The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1250 ET - Netflix is well-positioned no matter how its merger saga with Warner Bros. ends, says Benchmark analyst Daniel Kurnos. "NFLX + WBD would be a dominant force in the marketplace, especially from a pricing and engagement perspective, while losing WBD would seem to mollify investors who do not care for the deal given media's poor transaction track record," Kurnos says. Neither a Warner with merger Paramount nor with Netflix would likely pass regulatory scrutiny, which "would also suit NFLX just fine in the long run," Kurnos says. In the short-term, though, Netflix shares could fall if the company is forced to up its bid. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1238 ET - Merck & Co. CEO sees the opportunity for more than $5 billion in revenue from the company's acquisition of Cidara, which has an antiviral influenza treatment known as CD388 in Phase 3 studies. Rob Davis notes the severity of the current flu season, as well as a population of 85 million people who are high risk or immunocompromised and 25 million people over 65. "Just going after that population, which is where we're starting, is a huge opportunity," Davis says. "We're looking at this as a greater than $5 billion opportunity for us as we look forward and I think this could be one of those assets that still surprises to the upside," he says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1219 ET - Credit cards were divisive on JPMorgan's earnings call. On one hand, the bank was upbeat about the prospects for its Apple Card program, Truist analysts say in a research note, pointing to expectations for the program to eventually add more than $20 billion in total card balance. But on the other, JPMorgan says the potential cap on credit-card interest rates would result in dramatic changes to services provided on its cards. Specifically, the analysts say, management noted a cap would result in broad-based and extensive reductions in credit availability, with potential negative knock-on impacts to consumer health and economic growth. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1215 ET - Merck & Co. CEO Rob Davis is bullish about the company's ability to drive growth once the company's exclusive rights to Keytruda expires in 2028, he said Monday at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. "My confidence that we will see it be a shallow fall followed by growth in a few years is quite high," Davis says. Over the next 18 to 24 months, the company is targeting 30% to 40% adoption of Keytruda Qlex, an injectable form of Keytruda which received FDA approval in September. "That would put us out about the period of time, depending on what happens with the LOE, to be in a situation that we have that at the time that we lose exclusivity," Davis says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1204 ET - Vail Resorts' challenging snow conditions have continued, with average national snow levels tracking below last year's levels in both November and December, UBS analysts say in a note. Conditions have varied by region, though, with resorts in the west and the Rockies mostly seeing snowfall below historical levels, while those in the northeast, midwest and mid-Atlantic regions experiencing slightly better conditions year-over-year, the analysts say. At this time last year, Vail's resorts had seen a relatively good start to the season, especially in western regions, the analysts say. (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)
1138 ET - Five Below generated nearly unprecedented growth at the end of 2025 and its success is unlikely to end anytime soon, UBS analysts say. "We think the retailer will continue to generate outsized demand next year," the analysts say. "We don't think it's pulling forward its potential gains. Rather, it's building a base and setting up for further potential upside." The company has opportunities to improve its marketing via social media and email, expand into other age cohorts, grow its product assortment and chase trends better. "We think the stock's upside should be driven by continued upward estimate revisions and higher valuation," the analysts say. (nicholas.miller@wsj.com)
1133 ET - Merck & Co. CEO Rob Davis sees the potential for "multi tens of billions of dollars" in acquisitions, joking that his CFO "won't let me" during a talk at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference on Monday. "I would look at it differently and say we are not limited from a balance sheet," Davis said. "It's more, where do we see strategic opportunity." His remarks come shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported that Merck is in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines in a deal valued around $30 billion. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1122 ET - Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel doesn't want his company to waste the head start it has in developing a combined flu and Covid-19 vaccine. Bancel said Monday at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference that he's planning for European approval this year with a 2027 launch, and a U.S. launch in 2028. "We're going to really use that being the first in the market, of course, to build a lot of brand equity," he says. Key to this plan is mNEXSPIKE, the Covid-19 component of the vaccine, which Bancel has a higher efficacy than Moderna's prior Spikevax vaccine, alongside a high-efficacy flu component. "We're going to be basically coming to markets with best-in-class product," he says. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1118 ET - The Pentagon's $1 billion investment into L3Harris Technologies' missile business is a positive development for the company, Vertical Research Partners analysts say in a research note. "We could see other U.S. defense contractors looking to pursue such an approach," they write. Still, questions about the agreement remain. "What we don't know is whether the Defense Department actually has the authority to make this kind of investment, and if it would need Congressional approval," the analysts say. And it remains to be seen whether a company specializing in the production of rocket and missile components will be fully valued by shareholders, as the businesses are generally a smaller part of a much bigger corporation. L3Harris shares gain 2.8%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1113 ET - Moderna is eyeing international markets, especially in Europe, as the company works to hit a breakeven point in 2028, CEO Stéphane Bancel said Monday at the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference. Bancel points out that Pfizer's partnership with the European Union expires at the end of the year, giving Moderna a window to capture a share of the high-volume Covid-19 vaccine market in Europe. If Moderna is able to get European approval for a flu-plus-Covid combo vaccine in 2026, that would also be a positive catalyst for sales growth, he says. The company is also looking to build on partnerships with governments in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Brazil as it looks to drive geographic diversity, Bancel says.(elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1110 ET - December inflation data show electricity costs rose 6.7% in 2025 compared with overall consumer price increases of 2.7%, which the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition attributes to lack of competitive bidding for transmission projects. "Without competition there is no incentive for a monopoly utility to reduce their costs. Transmission competition has been shown to reduce costs by as much as 40%," ETCC head Paul Cicio says in a note. "The latest CPI numbers illustrate that electricity price inflation continues to be one of the top drivers of costs harming American consumers." (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)
1025 ET - Oil prices notch further gains after President Trump urged Iranians to keep protesting and said "help is on its way," stoking fears of rising tensions and potential supply disruptions. Brent crude is up 2.6% to $65.54 a barrel, while WTI rises 2.7% to $61.13 a barrel. Trump also said in a Truth Social post he canceled meetings with Iranian officials. "Betting markets are speculating on a U.S. military strike against Iran," Commerzbank's Carsten Fritsch says. "This could also target the oil infrastructure in order to deprive the regime of its oil sales revenues." However, if Tehran's regime were to be overthrown, U.S. sanctions would likely be lifted and Iranian oil output could surge back to its full potential since the country isn't constrained by OPEC+ production quotas, the analyst says. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 13, 2026 12:50 ET (17:50 GMT)
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