July nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly contracted, yet US equity futures climbed higher this morning. The market is reading the weak jobs print as a signal the Fed may ease sooner. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both edged up despite the headline miss. The dollar eased and bond yields dipped on the data.
The Trade Desk is the day's biggest casualty. Truist, Raymond James, and Cantor Fitzgerald all cut the stock Friday, with targets as low as $12. The ad-tech firm's SI % FF already stood at 17.7% heading into the cuts. Bears were positioned well ahead of Wall Street. Atlassian is also in focus today after earnings, with analysts flagging more than 60% upside potential at current levels.
Cloudflare is another name in the spotlight following results, drawing attention alongside Doximity in morning trading.
German insurer Allianz and reinsurer Munich Re both reported Friday. Their results set the tone for European financials. Back in the US, Wells Fargo downgraded Allstate to Underweight this morning, raising its target to $250 but flagging rising claims pressure. AIG and Aflac also report today, giving investors a broader read on the sector.
Wendy's CEO admitted on a conference call that quality has eroded and the chain isn't delivering the expected customer experience. The stock slipped on the comments. Gap was downgraded by Wells Fargo to Equal-Weight with a cut to $22, adding to pressure on discretionary names.
CHWY remains the most heavily shorted $1B+ stock in the US at 81% SI % FF. UPST leads large-caps at 32.2%. Short sellers added exposure to GME this week, pushing its SI % FF to 14.3%.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
