The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.
1442 ET - Apotex shrugs off concerns over potential U.S. tariffs on generic drugs, pointing to its massive Canadian manufacturing setup as a shield. CEO Jeff Watson says on the earnings call that Apotex benefits from "significant North American manufacturing footprint with the majority of our U.S. farm products produced in Canada," adding that management is actively lobbying trade officials on a "North American onshoring initiative that we share with both the U.S. and Canadian governments." Executive Christine Batur says there is a "unique recognition of Canada as part of the solution," giving the company a "good potential advantage" over global rivals. Apotex is also expanding its U.S. footprint through a new partnership with Halo Pharmaceutical to fund sterile injectable capacity in New Jersey. Shares are down 4.7% to C$35.32. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)
1430 ET - July fitness data points to continued stability at Planet Fitness, while supporting a bullish view on Life Time Group, according to Jefferies in a research note. Planet Fitness foot traffic rose around 1% in July, about the same as June, while web visits climbed around 33% last month following a 36% rise in June, the analysts say. "2Q showed the business holding its shape with the guide intact and no negative 2H comp," the analysts add. Life Time web traffic increased about 32% in July following a 31% rise in June, and Jefferies says its 2Q results showed continued productivity gains from pricing, mix improvement and higher member engagement. These trends, along with other positives, should provide "a long runway for earnings growth & multiple expansion," the analysts say. (anvee.bhutani@wsj.com)
1410 ET - Quantinuum's deal with Oracle is a vote of confidence for the quantum computing company's potential path toward commercialization, and contributed to a projection of revenue upside in 2027, Morgan Stanley analysts write in a note. Support from the U.S. government may serve as an additional tailwind, they write. But the central story is Quantinuum's path toward launching its next-generation quantum computers in 2027 and 2029, they write. "The quarter was encouraging, but it does not materially change the long term investment debate," the analysts write. Shares surge 24%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1322 ET - Quantinuum's deal to deploy its Helios quantum computer in an Oracle data center underscores a trend toward solutions that blend quantum computing with other technologies, Quantinuum CEO Raj Hazra tells CNBC. "Quantum computing is not going to be used in isolation," he says. The best use cases for quantum, he adds, are "only going to happen when you put quantum computing and high-performance computing and AI together." The integration at both the hardware and software levels gives customers and developers easy use of the quantum computer, and should "stoke usage, demand, and adoption of quantum computing," Hazra says. Quantinuum surges 23%. (elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1301 ET - CoreWeave is arguing that its scale means new deployments are no longer overshadowed by its "ramp drag," Stifel analysts say in a note, adding that the 2Q print provides early evidence for this view. "The company energized its largest-ever tranche of capacity and still expanded margin sequentially, which is the opposite of the pattern in F4Q25 and F1Q26," the analysts say, adding that the company expects sequential margin expansion through the rest of the year. Still, they note, the 2Q was boosted by a confluence of tailwinds, including growth in the higher-margin services layer, more shorter-duration and higher-priced contracts, and prior-generation fleet economics. CoreWeave surges 20%.(elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
1240 ET - Novo Nordisk's search for small deals to bolster its drug pipeline looks sensible, Berenberg analysts say. The Danish drugmaker's CEO seems bullish on the prospects for the obesity-pill market, but Novo Nordisk might need deals to add more oral medicines to maintain its lead, according to Berenberg. Novo Nordisk needs to diversify from semaglutide--the key ingredient in its blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy for diabetes and obesity--and its strong balance sheet allows it to do so, the analysts say. "As such, small molecule-focused business development seems likely," the analysts add. Berenberg cuts its recommendation on Novo Nordisk's stock to hold from buy, trimming its target price to 305 Danish kroner from 325 kroner. Shares close 2.5% lower at 299.50 kroner. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
1238 ET - Pandora's guidance raise and better-than-expected results for the second quarter will be well received by the market, RBC Capital Markets' Piral Dadhania says in a research note. The guidance raise from the Danish jeweler was partly driven by a technical adjustment due to the benefit from U.S. tariff refunds, but also reflects better underlying trends, the analyst says. The update pointed to a strong performance in the third quarter to date, with retail like-for-like sales in the mid-single-digit percentage range, helped by the timing of July inventory-clearance activities, the analyst adds. The positive results might help build confidence in the changes Pandora put in place under new CEO Berta de Pablos-Barbier, according to RBC. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)
1203 ET [Dow Jones]--Super Micro Computer has several things going for it that could make its share more attractive going forward, Wedbush analyst Matt Bryson says. He has a neutral rating on the stock for now, as he would like to see the company emerge from the Justice Department case against it tied to Chinese GPU server shipments, with new controls to minimize the likelihood of future transgressions. But the company has growth expectations that look reasonable, the analyst says. Its guidance for gross margins to moderate back toward 10% looks like an achievable bar, he says. And the company's valuation has also moderated back toward levels typical of server vendors, the analyst says. Shares rise 15% to $36.33. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
Don't count out old tech, CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator tells CNBC in an interview. The combination of Nvidia's chips and CUDA platform with CoreWeave's cloud and software means even old infrastructure can have an extended life at a premium price point, Intrator says, adding that a "vintage" 2020 architecture has been contracted through 2029. "Older generations of GPUs are going to have a longer useful life than anyone anticipated. They are going to contract for a longer term, and they are going to contract at a higher price," Intrator says. "We already are seeing that flow through our platform." The robust compute demand validates the company's business model, Intrator says. Shares are up 19%.(elias.schisgall@wsj.com)
Super Micro Computer saw a 25% to 35% delay in lower-margin xAI orders during its 4Q that caused it to miss revenue estimates and artificially inflated gross margin, Raymond James analysts say in a research note. The good news: that means that fiscal 1Q will see record revenue that should surge its total dollar profit even as gross margins come back to earth, the analysts say. Gross margins are still improving year over year, which implies that the company's product mix is boosting profitability, they say. It also suggests that smaller customers are becoming a bigger part of the mix and should yield more margin improvement over time, the analysts say. Shares rise 13% to $35.80. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
1151 ET - Super Micro Computer says new orders in its 4Q topped $60 billion, up from $39 billion as disclosed back in June. That means it got about $21 billion additional orders booked in the final weeks of the quarter, Raymond James analysts say in a research note. That acceleration is a stronger indicator of the company's forthcoming performance than the 4Q revenue miss, they say. It is also a sign that customers are largely unconcerned with the overhang from the Justice Department's case against the company in connection with export controls, the analysts say. Shares rise 14% to $35.96. (dean.seal@wsj.com)
1112 ET - Chili's is increasing its lead in casual dining, Brinker International CEO Kevin Hochman says on a call with analysts Wednesday. He credits the continued progress to the chain's ongoing turnaround efforts, which focus on long-term sustainable growth, improvements to food, service and atmosphere, and position the brand to be more relevant. "These experience improvements, coupled with our everyday value leadership--represented by a per-person average spend that is $3 to $4 below competition--are supporting a powerful flywheel of traffic and sales growth, margin expansion, and then reinvestment into our business," Hochman says. "We still have room to improve, but our progress gives us confidence that we will sustain traffic gains and repeat business." Shares are up 5.3%.
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