The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. is a major win for Imax, as the cinema-technology company already has a strong partnership with the streaming giant, Benchmark analysts say. "Imax Stands to Benefit from Netflix's Deal for Warner Bros. -- Market Talk," at 10:59 a.m. ET left out that the analysis was from Benchmark.
1223 ET - Things are looking up for Praxis Precision Medicines after the biopharma company moved closer to filing a New Drug Application for ulixacaltamide and reported positive interim results for a trial of relutrigine. The pre-NDA meeting with the Food and Drug Administration on ulixacaltamide removes some regulatory risk, Oppenheimer analysts write in a note. The interim data on relutrigine could also advance the timeline for an NDA by about six months. "2026 represents a potentially transformational year for PRAX's long-term growth prospects," they write. Shares are up 30%.(elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1213 ET - Rising funds for exploration are a key driver for Major Drilling's outlook, says TD Cowen analyst Steven Green. In a report, the analyst says junior mining companies raised C$1.85 billion in 2Q/F26, slightly above 1Q levels, and small-cap gold and silver explorers are beginning to outperform large caps. "This metric is finally trending in the right direction, with seniors continuing to increase exploration budgets and junior financing picking up," he says. Green says that this sort of trend precedes larger equity issuance and busier exploration activity, suggesting more capital will flow into drilling projects that could benefit Major Drilling. Green expects funding to cascade down to juniors, creating stronger demand for drilling services. TD Cowen raised its target price to C$16. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1204 ET - The wheat crop in Ukraine is rebounding in size, says Andrey Sizov of SovEcon in a note. SovEcon forecasts that Ukraine's 2026 wheat production will be 24.6 million metric tons, nearly 7% higher than the 2025 harvest. It's the highest since 2022, which is when the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war started. "The projected increase reflects a larger winter wheat area and broadly favorable crop conditions," says SovEcon. CBOT wheat is down 0.9% in morning trade, while corn falls 0.5% and soybeans shed 0.7%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1159 ET - BRP beat 3Q expectations and provided stronger-than-anticipated guidance for the 4Q and fiscal 2027. Citi analyst James Hardiman says in a report that BRP's managed its inventory effectively despite tariffs, economic uncertainty, and aggressive promotions by competitors. The analyst says the Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo manufacturer's outlook can also offer upside relative to consensus expectations while remaining conservative, suggesting additional growth drivers beyond general industry improvement. This combination of disciplined execution and cautious guidance strengthens confidence in BRP's long-term story, he says. "We feel more confident in the BRP story as the outlook provided simultaneously charts a path to upside vs. the Street," Hardiman says. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1149 ET - Gold prices are broadly flat in evening trade, with New York futures at $4,244.70 a troy ounce. The Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge stayed under 3% in September, showing a moderate month-to-month rise in prices that is unlikely to prevent policymakers from considering an interest-rate cut at next week's meeting. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment improved slightly in December. "An interest rate cut is now considered a certainty again. However, the interest rate outlook is of greater interest," Barbara Lambrecht from Commerzbank. "If the FOMC members expect more interest rate cuts compared to September, this could push the gold price even higher, especially as interest rate cuts are hardly priced in for the first Fed meetings in the new year." (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
1145 ET - Capital and share buybacks were the main positives to come out of Toronto-Dominion Bank's 4Q results, CIBC Capital Markets' Paul Holden says. The analyst says the bank logged a good quarter, with arguably the best credit result of its peers, and left room for upside to EPS guidance. And where most other banks expect credit-loss provisions in fiscal 2026 to be relatively stead, Holden says TD's outlook implies a modest improvement. Holden says that TD shares are effectively trading in line with other big banks on a P/E basis, but at a discount on a capital-adjusted basis. CIBC maintains an outperform stance and a C$122 price target. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)
1144 ET - Shopify had a strong Black Friday-Cyber Monday performance, says CIBC analyst Todd Coupland. The analyst points to merchants that generated $14.6 billion in sales, up 27% year-over-year and 24% on a constant currency basis. This exceeded industry benchmarks, Coupland notes, including Adobe's 9.4% growth estimate, Klaviyo's 12%, and CIBC's own web traffic data showing 18% growth for Plus merchants. Coupland notes the brief Cyber Monday outage affected only a subset of users and doesn't overshadow sales momentum. "Our conclusion is the pullback in Shopify's share price since reporting a strong 3Q and guidance for 4Q presents a further buying opportunity," he says. Shares are down 2%. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1139 ET - Netflix's deal with Warner Bros raises some concerns, XTB's Kathleen Brooks writes in a note. The U.S. streaming company has agreed to buy Warner Bros. for $72 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. "Investors' lack of enthusiasm is down to multiple factors, including a track history of mega buyouts going sour and not delivering their promised returns," she says. Deals of this scale are complex, and flawless execution is crucial to realize their benefits, she adds. Investor sentiment is also weighed down by concerns that Netflix might need to sharply raise subscription prices to justify the deal, potentially slowing future revenue growth, she says. Some worry that gaining access to HBO and Warner Bros.'s catalog could reduce Netflix's incentive to invest in new, original content. Netflix shares are down 0.6% at $102.51. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
1134 ET - Toronto-Dominion Bank is heading the right direction but its valuation is looking stretched, RBC Capital Markets' Darko Mihelic reckons. The bank's 4Q adjusted EPS at C$2.82 was above the C$2.61 RBC forecast, largely thanks to higher-than-expected capital markets earnings. And Mihelic is positive on the outlook for earnings growth, ex-capital markets, which prompts forecasts for fiscal 2026 and 2027 to be lifted. Yet while RBC bumps up its target on TD's shares to C$163 from C$149, it sticks with a sector perform call. Mihelic says the bank is trading at 14 times expected 2026 core EPS, above the long-term average of 10.3 times and the peer average of 13.1 times. The shares are up 1.3% $121.60. (robb.stewart@wsj.com)
1100 ET - Netflix's deal with Warner Bros. isn't surprising but getting it cleared by regulators is likely to be more difficult, AJ Bell's Danni Hewson writes in a note. Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. for $72 billion after the entertainment company splits its studios and HBO Max streaming business from its cable networks. "Splashing out so much cash was never going to make the share price jump with delight, but if this deal can clear those significant regulatory hurdles quickly there are likely to be considerable cost savings to be made," she says. How much of those savings flow to subscribers and whether Netflix's pricing power grows will be closely scrutinized in the coming months, she adds. Netflix shares are up 0.3% at $103.50. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
1059 ET - Netflix's acquisition of Warner Bros. is a major win for Imax, as the cinema-technology company already has a strong partnership with the streaming giant. Netflix and Imax previously said the streamer's upcoming Narnia movie, directed by Greta Gerwig, will have a limited Imax theatrical release next year, before debuting on the streaming service for Christmas 2026. The deal won't change Imax's near-term outlook given Warner Bros. commitments through 2029. "Instead, the combination amplifies Imax's role as the premier premium theatrical partner for the world's largest streaming platform, positioning the company to benefit from more event-style releases, deeper filmmaker alignment, and structurally stronger economics as Netflix expands its theatrical ambitions," the analysts write. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 05, 2025 12:44 ET (17:44 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Comments