options expiring today
The most valuable pre-revenues company listed in the US, nuclear energy company Oklo, is up double digits on Friday amid heavy call options demand.
Call volumes of 74,230 have already outstripped the 10-day average for a full session an hour into the trading day, and the top three contracts traded are all in options that expire today with strike prices of $150, $145, and $160.
The first two contracts have jumped from out of the money to in the money amid the surge. Volumes transacted on the “ask” side (the lowest price a seller is willing to accept) are running more than 2x higher than on the “bid” side (the highest price a buyer is willing to pay), indicating motivated buyers in the C$150s, the most active contract.
Overall, options activity is firmly tilted to the bull side, with more than two calls trading for every put:
Nuclear energy companies have emerged as retail trader favorites as the power-hungry AI boom continues.
“A new $350 billion US nuclear build cycle could raise capacity 60% by 2050, sparking a renaissance to meet surging energy demand from AI and data centers,” wrote Bloomberg Intelligence senior analysts Rob Barnett and Scott Levine. “Energized by bipartisan policy support, the nuclear industry is positioned as a critical solution for securing and decarbonizing America’s power grid for the AI era.”
RocketLab jumps, putting it on pace for another all-time high, after new launch deal
Retail favorite Rocket Lab jumped, putting it on track for another record high, after announcing a deal to provide two new launches for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency from its New Zealand launch complex.
The launches, one in December and one in 2026, will demonstrate new satellite technologies developed by Japanese, university, and research institutions.
Shares of Rocket Lab, which has never turned an annual profit and isn’t predicted to until 2027, have been on a remarkable trajectory, rising more than 150% this year and nearly 600% over the last 12 months.
The run-up implies growing expectations for Rocket Lab’s current focus: getting its larger Neutron rocket — a potential competitor to SpaceX’s dominant Falcon-9 — launched by the end of the year.
If successful, company leaders say, Neutron — which can put larger satellite constellations into orbit — should position Rocket Lab well in the growing business of selling services like consumer broadband from networks of satellites rather than terrestrial towers. Other services-from-space stocks like Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile have also posted giant gains this year.
Shares of Rocket Lab, which has never turned an annual profit and isn’t predicted to until 2027, have been on a remarkable trajectory, rising more than 150% this year and nearly 600% over the last 12 months.
The run-up implies growing expectations for Rocket Lab’s current focus: getting its larger Neutron rocket — a potential competitor to SpaceX’s dominant Falcon-9 — launched by the end of the year.
If successful, company leaders say, Neutron — which can put larger satellite constellations into orbit — should position Rocket Lab well in the growing business of selling services like consumer broadband from networks of satellites rather than terrestrial towers. Other services-from-space stocks like Planet Labs and AST SpaceMobile have also posted giant gains this year.
Levi Strauss tops Q3 estimates but stock unravels as tariffs weigh on margin outlook
Levi’s fell about 9% Friday morning after the denim giant topped Q3 estimates but warned of margin pressure tied to tariffs.
The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.34, above Wall Street’s forecast of $0.31, while revenue rose 7% to $1.54 billion, also beating expectations. Levi’s raised its full-year EPS outlook to $1.27 to $1.32, up slightly from prior guidance, and now expects revenue growth of roughly 3%, up from 1% to 2%.
Still, after a big run-up this year, investors appear to be letting some air out of the rally. The company cautioned that new US tariffs on goods from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Pakistan, could hit fourth-quarter gross margins by about 130 basis points.
Elsewhere, JPMorgan lifted its price target on Levi’s to $33 from $23 and maintained an “overweight” rating, citing higher average purchase values and growing popularity among younger shoppers.
Even with the today’s earnings dip, Levi shares are still up about 29% this year.
IonQ dips after raising $2 billion through a creative sale of stock and warrants
IonQ is falling in early trading after announcing plans to raise nearly $2 billion from the sale of stock and warrants to Heights Capital Management, an affiliate of Susquehanna that focuses on investing in high-growth firms.
The terms of the financing may look pretty odd, at first blush.
IonQ is selling:
16.5 million shares at $93 — a 20% premium to its closing price on Thursday!
Pre-funded warrants at $93 per share that enable the buyer to accumulate another ~5 million shares within seven years.
An additional set of seven-year warrants that allow for the purchase of an additional ~43 million shares, which are exercisable at a price of $155 — double where the shares closed on Thursday!
What’s going on here: Heights Capital is paying IonQ more than its shares are worth right now in order to get cheaper optionality to the stock going up over 20% or more than doubling over the next seven years.
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is a major bet by Heights Capital — if the stock does cross the $155 threshold within the next seven years, exercising all of the (now profitable) warrants would cost ~$6.7 billion.
There’s some definite ingenuity in the financing, but thanks to OpenAI, this isn’t even the oddest arrangement we’ve seen this week.
While quantum computing is a white-hot investment theme, pure-play companies are in relatively early stages of their commercialization, and as such, require some injections of capital from time to time. Earlier this week, Quantum Computing tumbled after announcing plans to raise $750 million through a private placement of stock.
China steps up customs crackdown on Nvidia chips, launches antitrust investigation into Qualcomm, and plans special port fees on US ships
Beijing is doubling down on protectionism ahead of a planned Xi Jinping and Donald Trump meeting set for later this month.