Earnings Week, Chip Bears, and a Bristol-Myers Surge

Earnings in Focus

It's a packed Monday on the earnings front. Palantir, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Marriott all report today. Tuesday brings the heaviest slate. Caterpillar and McDonald's both post at 12:30 ET. Their results will be closely watched as indicators of industrial demand and consumer health. ON Semiconductor rounds out the Monday slate after the close.

Pharma Moves Both Ways

Bristol-Myers Squibb is surging Monday on fresh catalyst news. AbbVie picked up a fresh overweight rating from Cantor Fitzgerald, with a raised target of $285. Both moves are driving healthcare outperformance early in the session.

In Europe, AstraZeneca is also in focus alongside the BMS news. The pharma sector is the day's standout on both sides of the Atlantic.

Chips Under Bear Pressure

Options flow is bearish across semiconductors. NVDA, AMD, MU, INTC, and SNDK all show elevated negative bets. NVDA is only up 7.6% year-to-date. Bears appear to be fading the chip recovery story. MU stands out — it leads the market in both put and call activity, signalling traders are pricing in a big move rather than picking a direction.

Short Squeeze Watch

Hertz short interest hit 80.9% of free float. Zero shares remain available to borrow. SoundHound AI carries 42.7% SI with no availability either. Both names are building classic squeeze setups. Meanwhile, ASTS squeeze pressure is tightening further per options flow data.

Analyst Corner

Willis Towers Watson was downgraded to neutral by Citigroup today, though its target was lifted to $345. Corteva received a raised target to $100 from BMO. Warner Music Group pre-released strong Q3 numbers — revenue up 10% year-on-year to $1.86B.