The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1931 ET - The start of construction of NexGen Energy's Rook I uranium project in Canada could put the company in takeover crosshairs, suggests Shaw & Partners. Analyst Andrew Hines says NexGen is entering its next phase as a company. Construction brings a different form of risk and the market's attention will shift to execution, Shaw says. "It is also likely to see NexGen come under increasing scrutiny from strategic buyers," Shaw says. "Rook I is a world class asset that would fit into any major mining company's portfolio." Rook I has the potential to generate annual Ebitda of more than C$3 billion. That would make it one of the most profitable mines in the world, in any commodity, Shaw says. It retains a "buy" call on NexGen. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)
1806 ET - Australian stocks look set to pause their recent ascent after a mixed session for U.S. indices. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is up by 2.8% so far this week amid growing expectation that the Reserve Bank will hold interest rates next week. Yet ASX futures are down by 0.1% ahead of Thursday's session, suggesting that the benchmark index could ease as weakness in U.S. tech stocks offsets optimism about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The DJIA rose 0.5% to a record, but the S&P 500 slipped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.8%. Several ASX-listed companies are poised to report earnings Thursday, including News Corp-controlled property advertiser REA Group. News Corp is the parent company of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)
1459 ET - AMD's solid beat-and-raise in the second quarter wasn't enough to woo the market given high expectations for the stock, Benchmark analyst Cody Acree writes in a note. "We believe the reaction reflected a crowded long and a financial bar that had moved materially higher after AMD's Advancing AI event, Intel's stronger-than-expected report and a roughly 15% one-week gain in AMD shares," Acree writes. "Investors required a larger near-term surprise than AMD delivered." Still, Acree writes, the response should be understood as investor positioning rather than wobbles in the company's operating thesis. Shares fall 6.1%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1456 ET - Despite reporting beats on sales and earnings per share, Advanced Micro Devices shares are down 6%, after SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said his company would exclusively buy chips from Nvidia. The comments underscore AMD's fierce competition in the space, with Oppenheimer analysts writing in a note that the company may continue playing catch-up with Nvidia. "We see a competitive environment where NVDA maintains a clear performance lead and continues to push the goalposts forward with its annual cadence," the analysts write. "We remain on the sideline as AMD's AI efforts play out." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1353 ET - Despite SpaceX's 2Q results beating estimates across the board, the stock is down 10%, and is likely to stay quite volatile, Oppenheimer says in a note. The company's capital expenditures are likely to remain high to support the AI buildout, with about $400 billion in funding needed to break even, the analysts say. "Execution risk is high, but SPCX excels in this," they say. "We continue to expect extreme stock and operational volatility." (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1335 ET - The big monetization story from SpaceX's 2Q results is in AI and computing power, according to JPMorgan in a note. The company contracted another single customer to an additional $6.7B of cloud services revenue over 6 months, starting in October, the analysts say. Management believes it can exit 2026 with a December ARR of $100B-well above JPMorgan's previous 2027 revenue estimate of $75B, according to the analysts. While the compute targets imply a major pull-forward in capital expenditures, pressuring free cash flow, the company says it is generating payback on compute at around a year or less "likely much faster than the industry," the analysts say. "The step-up in compute capacity plus higher monetization suggests that SPCX could pull forward previously modeled AI revenue for 2028 of $100B+ to 2027," they say. SpaceX falls 10%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1255 ET - Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks says on CNBC that Foundayo--the company's recently launched once-daily GLP-1 pill--is expanding the market, not cannibalizing it even though it's offered at lower prices. "We're seeing about eight out of 10 new oral users are coming from people who have never used one of our brands in the injectable version," he says. At the same time, access to weight-loss treatments continues to expand, further increasing the total addressable market, Ricks says. These tailwinds help give Eli Lilly confidence to raise its revenue outlook to between $85 billion and $87 billion, from between $82 billion and $85 billion. Eli Lilly is up 3%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1251 ET - Eli Lilly has emerged as a leader in the GLP-1 space, with successful weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Zepbound driving results in the recent quarter. "But we're not just an obesity company," CEO David Ricks says on CNBC. "We're also building out a really strong oncology business, and our neuroscience franchise…is doing well." Ricks says he's pleased but not satisfied, as he looks to build value for the future with a strong pipeline as well as investments in business development. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1246 ET - Eli Lilly had a strong first half of the year, CEO David Ricks says on CNBC, blowing past Wall Street estimates in the latest quarter. "It's hard to think of a time we've ever been in a better position than this," he says. "We're participating in probably the largest pharmaceutical segment ever, and we're leading it." Second quarter revenue jumped 48% to $22.97 billion on the back of continued strong demand for its GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and topped expectations for $20.69 billion. Adjusted EPS of $8.38 were also ahead of forecasts for $6.01 a share. Eli Lilly boosts its outlook for the year. Eli Lilly climbs 4%. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
1224 ET - Bitcoin prices have been rangebound over the past month, trading within the range of $62,000 to $67,000, according to data from CoinGlass. Bitcoin doesn't appear to be reflecting the volatility seen in the stock market, which analysts are taking as a sign that the macroeconomic focus that cryptocurrencies have shown in the first half of this year may be eroding. "Without a strong catalyst, the market stays illiquid on low spot volumes," says analysts with Bitfinex in a note. Bitcoin is up 0.1%, to $64,388, while other major cryptocurrencies are mixed. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is flat and the Nasdaq falls 0.5%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
1221 ET - HSBC Global Research cut its target price on Saudi Aramco to SAR29.00 from SAR30.80, reflecting lower Brent price assumptions of $80 a barrel in 2026 and $65 thereafter. The bank reduced its 2026 net income and cash flow forecasts by 9%, while cutting its 2027 earnings and cash flow estimates by 11% and 9%, respectively. HSBC says uncertainty over the duration of the Strait of Hormuz disruption, the pace of production recovery and Aramco's premium valuation relative to international oil majors leaves the stock's risk-reward broadly balanced. It maintains a Hold rating. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)
1209 ET - RB Global's engine is humming along nicely as it continues to benefit from sustained auto-market share gains. Following another "beat and raise" 2Q, Raymond James analyst Steve Hansen notes an expanding long-term growth runway after gross transaction volume jumped 11% to $4.67 billion, prompting management to "nudge" full-year Ebitda guidance higher. While heavy equipment customer activity remained "cautious," RBA's auto business helped offset the softness by expanding its largest insurance partner to all 50 U.S. states. RBA outlines three "high-confidence durable tailwinds," including an active equipment replacement cycle, aging farmer demographics and generational farm transitions, and a significantly underpenetrated digital market.
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