Wall Street Live — Friday, October 16

4:39 PM — Two biotech IPOs and an AI infrastructure stock rose sharply on their early trading days even as the Nasdaq tumbled on broader tech weakness.

4:04 PM — S&P 500 and Nasdaq plunge as AI-driven selloff weighs on stocks, marking their worst week since June.

3:40 PM — SoftBank is thinking of buying Allied Universal, the biggest U.S. security company, for as much as $18 billion. They want to use it to deploy AI robots for security work.

3:37 PM — RBC Capital says SpaceX’s (SPCX) recent stock recovery creates a good chance for Tesla (TSLA) to buy it. At a possible $480 per share (30% above Tesla’s price), Tesla owners would hold 48% of a $3.74 trillion combined company and gain SpaceX’s growth. RBC sees strong long-term benefits and synergies but knows of no actual deal.

3:30 PM — Novartis (NVS) has terminated a Phase 2 Fabhalta study in lupus nephritis due to strategic reasons. The decision does not affect existing approvals.

2:43 PM — Evercore says iPhone Duo pre-orders opened today and delivery dates quickly stretched to late January (~100 days) across regions and configs. They see it as a positive sign of solid demand for Apple (AAPL), though long waits could mean high demand or low supply. Pro/Pro Max waits are stable to shorter. Keeps Outperform rating and $380 target.

1:05 PM — Roth Capital's Leo Mariani upgraded OXY to Buy from Neutral with a $70 target. It has strong near-term oil upside from 49% oil production (including 18% priced above Brent) and 23% NGLs tied to oil prices. Unhedged from 2027 for full upside if crude rises. Most free cash flow goes to cutting debt to $10B soon.

12:39 PM — City Therapeutics (CTY) debuts at $23, up from its $18 IPO price.

12:17 PM — Craig-Hallum cut MDXH from Buy to Hold after another sales miss and dropping forecasts. They blame sales staff quitting after ending Resolve mdx. No clear recovery plan, and cash levels worry them again.

11:47 AM — Barclays analyst says a Tesla-SpaceX merger may be announced before Tesla’s annual meeting by Dec. 6. The market expects it for better integration and faster AI progress. A delay to late Oct or early Nov could make approval at the meeting harder.

11:38 AM — NiSource (NI) and Microsoft (MSFT) signed a 20-year energy agreement for a northwest Indiana data center. Microsoft will fund new generation, raising projected NIPSCO customer savings to $1.75 billion.

11:08 AM — Dan Ives says Nvidia’s (NVDA) recent dip is a buying chance, not a warning. Demand for its AI chips stays strong but limited by supply. He keeps a $300 target and expects ~70% growth as AI expands beyond chips.

11:00 AM — City Therapeutics (CTY) set to debut at $20.25, above its $18 IPO price.

10:20 AM — Fractyl Health (GUTS) shares fell about 50% after Revita met its six-month endpoint, as investors judged the weight-regain benefit too small. 

10:03 AM — Williams Trading cut Birkenstock (BIRK) to Sell from Hold and lowered its price target to $27 from $39. It says the company won’t hit its 2028 goals. Discounts are rising in Europe, and U.S. wholesalers are pulling back due to weak new products.

09:58 AM — JPMorgan keeps a Neutral rating on Tesla (TSLA) after its new Roadster reveal. The car mixes regular engineering with rocket tech. Production is now aimed for 2028, not the original 2020. Tesla shared no price, range or volume details. It will be Tesla’s only non-self-driving car.

09:54 AM — Ironwood (IRWD) named Tammi Gaskins as new CEO starting Jan. 1, 2027. She replaces Tom McCourt, who will retire after 17 years but stay on the board. Gaskins, currently Chief Commercial Officer, helped turn around the company’s LINZESS drug.

09:53 AM — Circle (CRCL), maker of the USDC stablecoin, plans to enter about 40 new emerging markets in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. CEO says blockchain is going mainstream as demand for digital dollars grows. USDC holds ~25% of the market.

09:51 AM — Citi started coverage of Mobileye (MBLY) with a Buy rating and $11 target. It calls Mobileye the global leader in vehicle vision for advanced driver assistance, with systems in 230 million cars.

09:49 AM — Emergent BioSolutions (EBS) said its CFO Richard Lindahl will retire on Dec. 31, 2026. Treasurer Frank Vargo will become interim CFO on Jan. 1, 2027. Lindahl will advise until March 31 for a smooth transition.

09:34 AM — Apple’s (AAPL) foldable iPhone Duo vanished within minutes of pre-order launch. Shipping has slipped to November and December.

09:32 AM — S&P 500 opens higher but remains on track for a weekly loss, while Dow and Nasdaq trade mixed.

09:05 AM — Piper Sandler’s Adam Maeder started iRhythm (IRTC) at Overweight with a $160 target. Shares are down YTD on worries about slowing 2H26 growth and Zio MCT, but Piper calls the concerns overblown. It sees iRhythm leading the growing long-term continuous monitoring market, with VitalPatch and Zio MCT offering big potential in mobile cardiac telemetry.

09:01 AM — Morgan Stanley named Howmet (HWM) its Top Pick in Commercial Aerospace, replacing FTAI Aviation (FTAI). The firm recommends buying the recent dip in GE and Howmet ahead of Q3 earnings, where it expects strong results and a low bar for upside surprises. It rates Howmet Overweight with a $35 target.

08:54 AM — BofA upgraded Fox Corp (FOX/FOXA) to Buy from Underperform, lifting its price target to $85 from $54. The firm points to the pending Roku deal (expected to close early 2027), ample revenue and cost synergies, and both companies’ strong momentum, plus Fox’s solid operating history, for a smooth integration.

08:43 AM — Barrington upgraded Opko Health (OPK) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $2.25 target after OPK’s $722M cash sale of remaining BioReference assets to Labcorp (LH). Analyst says the deal adds more value than the market reaction suggests; cash alone is about 95¢ a share.

08:41 AM — Raymond James upgraded Brinker (EAT) to Strong Buy from Outperform, with a $260 price target (down from $270). The firm expects a strong earnings beat and raise, is confident in its above-consensus forecasts, and sees clear levers to keep same-store sales growing at a mid-single digit pace or better.

08:39 AM — William Blair’s Alethia Young rated Tango Therapeutics (TNGX) Outperform. Tango’s CRISPR tech finds cancer weak spots from lost genes, creating vopi (PRMT5 drug for MTAP-deleted cancers). Analyst sees PRMT5 shining, with vopi leading RAS combos in pancreatic cancer.

08:32 AM — Travelers (TRV) beat Q3 estimates with strong underwriting and investment income, but shares fell on higher catastrophe losses and softer personal lines growth.

08:00 AM — Wall Street turns more positive on Semtech (SMTC) following raised Q3 outlook and a long-term plan targeting $12+ adjusted EPS by fiscal 2030.

07:39 AM — EMA’s CHMP upheld its rejection of Omeros’ (OMER) narsoplimab for TA-TMA after re-examination. The drug is approved in the U.S. as Yartemlea.

07:24 AM — Goldman Sachs upgrades Zeta Global (ZETA) to Buy from Neutral, lifting the target to $45 from $30. It calls Zeta a differentiated marketing platform combining customer data, campaigns, and measurement. The firm sees share gains from older tools as companies consolidate spend for AI, with upside to estimates driving more upside.

07:22 AM — Goldman Sachs downgrades Klaviyo (KVYO) to Neutral from Buy and cuts the target to $20 from $27. It sees unclear path to monetizing AI agents and new products, risking 2027 estimates. Small business software sales face challenges as Shopify (SHOP) strengthens its own tools.

07:20 AM — Alcoa (AA) posted Q3 profit of $483M ($1.81/share), more than double last year, with adjusted EPS of $1.82 beating estimates. Revenue rose 24% to $3.7B but slightly missed forecasts. Strong cash generation and higher production; full-year outlook held as acquisition advances.

07:15 AM — JPMorgan upgrades EchoStar (ECHO) to Overweight with a $144 target. Shares trade at a 40% discount to its estimated value, which looks too cheap. A $43B spectrum sale to AT&T (T) and SpaceX (SPCX) cleaned up the balance sheet. More value could come from SpaceX gains, extra spectrum sales, and share buybacks.

07:07 AM — Raymond James upgrades Capri Holdings (CPRI) to Strong Buy with a $20 target. Q2 should meet or beat expectations, with better results later in FY27 and sales turning up. Buyout rumors aren’t the main view but help support the stock.

07:05 AM — Macquarie starts coverage on aerospace and defense with Outperform ratings on AVAV, CACI, FTAI, LUNR, KRMN and KTOS. It sees a multi-year boom from rising government defense spending. These firms focus on autonomous systems and next-gen tech, set to gain from rearmament and space growth.

07:02 AM — Netflix (NFLX) content chief Bela Bajaria is leaving after nearly 10 years. Former Disney (DIS) exec Peter Rice takes over on Oct. 26. This follows Netflix cutting about 1,000 jobs. The stock is down over 20% this year.

07:00 AM — Jefferies analyst Brent Thill keeps a Buy rating and $150 target on CoreWeave (CRWV). He says the market overreacted to higher debt yields, which don’t match strong fundamentals. Short deals at ~$40M per MW more than offset higher funding costs, so the stock sell-off is overdone.

06:32 AM — Tesla’s (TSLA) next-gen Roadster uses SpaceX (SPCX) tech to hover and flip. Production starts in 2028; $50K deposits required.

06:08 AM — US earnings BMO: TRV, TFC, MTB, CFG, RF (financial/insurance).

06:04 AM — Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq poised to rise as Warsh’s remarks ease rate-hike concerns; Tesla (TSLA) shares climb.