Markets
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Luke Kawa

Nasdaq 100 posts first record closing high since February



We’re so back.

The Nasdaq 100 ended Tuesday above its previous peak of 22,175.60 from February 19 to set a new closing record.

The tech-heavy gauge, which is tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, entered a short-lived bear market amid the breakdown of AI-geared momentum trades and the announcement of onerous tariffs earlier this year. That ended on April 8, thanks to the more than 20% gain from that time through early June after levies on imports were watered down or put on ice.

The AI trade has recovered, in accordance with Wall Street’s expectations. The DeepSeek-induced shock faded with hyperscalers doubling and tripling down on their massive capex plans and tech companies booking multibillion-dollar deals with entities in the Middle East as sovereign AI spending stepped up to offer more support for the boom.

Palantir is the best-performing stock in the index this year, with other prominent names like Micron, Netflix, Constellation Energy, and DoorDash also in the top 10.

The Nasdaq 100 is a teensy bit more expensive than it was at the time of its prior record high, but 12-month forward earnings expectations for the index are nearly back at a high and have risen by more than profit estimates for the S&P 500 year to date.

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Luke Kawa

United States Antimony soars after proposed acquisition of Australian miner Larvotto Resources

United States Antimony Corp. is up after revealing a proposal to purchase Australian miner Larvotto Resources in an all-stock deal.

US Antimony has already acquired 10% of the company in the open market.

Larvotto is planning on developing Australia’s largest deposit of antimony, a metalloid that’s used in ammunition, batteries, and certain semiconductor products. Antimony is not a rare earth, but is considered strategically important and its production has been dominated by China.

“Our proposal to combine with Larvotto reflects our deep commitment to build a world class industry player in the critical minerals space and our strong conviction in the strategic and cultural fit between the two organizations as well as our countries,” Chairman and CEO Gary Evans said. “We see this as a compelling opportunity for Larvotto shareholders to participate in the upside of a larger, more diversified group — one with financial strength, global reach, and top tier technical capabilities.”

US Antimony has rallied strongly in recent months as the US government began to accumulate equity positions in critical minerals producers and investors tried to identify future potential targets for government investment. Those gains kicked into high gear last week after JPMorgan announced plans to invest billions in critical minerals and other industries key to America’s economic security and resiliency.

William Blair analyst Neal Dingmann initiated coverage of USAC with an “outperform” rating on Monday, suggesting that the US government may also take a position in the firm, per Bloomberg.

markets
Max Knoblauch

Rivian drops on a downgrade and lowered price target from Mizuho amid weaker expected EV sales

Analysts are beginning to have doubts about US demand for EVs next year, following the expiration of the $7,500 tax credit.

Shares of Rivian dropped in premarket trading on Monday, following a downgrade of the stock from Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh from “neutral” to “underperform.” Rakesh also lowered his price target for Rivian from $14 to $10.

Looking ahead, Mizuho expects Rivian to deliver 60,000 vehicles in 2026. That’s about 38% above the EV maker’s current top target for this year, but still significantly below the 71,000 delivery consensus estimate of analysts polled by FactSet.

markets
Luke Kawa

Beyond Meat surges on heavy volume as retail traders position for a squeeze in the embattled plant-based meat company

Shares of Beyond Meat are soaring in early trading on Monday, with retail traders hoping for a turnaround — or more realistically, a powerful short squeeze — as the embattled plant-based meat producer scrambles to raise cash to protect its viability.

As of 7:15 a.m. ET, more money had changed hands trading the faux meat firm in the premarket than the likes of Apple, Microsoft, or Palantir.

Bloomberg Most Traded Stocks in US as of 7:15 a.m. ET
Source: Bloomberg

The stock cratered to an all-time low of $0.50 last Thursday after management completed a deal with nearly 97% of the holders of more than $1 billion in senior convertible notes due in 2027 (with a coupon of zero) to exchange those for $196 million in second lien notes due in 2030 (with a coupon of 7%) and more than 316 million shares, a massive dilution of existing shareholders that raised the company’s share count by more than 300%. Those noteholders are now far and away the biggest holders of the company’s equity.

A former Reddit user (who since appears to have been banned from the platform) with the handle capybaraSTOCKS appears to be at the genesis of this newfound wave of optimism surrounding the stock. The user has purportedly since moved to YouTube and says they own 4% of the company. They posted a video on Sunday explaining their thesis, including progress on the company reducing its debt load, its brand value, and the potential for a short squeeze.

“High community interest, social media buzz, and most importantly a near 500 million shares traded volume on Friday” suggest “Beyond is now entering meme stock territory,” per the video.

The stock was among the most highly shorted US companies heading into the month, with over half its shares sold short, per Bloomberg data. That number likely came down meaningfully in the short term thanks to the issuance of over 316 million shares as part of the aforementioned debt-for-equity-and-other-debt swap last week, which saw those who took the company up on its plans temporarily barred from transferring beneficial ownership or selling a large portion of the new shares.

Bull with Nose Ring

US stocks end volatile week on a positive note

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both ended well in the green, while the Russell 2000 suffered a loss.

Toby Bochan10/17/25
markets
Matt Phillips

Margins, and selling the news: analysts look to explain Oracle’s tumble

The somewhat counterintuitive tumble in Oracle shares continued into afternoon trading Friday, despite Wall Street analysts’ more or less favorable reaction to Oracle’s investor day presentation Thursday, where executives said the company’s AI cloud business would eventually sport margins of between 30% and 40%, far better than the figures reported by The Information back on September 7.

And yet, the stock is on its way to its worst day in the last six months. What gives?

Gil Lauria, who covers Oracle for D.A. Davidson & Co. — who has it at “hold” with a $300 price target — has a theory, telling Sherwood News:

“Investors are disappointed that the entire growth acceleration in Oracle is from the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business, and that Oracle expects the rest of the business to grow low single digits.

The other disappointment came from Oracle acknowledging that the GPU rental business only had 30-40% gross margins, far lower than the 80% gross margins for the rest of the business.”

Other analysts we’ve chatted with on background say they’re not convinced the margin story is the source of today’s slump, suggesting the also plausible explanation that the drop might just be a sign traders bought the stock ahead of the presentation to analysts on Thursday anticipating positive announcements, and now they’re selling simply selling the news.

Analysts generally like what they heard from Oracle, but shares are down

Analysts generally like what they heard from Oracle, but shares are down

Gil Lauria, who covers Oracle for D.A. Davidson & Co. — who has it at “hold” with a $300 price target — has a theory, telling Sherwood News:

“Investors are disappointed that the entire growth acceleration in Oracle is from the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business, and that Oracle expects the rest of the business to grow low single digits.

The other disappointment came from Oracle acknowledging that the GPU rental business only had 30-40% gross margins, far lower than the 80% gross margins for the rest of the business.”

Other analysts we’ve chatted with on background say they’re not convinced the margin story is the source of today’s slump, suggesting the also plausible explanation that the drop might just be a sign traders bought the stock ahead of the presentation to analysts on Thursday anticipating positive announcements, and now they’re selling simply selling the news.

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