The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1340 ET - Investors appear to significantly undervalue Under Armour, which remains "one of the world's best known and liked athletic wear brands," UBS analysts say in a note, pointing to recent survey. As a result, Under Armour's brand name belongs in the same class of brands like Lululemon, Jordan, Adidas, Puma, On, Hoka, Skechers and New Balance, the analysts say. Of those brands that are publicly traded, the average market cap as standalone entities is about $19 billion, compared to just $2.1 billion for Under Armour, they say. "We're not saying UAA is worth $19B, but rather the valuation differential between UAA and its competitors is far too wide in our view," they say. Under Armour stock's valuation should increase as sales growth in North America improves, they say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1308 ET - If the capture of Venezuela President Maduro leads to a larger change in control of the country that allows for a return of U.S. oil majors it could lead to higher production in three to five years and have negative implications for oil prices, BMO Capital Markets' Randy Ollenberger says. And that would be a blow for Canadian heavy crude price differentials, even as it strengthens the case for an oil export pipeline to Canada's west coast, the analyst says. Venezuela holds the largest proved oil reserves in the world, and the majority is heavy oil that has similar refining characteristics to Canadian oil sands output. A revitalized Venezuelan energy industry could be bad for Canadian producers that have been able to capture market share lost by Venezuela due to U.S. sanctions and a lack of investment, Ollenberger says. (robb.stewart@wsj.com; @RobbMStewart)
1305 ET - Oracle's stock could bounce back this year, so long as investors' broader concerns around OpenAI reverse, UBS analysts say in a note. Oracle's shares sold off in 4Q, due in part to worries around OpenAI's ability to meet its commitments with Oracle and other tech partners, the analysts say. That means any significant re-rating in Oracle shares this year must come from further optimism in OpenAI, they say. "In our view there are several paths for this to occur in 2026," they say, pointing to potential for a large OpenAI funding round, a material OpenAI model improvement or a tempering of the deceleration in ChatGPT usage metrics. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1254 ET - Oracle is poised to significantly accelerate growth, which should help Wall Street's deteriorating confidence in the company to turn, UBS analysts say in a note. "There is nothing like a marked growth rate acceleration to quiet investor concerns," the analysts say. Even when discounting Oracle's revenue guidance, which forecasts growth will accelerate from 16% in fiscal 2026 to 33% and 46% in the following years, the company is "just one quarter into what could be the biggest growth acceleration story in all of tech," they say. The narrative around Oracle could also change with increased confidence in the ramp up in Abilene data center capacity and in lenders' appetite to fund the AI build out, as well as further transparency from Oracle about its financing needs, they say.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1156 ET - Doximity's underperformance in stock price since October is a sign of substantial upside potential, Morgan Stanley analysts write in a note. "We view DOCS as a coiled spring for a material move higher on any positive developments," they write, naming the health technology firm as a top battleground stock for 2026. There's been negative sentiment from investors around an apparent deceleration in growth in the fiscal third quarter and the threat of losing market share to OpenEvidence. But the analysts see space for both companies to succeed, and advise against overlooking solid growth on a full-year basis, suggesting strong business fundamentals. "This is the best setup we've seen on the long side in a couple of years," they write. Shares are up 3.2% to $44.68.(elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1148 ET - Agricultural export sales for the week ended Dec. 25 were disappointing overall, "although that's not unheard of this time of year," Arlan Suderman of StoneX says in a note. The U.S. Agriculture Department reported wheat export sales of 95,400 metric tons, corn export sales of 756,400 tons and soybean export sales of 1.18 million tons. The department's Thursday report "should get the agency caught up following the partial government shutdown in October and November," Suderman adds.(anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1140 ET - Deckers Outdoor's Hoka business continues to gain momentum with consumers as one of the world's fastest growing footwear brands, UBS analysts say in a note. Hoka's brand awareness has jumped to 20% from 4% in the last five years, and still has room to grow, given it is much less widely known than competitors like Nike, Under Armour and Lululemon, the analysts say, citing survey data. The brand should gain market share this year as brand awareness continues to rise, setting up for strong sales growth and earnings beats that boost Deckers' stock, they say. They forecast Hoka's sales will grow at an average of 13% annually over the next four years, surprising skeptical investors who doubt it can deliver a double-digit average growth rate, they say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1139 ET - AutoZone's results have missed expectations in the past several quarters and higher costs will continue to pose earnings risk, say Mizuho analysts David Bellinger and Declan Kelley, who downgrade the stock to neutral. "The cost of doing business is moving structurally higher," the analysts say. "Planned unit growth acceleration and related infrastructure investments are occurring at a time of high parts inflation and questions around the durability of demand trends," they say. That makes it difficult to see a path to the double-digit percentage annual earnings growth AutoZone typically posts, they say. "We view Street estimates as currently misaligned and overly optimistic," the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1128 ET - President Trump's push to capitalize on Venezuelan oil reserves will force Canada to rethink its role as a supplier to Gulf Coast refineries, says Toronto commodities analyst Rory Johnston. "There's this kind of aching, creeping, kind of longer-term apprehension around Canada's competitiveness in the Gulf Coast market," says Johnston, head of the advisory firm Commodity Context. The bulk of West Canadian Select crude is refined in the US Midwest, but Johnston says up to 400,000 barrels a day are shipped to the Gulf Coast. Replacing those 400,000 barrels with Venezuelan heavy crude would weigh on WCS prices, Johnston says. Developments in Venezuela, and a push to expand exports to non-US markets, are likely to accelerate pressure on a new crude pipeline to the Pacific Coast, he adds. (Paul.Vieira@wsj.com)
1052 ET - U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, with years of experience building and optimizing refineries to handle heavy Canadian crude, stand to benefit in the event changes in Venezuela restore output of that country's heavy, sour oil, Siebert Financial's chief investment officer Mark Malek says in a note. Refining shares are sharply higher after the U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Heavy crude requires sophisticated refining capacity and massive capital investment, and companies like Valero, Phillips 66, Marathon Petroleum and Chevron have "a structural advantage that has been decades in the making," Malek says. Since heavy crude almost always trades at a discount to light, "if you can process it efficiently, that discount turns into profit," he adds. "Add Venezuelan barrels into that same ecosystem, but now under U.S. operational and security influence, and the advantage compounds." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1020 ET - Chinese competition is helping to hold European automakers' production volumes well below peak levels, analysts at J.P. Morgan write, as shares in the continent's auto sector fall. Lower exports from Europe to the rest of the world, higher demand for used cars within Europe, and the continuing impact of tariffs mean production in Europe is now running below sales, a trend not seen in the past decade, the analysts write. Automakers will look to collaborate or even merge to compete against Chinese rivals, the analysts add. Volkswagen falls 2.6%, while Renault and Mercedes Benz drop 2% and 2.3%, respectively. Porsche falls 1.85%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)
0959 ET - The immediate consequences of the U.S.'s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro are concentrated on the oil market, but the real economic impact is a medium-term issue, Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management's Benjamin Melman and Michael Nizard say in a note. An eventual easing of energy tensions could cause lower inflation and allow for lower interest rates, they say. "If minimal political stabilization were to emerge, combined with a gradual return of foreign investment, Venezuela could once again become a structurally disinflationary factor for the global economy," CIO Melman and Nizard, head of multi-assets and overlay, say. "A major geopolitical shock is not necessarily inflationary in the long term," they say. (emese.bartha@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 05, 2026 13:41 ET (18:41 GMT)
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