Wall Street Live — Thursday, October 8

17:55 PM — CMS 2027 Medicare ratings restored Humana’s (HUM) largest plan to 4 stars. Alignment’s (ALHC) main California contract fell to 3.5, cutting bonus pay.

17:28 PM — SpaceX (SPCX) agreed to buy Grain’s nationwide 800 MHz licenses and won FCC approval for 15,000 Gen2 satellites, aiming at AT&T (T), Verizon (VZ), and T-Mobile (TMUS).

16:31 PM — Coca-Cola (KO) wants to sell Costa Coffee, the UK chain it bought for about $5.1 billion in 2018. An earlier sale failed after bids came in too low. Semafor says it is trying again; no price or buyer is confirmed yet.

16:16 PM — Starbucks (SBUX) said it's sticking to its current plan after a report it looked at buying Chipotle (CMG). The company is focused on boosting sales and improving cafes, and is confident about long-term growth.

"Our team is laser-focused on executing our Back to Starbucks strategy," Starbucks told The Wall Street Journal in a statement Thursday. "We have strong momentum and confidence in our long-term growth potential," the company said.

16:03 PM — Nasdaq closes sharply lower as tech stocks come under pressure, while the Dow ekes out a gain.

15:47 PM — Truist and TD Cowen say RVMD’s selloff is a buy. Shares fell after data showed Rasonque works better in KRAS G12V than G12D, but analysts say G12D results are still solid, survival benefits hold across mutations, and the edge is intact. Both keep Buy; Truist target $240.

15:40 PM — ADC Therapeutics (ADCT) raised $86.6M from investors, cut its senior loan to $50M due in 2029, and dropped a large royalty change-of-control fee. Cash is expected to last into 2029, giving more flexibility ahead of key ZYNLONTA trial data.

15:26 PM — Immunovant (IMVT) shares fell 4% to $30.79 after Argenx’s (ARGX) Sjögren’s disease study failed. Immunovant has its own Phase 2b trial underway in the same indication.

15:20 PM — WSJ says Cable One (CABO) may announce a $1.25B balance-sheet loan as soon as Friday. Shares jumped, and trading was briefly halted.

14:47 PM — Securitize (SECZ) is launching digital versions of stocks like Apple (AAPL), Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) that are backed one-for-one by real shares and keep normal investor rights. Eligible people in the US and Europe can trade them on Solana during extended hours, with 24/7 trading planned later, including on a venue tied to the NYSE’s parent.

14:23 PM — Amazon (AMZN) cut fewer than 1,000 jobs Tuesday across stores, customer service, marketplace, and engineering roles, including in India and the UK. It follows about 30,000 earlier cuts, even as Amazon plans $220 billion in AI spending. The company called it a small Stores adjustment.

14:19 PM — OpenAI told investors revenue was nearing $50bn a year, short of the $70bn widely reported. Microsoft (MSFT) and Oracle (ORCL) shares fell.

14:02 PM — Trump says the US will not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. He says talks to end the six-month war are going well. The war, started by US and Israeli strikes in February, has hurt his popularity and raised gas prices. Iran refuses to stop enriching uranium.

13:30 PM — Stephens says a report that Starbucks (SBUX) looked at buying Chipotle (CMG) adds to recent talk. Most Chipotles sit just 0.18 miles from a Starbucks, so they could share sites and cut costs. Overlapping customers could support a joint rewards program. It rates Chipotle Equal Weight with a $40 target. The stock rose 7.5% to $33.07.

13:24 PM — Wells Fargo upgraded Editas Medicine (EDIT) to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised its price target to $6 from $4 after Australia approved a Phase 1/2 trial of EDIT-401 for a genetic high-cholesterol condition. The analyst sees a key step and a possible stock boost if it works by 2027.

13:15 PM — Revolution Medicines (RVMD) fell after an FDA review showed uneven daraxonrasib responses by KRAS type, with G12D weaker than G12V. Stifel keeps Buy.

12:54 PM — NextNav’s (NN) expected 900 MHz item was delayed, while a 25 MHz auction plan creates a narrow risk for AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), Clear Street says.

12:24 PM — TSMC’s (TSM) 50% sales jump was not enough to lift shares. The drop looks like sell-the-news trading ahead of full earnings on October 15.

12:04 PM — Devon Energy (DVN) is selling its Eagle Ford oil and gas assets in Texas to Crescent Energy for $4.2 billion cash. The deal covers about 90,000 acres (roughly 4% of Devon’s production). Proceeds will fund share buybacks and debt paydown. Closing is expected by year-end 2026.

12:01 PM — AngioDynamics (ANGO) fell ~21% after Q1. Sales and the loss beat forecasts, but it only repeated full-year guidance and didn’t raise it. The profit-margin jump included a one-time tariff refund, cash dropped, and the CEO is retiring. Investors wanted a stronger outlook.

11:52 AM — Skydance (SKYD) closed its Warner Bros. Discovery deal and rang the NYSE bell, targeting $6 billion in savings and 200 million streamers.

10:42 AM — Scotiabank raised MongoDB’s (MDB) target to $450 from $440, kept Outperform, and added it to its Top Pick List. The analyst sees it winning new database and AI app work, and views the post-CEO-change drop as a buy. The stock is up 8 days straight.

10:35 AM — The FT says Starbucks (SBUX) has explored buying Chipotle (CMG), a nearly $39 billion deal that would be the largest restaurant acquisition on record.

09:55 AM — Citi cut Universal Display (OLED) to Sell from Neutral and lowered its target to $71 from $85. The firm says chip-sector upgrades slowed in Q2 and should cool more in Q3, so it is getting pickier and cut three stocks. For OLED, it expects more downside as the smartphone market weakens next year.

09:54 AM — Goldman started coverage of Vylor (VYLR) with a Buy rating and an $87 target, implying about 19% upside. The firm says Vylor is shifting to a fast-growing, asset-light tech platform. A strong competitive edge and a 5-to-7-year seed cycle should support steady growth of about 4% in sales and 8% in profits a year.

09:50 AM — Melius upgraded Cava (CAVA) to Buy from Hold and raised its target to $95 from $90. The firm says the stock drop from consumer worries and a temporary food-safety scare is overdone. Expansion and strong store profits look durable, so current prices are a good entry.

09:42 AM — KeyBanc upgraded Generac (GNRC) to Overweight with a $280 target after meeting management. They better grasp the long-term Amazon (AMZN) deal and its benefits. The agreement validates Generac and supports a more positive view of the shares.

Piper Sandler started Generac coverage at Overweight with a $303 target. Generac built a $4B data center order backlog in under a year, but the market treats it as one-time. Piper sees a $16B–$21B yearly U.S. backup market through 2032 and says shares are priced like a home-generator business.

09:39 AM — Raymond James upgraded Unity (U) to Outperform with a $54 target. Stronger Grow results and a Google (GOOGL) partnership improve the outlook, with faster Vector growth and better profits. Google’s AI and reach help Unity’s creator tools, lifting confidence in its business flywheel.

09:31 AM — Stocks open lower as Treasury yields climb, with the S&P 500 on track for a second straight decline.

09:29 AM — HELE jumped ~22% premarket after Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.79 crushed the ~$0.50 forecast. Sales were roughly flat, but margins, cash flow, and debt paydown were stronger. It also sharply raised full-year profit and cash-flow guidance, partly from tariff refunds.

09:21 AM — Tilray (TLRY) posted record Q1 sales of $257.1M, up 23%, but missed by about $10M. Cannabis fell; BrewDog led beverage growth.

08:56 AM — US weekly jobless claims fell to 197,000 last week, near 57-year lows. Layoffs stay very low, but hiring is weak—only 29,000 jobs were added in September. Economists call it a “low-hire, low-fire” market: few firings, yet many struggle to find work.

08:45 AM — GlobalFoundries (GFS) will make silicon interposers for TSMC’s (TSM) CoWoS packaging in Malta, N.Y., under a multi-year $2B deal, with volume ramp in early 2028.

08:28 AM — Viatris (VTRS) will pay $36.50 a share, a roughly 45% premium, for Pacira (PCRX) and its non-opioid pain drugs EXPAREL and ZILRETTA. The deal is set to close by the end of 2026.

07:59 AM — Haemonetics (HAE) rose about 21% after CSL expanded an August supply deal to every current U.S. plasma center by the end of 2027.

07:44 AM — Google (GOOGL) must pause building two data centers in Finland (Muhos and Kajaani) until environmental impact checks finish. Finnish regulators ordered the halt by Oct. 23. Google says it will comply and later plant trees on 130 hectares. Finland is a hot spot for AI data centers.

07:34 AM — PepsiCo (PEP) expects core EPS growth of only 1–2% this year as North America lags, and will cut costs to fund marketing and innovation. Shares rose 2.5% in premarket trading.

07:17 AM — Rocket’s (RCKT) RP-A501 Danon update led Goldman to Neutral and a $4 target. Clinical risk looks lower, but peak sales stay in doubt.

06:59 AM — Citi cut NXP (NXPI) from Buy to Neutral and lowered its target to $260 from $370. Chip-sector estimate upgrades are slowing, and NXP may lag peers because it has little data-center sales exposure.

06:55 AM — Citi downgraded Xerox (XRX) to Sell from Neutral and cut its price target to $2.50 from $3.45, citing weak cash-flow outlook and a high valuation. Sustained sales and cash growth still depend on execution in a tough print market.

06:45 AM — Goldman Sachs upgraded Palantir (PLTR) to Buy with a $230 target, citing AI demand, sovereign AI, and upside into 2027.

06:31 AM — argenx (ARGX) shares fell 14% after it stopped a Phase 3 Sjögren’s trial for futility, even as FB102 met its Phase 2 goal in celiac disease.

06:03 AM — XPENG’s (XPEV) new AI flagship SUV, the G9L, finished its first production trial at Magna’s plant in Graz, Austria—its 4th model made in Europe. The first car will drive 1,324 km to Paris for its global debut at the motor show on Oct 12.

05:56 AM — Samsung’s (SSNLF) Seoul shares fell about 2.4% after record preliminary profit because the result was already expected and priced in. Investors sold the news in a weak market with extra technical selling. The AI memory boom is still strong; full details come later this month.

05:37 AM — Levi’s (LEVI) profit beat was mostly from one-time tariff refunds, not stronger sales. Revenue slightly missed, U.S. sales fell, and the full-year sales outlook was trimmed. A higher profit forecast and buyback kept the stock roughly flat.

05:32 AM — PepsiCo (PEP), the soft drinks and snacks giant, and precious metals miner NovaGold Resources (NG) are scheduled to release their earnings before Thursday’s market open.

05:29 AM — Dow poised to fall 400 points, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq face declines as oil prices surge amid renewed fears of war in Iran.