Edited by Peter Hillerberg1 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
US nonfarm payrolls hit 159,044 thousand in September, the largest September reading since 1997, per ORTEX Alt Data. Average hourly earnings reached $37.81, also a September record going back to 2006. The numbers paint a picture of a resilient economy heading into a busy earnings season. The contrast with the real economy is sharp: New York new passenger car registrations collapsed 46% year-on-year in September to 16,749, the smallest September on record since 2024.
Suspected pneumonic plague in Russia sent biotech names sharply higher after hours. MRNA, NVAX, and PCVX all trended as traders rushed into call options. Novavax carries an ORTEX short score of 80.9 with 10.8 days to cover. A genuine catalyst landing on a heavily shorted name creates squeeze conditions worth watching.
STZ reports Q2 2027 results today. Beer volume trends for Corona and Modelo are the key metric. PEP reports Wednesday pre-market, the week's largest name by market cap. LEVI follows Wednesday after the close, with cost cuts and direct-to-consumer margins under the microscope. DAL is also on the calendar later in the week.
UBS cut its target on APD to $305 from $336 and on ALB to $150 from $175. Albemarle carries 9.6% short interest as a percentage of free float. Weak lithium prices continue to drag. Citigroup raised its JNJ target to $303 and kept its Buy rating, pointing to Medicare Advantage penetration reaching 51.1% in June 2026, the highest on record since 2013.
UBER President and COO Andrew MacDonald filed a $4.1 million open-market purchase with no 10b5-1 plan. The buy covers 54,325 shares at roughly $75.65 each. A discretionary purchase at that size from a senior operator is a meaningful signal.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
