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US stocks end a down week with a gain

An up day but a down week for the benchmark US stock index.

Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa

US stocks shook off their midweek slump with a strong finish on Friday, as the S&P 500 notched a 0.6% gain, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a nearly 1% gain.

However, the benchmark US stock index posted a negative week, as was prophesied by the calendar.

Every S&P 500 sector ETF was positive on the day, with utilities, consumer discretionary, materials, and healthcare all up at least 1%.

Gains on the day were led by Electronic Arts, which soared nearly 15% following a Wall Street Journal report that the video game giant is nearing a roughly $50 billion deal to go private. Shares of rival Take-Two also popped 4.5%. Declines were led by Oracle, which dipped 2.7%.

Shares of Boeing jumped 3.6% following a report that the plane maker could soon face fewer obstacles in delivering its aircraft to customers.

Tesla climbed 4% as Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives hiked his price target on the stock to $600 from $500, saying investors are “underestimating the transformation underway at the company” regarding AI.

Ford and GM rose 3.4% and 1.1%, respectively, with both stocks trading at 52-week highs as investors pile into gas-powered US automakers with the looming end of the EV tax credit and the Trump administration’s potential repeal of vehicle emissions standards.

GameStop moved 4.6% higher as the company offers promotions to boost interest for its North American launch of the Mega Evolution set of the “Pokémon Trading Card Game.”

Intel jumped 4.4% following a Wall Street Journal report that the chipmaker approached TSMC about potential investments or manufacturing partnerships, as well as a separate WSJ report on potential Trump administration plans to boost domestic chip production.

Crocs rose 6.6% as the footwear company’s HeyDude brand unveiled a new marketing effort starring actress Sydney Sweeney for its Austin Lift shoe line.

Shares of Restoration Hardware slid 4.3% after President Trump announced 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and 30% tariffs on upholstered goods. Peers Wayfair and Williams-Sonoma also initially dipped on the news but later reversed losses.

Shares of bitcoin miner and AI compute power provider IREN slumped 9.6% after JPMorgan analyst Reggie Smith downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “neutral,” marking the first sell rating for the stock.

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Luke Kawa
44m
Beyond Meat tumbles as CEO blames American society for its business struggles after issuing weak sales outlook

The CEO equivalent of flipping over the table when board game night isn’t going well.

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Max Knoblauch & David Crowther & Luke Kawa

Nike craters after issuing weak revenue guidance

Sportswear kingpin Nike is tumbling on Wednesday morning after saying it doesn’t expect to grow sales this year.

On its fiscal Q3 earnings call, management said that revenue is expected to drop 2% to 4% in the current quarter, and that overall they “expect revenues to be down low-single-digits versus the prior year, with gains in North America offset by declines in Greater China.” That's a disappointment to analysts, who were anticipating 2% growth in Q4, and even more in the latter stages of the year, per Bloomberg.

Nike’s Q3 sales in China — where the company earns about 15% of its revenue — fell 7% to $1.62 billion. The company had issued weak guidance for this quarter considering continued softness in the region. That’s its seventh straight quarter of sales declines in the market. While this quarter’s was decline was less than feared, management warned that more pain is in the offing.

Nike’s turnaround effort “is complex work, and parts of it are taking longer than I'd like,” said CEO Elliott Hill.

Nike’s fiscal Q3 results (the three months ended February) were solid at the headline level:

  • Earnings of $0.35 per share, comfortably above the Wall Street consensus of $0.29 per share compiled by FactSet.

  • $11.28 billion in total revenue, roughly in line with the $11.26 billion estimate.

But the gloomy sales outlook has Wall Street analysts souring on the stock:

  • JPMorgan downgraded the shares to “neutral” from “overweight” and cut its price target to $52 from $86.

  • Citi reduced its target price to $53 from $65,

  • Stifel lowered its price target to $56 from $65,

  • Truist reduced its price target to $57 from $69, and

  • Barclays cut its target price to $67 from $73.

Nike shares are trading near decade lows this month, as tariffs continue to weigh on profits and shipping costs rise amid the war with Iran. As of Tuesday’s close, the stock was down 17% year to date.

Luke Kawa, Tasha Matsumoto
17h
Stocks end worst quarter since 2022 with best day since May

Optimism that the end of the war may be near sent stocks surging.

Group of bulls being herded
Max Knoblauch

Oil-sensitive travel stocks pop following Iran state media reporting on potential war resolution

Travel stocks are surging on Tuesday as oil prices fall following reports from Iranian state media that President Masoud Pezeshkian said the country has “the necessary will to end this war,” but would only do so with guarantees that “prevent the recurrence of aggression.”

The war has sent oil prices and refining margins surging this month, causing airlines and cruise lines to cut profit forecasts despite reported high demand.

Following Tuesday’s update, shares of the big four US airlines (Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines) all climbed, along with smaller rivals including JetBlue. US airlines have stopped fuel hedging in recent years, increasing their exposure to upward swings in oil prices.

Cruise stocks also rallied, with Carnival and Norwegian up more than 6% and Royal Caribbean up about 5%.

markets
J. Edward Moreno

The FDA is expected to lift restrictions on certain peptides, the NYT reports

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to lift restrictions on certain peptides, allowing the experimental, often injectable substances to be sold by compounding pharmacies, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The potential move was previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, and teased by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in late February.

Peptides have boomed in popularity recently, with search interest for “peptides” surpassing “ozempic” this month. Many of them are currently understudied and not approved for human use, a rule consumers are able to bypass by purchasing them from suppliers that sell them for, ostensibly, research purposes only.

As reports of the FDA changing its stance of peptides mount, consumer health companies like Hims & Hers and Superpower have been getting ready to roll out their peptide offerings as soon as they get the FDA's blessing.

The peptide gold rush: How impending deregulation could supercharge a shadow industry

The peptide gold rush: How impending deregulation could supercharge a shadow industry

Peptides have boomed in popularity recently, with search interest for “peptides” surpassing “ozempic” this month. Many of them are currently understudied and not approved for human use, a rule consumers are able to bypass by purchasing them from suppliers that sell them for, ostensibly, research purposes only.

As reports of the FDA changing its stance of peptides mount, consumer health companies like Hims & Hers and Superpower have been getting ready to roll out their peptide offerings as soon as they get the FDA's blessing.

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