Here’s my roundup of noteworthy developments from Thursday, August 7th. Apple shares moved upward again this morning, following a considerable 5.1% rise yesterday. This came after they revealed plans for an extra $100 billion investment in the U.S. along with a new American manufacturing initiative. Bank of America hinted that if competitors face tariffs while Apple remains exempt, there’s a good chance the iPhone could capture more market share. Meanwhile, other chip manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD also saw an uptick despite looming threats of a 100% tariff on semiconductors. They suggested that these tariffs may not be as severe as anticipated, which is somewhat reassuring.
On another note, stocks took a hit after recent trials indicated that a GLP-1 drug enabled patients at the highest dose to shed an average of 12% of their body weight. Analysts were hoping for a range of 13% to 15%, which might explain my relief from selling my inventory to the club last week.
Eli Lilly’s CEO David Ricks expressed optimism on Squawk Box, stating that the company is pleased with trial outcomes and intends to seek FDA approval later this year. Lilly also reported better-than-expected revenues today, raising its guidance on the strength of injecting its GLP-1 treatments, Zepbound and Maunalo. Although the stock reduced its losses, it still dipped by nearly 8%.
In other news, Intel’s stock dropped by 5% this morning after President Trump urged CEO Pat Gelsinger to step down, mentioning that Gelsinger seemed “very conflicted.” There have been questions raised by Senator Tom Cotton regarding Intel’s ties with Chinese firms, which adds to the pressure on Gelsinger, who just took the helm in March to help the struggling chipmaker.
Full Steam Ahead. No shocker here that one stock jumped almost 20% this morning, reaching around $69 per share. Barclays upgraded its price target from $84 to $92 while maintaining an overweight rating. Morgan Stanley also adjusted its target upward from $80 to $84.
In a surprising turn reminiscent of a Duolingo story, one particular stock soared by 25%, hitting around $430, spurred by better revenue and subscriber numbers from the language-learning app. Barclays, though having a hold rating, updated its price target to $390 from $375, which I find a bit pessimistic.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Caterpillar from equal weight to underweight due to concerns surrounding what they describe as the “stable deterioration” of the company’s foundation. There’s a sense that many are still banking on Caterpillar due to hopes for a rebound in manufacturing in the U.S.
On the flip side, Airbnb’s stock fell by 7%, despite the company outperforming in terms of earnings and revenue. I’m not quite sure why; the travel sector seemed to be recovering strongly post-pandemic.
Finally, ELF Beauty reported slightly weaker results than anticipated, but not drastically so. The customs duties still seem profitable. I’m set to have a chat with CEO Taran Amin on Mad Money tonight. Conversely, DoorDash’s CEO Tony Xu reported a substantial revenue beat, which drove stocks up by 7%.
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