Benzinga – Markets (Page 16)

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

• BTIG analyst Gregory Lewis initiated coverage on WhiteFiber Inc (NASDAQ:WYFI) with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $20. Whitefiber shares closed at $13.58 on Thursday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• Piper Sandler analyst David Westenberg initiated coverage on Grail Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) with …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reportedly held an urgent meeting with the CEOs of the country’s biggest banks this week to warn them about cybersecurity risks posed by Anthropic‘s newly launched AI model.

The meeting took place on Tuesday at the Treasury Department in Washington, according to a Bloomberg report published Thursday.

Who Was In The Room?

The CEOs of Citigroup (NYSE:C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) were present, according to Bloomberg. JPMorgan (NYSE:

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Brent crude oil prices are likely to stay above $100 per barrel for the rest of 2026 if the Strait of Hormuz stays shut for another month, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a Goldman Sachs note.

Analyst Daan Struyven stated that the “situation is fluid,” echoing Vice President JD Vance‘s comments of a “fragile” truce following the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran announced on Tuesday.

“We continue to see the risks to our price forecast as skewed to the upside,” said Struyen.

According to Goldman Sachs, the limited traffic at Hormuz would lead to a loss of upstream production in the Middle East. As a result, Brent crude oil price could average at $120 per barrel in the third quarter and $115 per barrel in the fourth quarter of the year.

However, if the situation improves over the weekend, the analysts foresee oil price at $82 per barrel in the third quarter and $80 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

American homeowners paid more in property taxes in 2025 even as their home values declined, with local government costs and shifting tax policies driving bills higher regardless of market conditions, according to ATTOM’s annual property tax analysis published Thursday.

The Tax Bill Climbed Anyway

Property taxes levied on single-family homes across the United States rose 3.7% to $396.8 billion in 2025, covering more than 89.6 million homes. The average bill reached $4,427, a 3% increase over 2024, while the average estimated home value fell 1.7% to $494,231 over the same period. The result: the national effective tax rate rose to 0.9%, its highest since 2020.

“Even with a slight dip in prices, higher tax bills combined with declining home values led to an increase in effective tax rates, underscoring the role of local government costs and shifting …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Nike (NYSE:NKE) is on the verge of replacing Adidas AG (OTC:ADDYY) as the official match ball sponsor for the UEFA Champions League, thereby ending Adidas’s 25-year dominance.

Nike is in exclusive discussions to supply balls for all UEFA men’s club competitions from 2027 to 2031, including the Europa League and Conference League, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The deal’s value is expected to surge, potentially doubling to more than €40 million ($46.75 million) annually. This development marks a significant setback for Adidas, the Champions League ball supplier since 2001.

Adidas confirmed to the publication that it would not renew its role but will continue to supply other tournaments. Meanwhile, UC3, a joint venture between UEFA and the European Club Association, told Reuters that it is in talks with Nike.

Nike did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.

Nike Eyes Football Growth Amid Earnings

For Nike, overtaking Adidas underscores its growing ambitions in football, especially after Puma AG

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Tesla Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:TSLA) retail sales in the Chinese market fell over 16% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026 despite an increase in its Wholsale figures.

Tesla Retail Sales Fall

On Thursday, Electrek reported that the EV giant also recorded a 24.3% drop in its retail sales in March, with 56,107 units sold compared to 74,127 vehicles it sold last year. During the first quarter, Tesla sold 112,798 units in China, down 16.2% compared to the 134,607 units it sold during the same period last year.

Tesla’s wholesale figures from China’s Gigafactory Shanghai came in at 213,398 units, with over 100,000 vehicles exported to various markets worldwide. In March, Tesla exported 29,563 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The most oversold stocks in the information technology sector presents an opportunity to buy into undervalued companies.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered oversold when the RSI is below 30, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major oversold players in this sector, having an RSI near or below 30.

Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ:ZS)

• On April 9, BTIG analyst Gray Powell downgraded Zscaler from Buy to Neutral. The company’s stock fell around 22% over the past month and has a 52-week low of $120.76.
• RSI Value: 29.9
• ZS Price Action: Shares of Zscaler fell 11.4% to close at $122.21 on Thursday.
• Edge Stock Ratings: 2.00 Momentum score.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The S&P 500 extended its relief rally on Thursday, rising 0.62% to close at 6,824.66, as optimism around a fragile ceasefire in the Middle East continued to support equities.

The Polygon-based (CRYPTO: POL) Polymarket crowd is bearish heading into Friday. The April 10 market shows only 38% of traders betting “Up,” following $271,910 in traded volume on the April 9 outcome.

Why That Number Matters

The two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has helped stabilize sentiment after weeks of volatility driven by …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Paramount SkyDance (NASDAQ:PSKY) has arranged permanent financing for its acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD), lowering its debt commitments from $54 billion to $49 billion, according to regulatory filings on Thursday.

The financing was secured from a consortium of 18 banks, which syndicated its bridge loan and finalized $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility, while dropping a separate $3.5 billion credit line.

The loans are secured by a first-priority claim on all assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media, and Warner Bros., after the merger closes.  

The deal’s financing is set to be one of the largest debt packages this year, with the combined company …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

On Thursday, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) said it will close three U.S. retail stores as declining mall conditions force a strategic pullback, while a union dispute intensifies around its Towson location.

Apple Blames Declining Mall Conditions

In a statement to MacRumors, Apple said it will permanently shut stores in Trumbull, Connecticut; Escondido, California; and Towson, Maryland, in June.

The company said it regularly evaluates its retail footprint to ensure it delivers the best customer experience.

The closures come as all three malls have lost major tenants and foot traffic, with some facing financial distress and ownership changes.

Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

Employees To Be Relocated Or Reassigned

Apple said staff at its Trumbull and North County …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In today’s fast-paced and highly competitive business world, it is crucial for investors and industry followers to conduct comprehensive company evaluations. In this article, we will delve into an extensive industry comparison, evaluating Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) in relation to its major competitors in the Automobiles industry. By closely examining key financial metrics, market standing, and growth prospects, our objective is to provide valuable insights and highlight company’s performance in the industry.

Tesla Background

Tesla is a vertically integrated battery electric vehicle automaker and developer of real world artificial intelligence software, which includes autonomous driving and humanoid robots. The company has multiple vehicles in its fleet, which include luxury and midsize sedans, crossover SUVs, a light truck, and a semi truck. Tesla also plans to begin selling a sports car and offer a robotaxi service. Global deliveries in 2025 were nearly 1.64 million vehicles. The company sells batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties including utilities and solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation. Tesla also owns a fast-charging network and an auto insurance business.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In today’s fast-paced and competitive business landscape, it is essential for investors and industry enthusiasts to thoroughly analyze companies before making investment decisions. In this article, we will conduct a comprehensive industry comparison, evaluating Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) against its key competitors in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry. By examining key financial metrics, market position, and growth prospects, we aim to provide valuable insights for investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry.

Micron Technology Background

Micron is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world, specializing in memory and storage chips. Its primary revenue stream comes from dynamic random access memory, or DRAM, and it also has minority exposure to not-and or NAND, flash chips. Micron serves a global customer base, selling chips into data centers, mobile phones, consumer electronics, and industrial and automotive applications. The firm is vertically integrated.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In the dynamic and fiercely competitive business environment, conducting a thorough analysis of companies is crucial for investors and industry enthusiasts. In this article, we will perform an extensive industry comparison, evaluating Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in relation to its major competitors in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry. By closely examining crucial financial metrics, market position, and growth prospects, we aim to offer valuable insights for investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry.

Apple Background

Apple is among the largest companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of hardware and software products targeted at consumers and businesses. Apple’s iPhone makes up a majority of the firm sales, and Apple’s other products like Mac, iPad, and Watch are designed around the iPhone as the focal point of an expansive software ecosystem. Apple has progressively worked to add new applications, like streaming video, subscription bundles, and augmented reality. The firm designs its own software and semiconductors while working with subcontractors like Foxconn and TSMC to build its products and chips. Slightly less than half of Apple’s sales come directly through its flagship stores, with a majority of sales coming indirectly through partnerships and distribution.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Bernstein analyst Mark Newman raised the target price for SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) to $1,250, implying about 47% upside from current levels, citing stronger-than-expected NAND pricing trends.

Why Newman Is Bullish

Newman maintained an Outperform rating on the stock, according to a report by Investing.com. Newman maintained an Outperform rating, saying concerns around TurboQuant were “overdone,” while NAND memory pricing continues to exceed expectations.

According to the firm’s March memory tracker, pricing momentum has accelerated, with NAND leading and consistently surprising to the upside.

The firm raised its fiscal 2027 non-GAAP EPS estimates to $144 in a base case and $224 in a bull case.

The $1,250 price target reflects roughly 8.7x base-case EPS, while Bernstein’s broader valuation framework applies an 11x multiple to projected average earnings of …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

A new Federal Reserve study reveals that sweeping U.S. tariffs implemented in 2025 by President Donald Trump are entirely responsible for the recent surge in core goods inflation, hitting consumers with a direct, “dollar-for-dollar” price increase.

Driving The Inflation Spike

According to the April 8 FEDS Note authored by economists Robert Minton, Madeleine Ray, and Mariano Somale, aggressive trade policies enacted last year have dramatically shifted the U.S. economic landscape.

The researchers estimate that tariffs implemented through November 2025 raised core goods personal consumption expenditure (PCE) prices by a staggering 3.1% through February 2026.

Crucially, the economists determined that these levies “can explain the entirety of excess inflation in the core goods category relative to pre-pandemic inflation rates.” Furthermore, the tariffs contributed to a 0.8% boost in the broader core PCE index, which is the central bank’s preferred inflation metric.

A ‘Dollar-For-Dollar’ Consumer Burden

The findings firmly dispel the notion that foreign exporters or …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Wall Street sees a frozen housing market as the death knell for iBuying, but EMJ Capital founder Eric Jackson views it as the ultimate catalyst for Opendoor Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:OPEN).

With shares trading at $4.31, Jackson is maintaining a staggering $82 price target, representing an 1,802.55% upside, arguing that the market is mispricing a radical corporate transformation.

A ‘Messy’ But Profitable Path

Jackson asserts that the current 6.33% mortgage rate environment hasn’t destroyed housing demand; it has merely delayed it. “He is describing deferred demand. Not destroyed demand. Deferred,” Jackson wrote in his Substack post, citing his sources from Main Street.

When rates eventually drop, Opendoor’s newly rebuilt infrastructure will be perfectly positioned to capture the coiled volume.

Acknowledging the stock’s recent volatility, massive headline losses, and dilution, Jackson remains unfazed by the bearish sentiment.

“Turnarounds are messy. That’s why they’re cheap,” Jackson stated, comparing Opendoor’s current state to Carvana Co.‘s (NYSE:CVNA) historic rebound. “The straight line was always a lie.”

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) will release earnings for its fourth quarter before the opening bell on Wednesday, April 15.

Analysts expect the New York-based company to report quarterly earnings of $3.01 per share. That’s up from $2.60 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue is $19.7 billion (it reported $17.74 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On April 8, Morgan Stanley Investment Management announced the launch of Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust.

Shares of Morgan Stanley rose 1.2% to close at $178.16 on Thursday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Alphabet Inc.-backed (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Robotaxi operator Waymo announced a partnership with Waze Mobile Ltd. on Thursday to help fix potholes by providing data to users about them in real-time.

Waymo-Waze Partnership Aims To Fix Potholes

In an official statement, Waymo announced it was partnering with Waze to “provide cities with sharper tools” to deal with potholes on the road. The program would use Waymo’s “perception and physical feedback” technology to pinpoint pothole locations in the areas that the service operates in.

Waymo also said that the program would be available to the Department of Transportation (DOT) via the “Waze for Cities” platform. Waze users will also be able to access the pothole data in the cities where Waymo operates its service. “Like other on-road features reportable in the Waze app, users will be able to verify the Waymo-identified potholes,” the statement said.

The program will initially be launched in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta. Waymo says it has identified over 500 potholes …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Shares of Clearsign Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:CLIR) rose sharply in pre-market trading following upbeat quarterly results.

ClearSign Technologies reported fourth-quarter losses of 9 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of losses of 30 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $3.671 million which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $2.023 million.

Clearsign Technologies shares jumped 11.3% to $6.88 in pre-market trading.

Here are some other stocks moving in pre-market trading.

Gainers

• iSpecimen Inc (NASDAQ:ISPC) gained 73% to $0.23 in pre-market trading after the company announced it reduced its domestic shipments transit times.
• Wellgistics Health Inc (NASDAQ:WGRX) gained 67.1% to $0.18 in pre-market trading after the company announced it terminated the Settlement Agreement with Silverback Capital.
• Erayak Power Solution Group Inc (NASDAQ:RAYA) rose 35.2% to $0.62 in pre-market trading after the China-based power solutions firm disclosed a $400,000 private placement in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
• Xiao-I Corp (NASDAQ:AIXI) jumped 32.2% to $1.31 in pre-market trading after dipping over 30% on Thursday.
• Presidio Property Trust Inc (NASDAQ:SQFT) rose 29.3% to $3.49 in pre-market trading after gaining 9% on Thursday.
• zSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZSPC) rose 21.8% to $0.0939 in pre-market trading after dipping more …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Citron Research has set a massive $300 price target for Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), projecting 28% upside from current levels, citing a hidden semiconductor empire that could soon rival the industry leader Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA).

‘Trillion-Dollar’ Threat To Nvidia

Following the release of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy‘s 2025 shareholder letter, Citron Research published a blistering market commentary on the tech giant’s explosive growth in artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.

The renowned research firm declared Amazon “the most serious threat to NVIDIA’s semiconductor dominance ever created.”

According to Citron, Wall Street analysts have completely missed the sheer magnitude of Amazon’s custom silicon efforts. The firm highlighted that Amazon’s proprietary chip division operates at a staggering “$50 billion standalone revenue run rate,” featuring triple-digit growth.

Emphasizing this hidden value, Citron noted, “This is another trillion dollar company hidden inside $AMZN. This does not exist in a single sell side model. Not one.”

Newton Golf (NASDAQ:NWTG) moved lower on Thursday following a regulatory update tied to its Nasdaq listing compliance.

NWTG closed the regular session down 11.61% at $1.37 and declined a further 9.49% in after-hours trading to $1.24.

Company Overview

Newton Golf Company Inc develops high-performance golf equipment, including precision-engineered shafts and putters.

Compliance Notice

The company disclosed in a recent filing that it received a deficiency notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department on April 6, 2026.

The notice indicates that Newton Golf is not in compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum stockholders’ equity requirement of $2.5 million for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

Timeline To Regain Compliance

Under Nasdaq rules, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki thinks that Tesla’s rumored affordable model would be a Cybercab fit with driver inputs.

A Cybercab With A Steering Wheel

In a post on X on Thursday, Gerber quoted a report by Reuters that shed light on a possible affordable vehicle being developed by the EV giant. “A Tesla cybercab with a steering wheel… they’ll say anything at this point…” Gerber said in the post, seemingly criticizing Tesla for its possible pivot.

It’s also worth mentioning that Gerber has, in the past, suggested that Tesla release an affordable model by putting a steering wheel and pedals into the Cybercab. “Take the gold …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

John Giamatteo, CEO & Director of BlackBerry Limited (NYSE:BB), speaking at the company’s fourth-quarter earnings conference on Thursday, said, “The turnaround is complete, and the BlackBerry story is now a growth story.”

He said, “QNX delivered another Rule of 40 quarter, rounding out a Rule of 40 year. QNX to remain a Rule of 40 business for fiscal year 2027.” QNX is BlackBerry’s UNIX-like real-time operating system for embedded systems.

QNX: A Core Growth Engine

QNX is the company’s core growth engine. It delivered record revenue for two consecutive quarters, exceeding the top end of the guidance range at $78.7 million and representing 20% year-over-year growth. Giamatteo attributed the rise to a record quarter for royalties and development revenue.

He said, “This is not a business that is slowing down, but rather one that is compounding, powered by our continued leadership in automotive and growing momentum across physical AI, robotics, industrial, medical, and emerging markets.”

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed further easing in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Thursday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones index jumping around 275 points during the session as tentative Lebanon–Israel diplomatic overtures introduced a fragile layer of optimism into an otherwise tense geopolitical backdrop.

In earnings, shares of Neogen Corp. (NASDAQ:NEOG) fell around 3% on Thursday after the company reported results for the third quarter. Shares of Simply Good Foods Co. (NASDAQ:SMPL) dipped 18% after the company reported mixed second-quarter financial results and cut its FY26 guidance below estimates.

On the economic data front, the U.S. PCE price index increased 0.4% month-over-month in February, up from January’s 0.3% growth. U.S. initial jobless …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE:ACI) will release earnings for its fourth quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the Boise, Idaho-based company to report quarterly earnings of 44 cents per share. That’s down from 46 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Albertsons’ quarterly revenue is $20.47 billion (it reported $18.8 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On Jan. 26, Albertsons Companies named Allison Pinkham as executive vice president and chief human resources officer.

Shares of Albertsons fell 1.4% to close at $17.47 on Thursday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Actelis Networks (NASDAQ:ASNS) moved sharply lower on Thursday following a regulatory update tied to its Nasdaq listing status.

ASNS closed the regular session down 73.39% at $0.089 and declined a further 32.74% in after-hours trading to $0.060.

Company Overview

Actelis Networks provides hybrid fiber and cyber-hardened networking solutions designed for the rapid installation of networks that connect smart devices, along with applications across government, transportation and critical infrastructure systems.

Delisting Notice

The company announced Thursday that it received a determination from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to delist its common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The decision follows Actelis’ non-compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price requirement. While the company presented a plan to regain compliance, the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Governor Jay Robert ‘JB’ Pritzker (D-IL) on Thursday criticized President Donald Trump and the war with Iran, citing surging gas prices amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Americans Are Struggling

Expressing his criticism of Trump, Pritzker shared his views through a post on the social media platform X. “Americans are struggling to afford gas and groceries,” the Governor said. “Meanwhile Trump calls war an ‘investment,” he said.

Pritzker was likely referring to the President’s earlier address on April 1st when he called the war with Iran “a true investment” for America’s future generations, calling Iran the “bully” of the Middle East. “That tells you everything you need to know,” Pritzker said at the end of the post.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

XCF Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:SAFX) shares jumped 16.57% in after-hours trading Thursday to $0.64 after the Houston-based sustainable aviation fuel producer announced a binding term sheet with Texas-based BGN INT US LLC for a global sustainable aviation fuel distribution and logistics partnership.

The spike in shares of the renewable energy company in the late trading session follows a 21.58% intraday decline, closing the regular session at $0.54, according to Benzinga Pro data.

BGN Deal Targets Global SAF Scale-Up

The deal announced on Thursday targets XCF’s New Rise Renewables Reno plant under a tolling framework, covering SAF, renewable diesel and renewable naphtha in Europe and the Middle East.

CEO Chris Cooper called the BGN deal “a critical step” in global commercialization.

BGN President Cenan Ozmeral said the partnership would make “SAF adoption practical and commercially viable for airlines seeking to meet tightening decarbonization targets.”

The definitive agreement remains subject to …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Seven & i Holdings Co Ltd (OTC:SVNDY) postponed the planned initial public offering of its U.S. convenience store business unit, 7-Eleven Inc., to fiscal 2027 from 2026 on Thursday. The news pushed Seven & i shares down by 2.55% on the Tokyo exchange at the time of writing.

The postponement came amid the uncertainty in market conditions amid the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran that has disrupted energy supplies, reported Japan Today. Stephen Dacus, president of the conglomerate, said at a press conference that the listing of its U.S. convenience store business will proceed once the market conditions improve in the country.

The Japanese company plans to raise 2 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Lianhe Sowell International Group Ltd (NASDAQ:LHSW) shares jumped 17.54% in after-hours trading on Thursday to $0.22, following a series of insider filings disclosing new beneficial ownership positions at the Shenzhen-based prepackaged software firm.

A series of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, required under Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, were submitted between Apr. 1 and Apr. 9, mandating that statutory insiders report ownership to the SEC.

What Investors Need To Know

The most recent filing came on Thursday from Director Wong Hoi Hin, who was appointed director in late March.

CFO Ng Tracy Chui-Kam and Director Chow Chun Yu Leeds filed …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Investor Gary Black, who is a managing partner at The Future Fund LLC, has outlined his take on why Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) has been declining for the past eight weeks.

Disappointing Deliveries

On Thursday, the investor shared why he thought TSLA stock was on the decline in a post on the social media platform X. He said the stock was declining after analysts cut earnings estimates following the automaker’s “disappointing” first-quarter 2026 delivery figures.

“TSLA P/E being re-rated down as investors question whether TSLA can scale its robotaxi business,” Black said in the post, sharing that the Robotaxi business was the “primary driver of its 2026 P/E of 180x.” The investor also compared Tesla’s P/E with other Magnificent 7 companies like Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and more, all of which have a P/E of under 30x.

He then said that investors in the EV giant were “deluding themselves” into thinking that Tesla was “on the verge of solving for generalized unsupervised autonomy,” and that P/E ratios and delivery figures do not matter. “EVs still …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Breakwave Tanker Shipping ETF (NYSE:BWET) was one of the top performers in the April 9 trading session, climbing about 15%. The surge came amid the reports from BIMCO that the global shipping order book has climbed to its highest level in nearly two decades.

Per the report, the global order book reached 191 million compensated gross tonnes (CGT) by the end of the first quarter of 2026, equivalent to 17% of the existing fleet, the highest ratio since 2011.

Tanker Activity Remains Strong

The global shipping industry is currently witnessing a powerful wave of new vessel orders with the tanker segment being the primary driver of the growth. Though total contracts fell 17% from the fourth quarter of 2025, new orders are running 47% above the average levels seen in the 2010s. A stronger freight market, a larger global fleet, and a growing need to replace aging vessels are fueling growth in new orders.

Newbuilding orders jumped 40% year-over-year in the first quarter to 17.6 million CGT, led …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Erayak Power Solution Group Inc. (NASDAQ:RAYA) shares surged 48.80% to $0.68 in after-hours trading on Thursday after the China-based power solutions firm disclosed a $400,000 private placement in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

According to the SEC filing filed on Thursday, Erayak entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement on Tuesday, issuing up to 5 million Class A ordinary shares at $0.08 per share to non-U.S. investors. The Class A ordinary shares carry a par value of $0.022 per share.

The offering closed the same day under Regulation S of the Securities Act of …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

iSpecimen Inc. (NASDAQ:ISPC) shares are trending on Thursday night.

ISPC stock jumped 56.19% in after-hours trading to $0.20 on Thursday, after the Massachusetts-based biospecimen marketplace announced a direct supplier-to-customer shipping overhaul, slashing domestic transit times by 70–85%.

According to iSpecimen, the restructured model eliminates centralized hub routing that previously added 7–14 days to delivery. Domestic shipments now arrive in as little as 1–2 days, with fewer handoffs also lowering overall shipping costs.

Rare Specimen Access Expands Into Europe

Internationally, iSpecimen deepened sourcing partnerships across Europe and Eastern Europe, targeting rare and hard-to-source specimens for time-sensitive research needs.

CEO Katie Field cited …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stocks experienced a significant surge today, driven by President Donald Trump’s announcement of a temporary ceasefire with Iran.

Major U.S. indices closed higher on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.58% at 48,185.80, the S&P 500 rising 0.62% to 6,824.66, and the Nasdaq gaining 0.83% to 22,822.41.

These are the top stocks that gained the attention of retail traders and investors through the day:

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Amazon’s stock closed up 5.60% at $233.65, reaching an intraday high of $233.80 and a low of $223.27. The stock’s 52-week range is between $258.60 and $165.28.

The tech giant announced a substantial investment of $12 billion in Mississippi, including an $11 billion expansion of its data center operations in Madison County, creating 700 new jobs. Additionally, a $1 billion project in Clinton will add 100 jobs, bringing Amazon’s total planned capital investment in the state to $25 billion, with over 2,000 jobs expected.

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW)

Snowflake’s stock fell 11.83% to close at $132.24, with an intraday high of …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

OpenAI is planning to launch a cybersecurity model that rivals Anthropic’s cybersecurity artificial intelligence model, Claude Mythos.

The AI cybersecurity model, designed to work with advanced hacking and defensive capabilities, will be released to a small group of businesses through OpenAI’s existing Trusted Access for Cyber pilot program, Axios reported.

The pilot program was announced in February in an effort to “enhance baseline safeguards for all users while piloting trusted access for defensive acceleration.” 

OpenAI committed $10 million in API credits to participants at the time of the announcement.

Yesterday, it was announced Anthropic plans to release Claude Mythos Preview to a select group of companies, as the AI firm aims to identify and fix software vulnerabilities …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Barclays analyst Benjamin Budish downgraded Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) from Equal Weight to Underweight on April 8, cutting his price target to $140 from $148.

The thesis is simple: the retail trading boom that built Coinbase is over, and the company has yet to find anything to replace it.

Budish’s note puts the damage in plain terms. Despite a pro-crypto White House and a favorable regulatory backdrop, “global crypto trading activity has declined to a level not seen since the end of 2023,” he wrote.

Coinbase’s Q1 spot volume came in around $189 billion — down 30% from the prior quarter. Barclays is modeling transaction revenues of $678 million for the period, well short of the Street’s $876 million estimate.

March was Coinbase’s worst volume month since September 2024. April, he says, is showing no signs of a rebound.

The Everything Exchange Problem

Budish also questioned whether Coinbase’s “everything exchange” strategy can actually work. Equities …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Frontier AI models are more powerful than ever, but new research suggests some of the hype around autonomous AI may be getting ahead of reality.

General Reasoning, an AI research firm, released KellyBench this week, a long-horizon test that places AI agents inside a simulated English Premier League betting market and asks them to grow a bankroll over a full season.

The results were not flattering.

Every Model Lost Money

Every model lost money. Claude did best, finishing down just 11%, but that was still a loss. Grok 4.20 fared worst, burning through nearly 90% of its bankroll. xAI, Elon’s company behind Grok, has experienced heavy leadership turnover and scaling challenges in its attempt to catch up with the leading models.

The firm rated each model on a 44-point sophistication rubric developed with quantitative betting experts.

No model scored higher than a third of available points. “Models struggle to behave coherently over long time horizons,” the researchers wrote, “often failing to act upon their analysis …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Carlyle Group’s (NASDAQ:CG) flagship private credit interval fund received a large amount of repurchase requests as turmoil in the private credit sector continues.

The Carlyle Tactical Private Credit Fund (CTAC), which has more than $7 billion in assets, received requests of 15.7%, three times its threshold of 5%, a shareholder letter stated, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

CTAC leverages Carlyle’s Global Credit platform and seeks to provide access to a broad range of private credit strategies. Under normal circumstances, the fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in private fixed income securities and credit instruments, the firm’s

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Anthony Scaramucci owns a piece of SpaceX. He also invested in xAI. And he’ll be the first to tell you none of it makes conventional sense.

“The cult of personality around Elon Musk gives his companies an excessive premium that is off the charts,” the SkyBridge Capital founder wrote on X. He called Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) a stock that “defies conventional metrics.” Then he explained why he bought into SpaceX anyway.

The reason is Amazon.

The $20 Million Mistake He Won’t Repeat

A $10,000 investment in Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) at its 1997 IPO would be worth nearly $20 million today. Scaramucci missed it.

“I’m not making that mistake again,” he wrote.

SpaceX has confidentially filed for what may be the largest IPO in history, targeting a raise …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The private markets landscape has been a rather difficult one this year, with heightened market volatility, ongoing geopolitical tensions, evolving monetary policy, and the acceleration of AI-driven disruption all causing tension. 

Despite this, “today’s uncertainty is creating opportunities across many asset classes, including private markets,” KKR’s investment team wrote in a recent April report.

The current environment is “less about reacting to noise and more about staying focused on fundamentals,” the investment team added.

Dan Pietrzak, partner in private credit at KKR, cautioned against what he calls a common misconception, that private credit is often assumed to mean corporate lending alone. In fact, the investment universe is far broader.

Private asset-based finance, such as aircraft leases and business equipment loans, is a growing segment of the private credit market. Pietrzak pointed to its historically attractive yields, market size, and the potential for diversification.

While recent headlines have spotlighted elevated defaults in private credit—particularly within software, Pietrzak noted that stress has so far been concentrated on specific issuers and is not indicative of a sudden or broader shock in the private credit system.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is launching an investigation into OpenAI and ChatGPT, citing concerns that the use of artificial intelligence technologies and data may pose risks to public safety and national security.

The AG added that there are concerns that this data could “fall into the hands of America’s enemies, such as the Chinese Communist Party,” Uthmeier said in a video posted to X.

He added that while artificial intelligence has created a “monumental leap in technology,” it has also been linked to criminal behavior. He cited child sex abuse material, use by child predators and the encouragement of suicide and selfharm as the reasoning behind their concerns.

“We’ve also learned that ChatGPT may likely have been used to assist the murderer in the recent mass school shooting at Florida State University that tragically …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Court Square Capital Partners, formerly Citigroup’s in-house private equity arm, surpassed its $3 billion target, raising $3.8 billion for its Court Square Partners Fund V.

Fund V will focus on control buyouts in the business services, health care, industrials and technology sectors, specifically seeking long-term growth potential, the company stated in a press release. 

“​​This close signals continued confidence in our approach and our ability to partner with founders, families and management teams to drive long-term value and growth. We are incredibly excited about the opportunity set across our target sectors, and we continue to find compelling ways to deploy capital in the current market environment,” said Chris Bloise, president and managing partner.

Fund V, the firm’s largest fund to date, saw more than 40 new …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Galaxy Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GLXY) shares are climbing Thursday. Investors are weighing a massive infrastructure valuation alongside a cooling geopolitical climate.

Helios Facility Valued At $15 Billion

In the company’s 2025 annual report, published on Wednesday, CEO Mike Novogratz highlighted the Helios data center in Texas as a $15 billion powerhouse. The facility is approved for over 1.6 gigawatts of power. Novogratz noted the first 800 megawatts leased to CoreWeave Inc.(NASDAQ:CRWV) represent over $7.5 billion of capital investment alone.

“Combined with our newly approved 830 megawatts in a build-to-suit model, Helios likely represents well north of $15 billion …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The federal government’s interest payments on public debt reached $529 billion in the first half of fiscal year 2026, nearly equaling the combined spending on defense ($461 billion) and education ($70 billion), according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report published Wednesday.

This represents a $33 billion increase from the same period last year, driven by a larger debt load and higher long-term interest rates.

The federal deficit totaled $1.2 trillion for the period from October through March, with total outlays of $3.7 trillion, up 2% and revenues rising 10% to $2.5 trillion, partly buoyed by a sharp jump in customs duties following …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Anthropic’s tender offer has fallen short of its estimated $6 billion, as employees decided to hold more of their shares ahead of the company’s expected initial public offering (IPO) slated for sometime in 2026.

While some investors received their full requested allocation, others were forced to settle for a partial deployment of the capital they had earmarked for the tender offer, Bloomberg reported.

• Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 stock is showing upward bias. What’s next for QQQ stock?

The tender offer allowed employees to sell some of their shares at the same price set during the company’s most recent fundraising in February. At that time, Anthropic’s valuation was $350 billion, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:DKNG) shares are trading lower Thursday. The decline follows news of surging competition and shifting legal precedents in the prediction market sector.

The Nasdaq is up 0.40% while the S&P 500 has gained 0.50%.

Kalshi Volume Hits Record Highs

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour reported that monthly trading volume recently surpassed $12 billion. While sports contracts previously dominated 90% of the platform’s volume, they still represent 70%.

Mansour noted that sports betting acts like options, providing liquidity for other contracts. This growth directly challenges the market share of traditional operators like Flutter Entertainment PLC (NYSE:FLUT).

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission filed a motion Wednesday asking a federal judge to immediately freeze Arizona’s criminal prosecution of Kalshi, escalating a federal-state confrontation that now spans three simultaneous lawsuits and a looming arraignment.

The CFTC asked the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order. The motion follows a suit filed last week alongside the Department of Justice.

“Arizona’s decision to weaponize preempted state criminal law against companies that comply with a comprehensive federal regime sets a dangerous precedent,” said CFTC Chairman Michael Selig.

Arizona AG Kris Mayes filed 20 misdemeanor counts against Kalshi on March 17, including four counts of election wagering and 16 counts of unlawful betting, the first criminal …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Dow Jones index gaining more than 350 points on Thursday.

The Dow traded up 0.77% to 48,278.43 while the NASDAQ rose 0.83% to 22,822.04. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.69% to 6,829.76.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares climbed by 1.7% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, health care stocks fell by 0.6%.

Top Headline

Neogen Corp (NASDAQ:NEOG) shares fell around 3% on Thursday after the company reported results for the third quarter.

The company reported quarterly earnings of 9 cents per share which beat the analyst consensus estimate of 6 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $211.200 million which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $204.492 million.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Onconetix Inc (NASDAQ:ONCO) shares shot up 108% to $2.35 after the company announced Realbotix, its pending acquisition target, has delivered its first Vinci-equipped humanoid robot to Ericsson.
• Shares of DarkIris Inc (NASDAQ:DKI) got a boost, surging 52% to $0.60 after the company …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Snowflake Inc. (NYSE:SNOW) shares are under intense pressure Thursday, sliding as a wave of selling hits the enterprise software space. The decline follows a data dump that revealed a stalling U.S. economy and escalating competitive threats from new artificial intelligence models.

Software Sector Shaken by AI Disruptors

The software industry is grappling with disruption fears following the release of advanced AI models. Concerns are mounting that agentic workflows could compress pricing power for legacy SaaS platforms.

Market sentiment soured after Anthropic rolled out Managed Agents, which execute multi-step tasks autonomously. This shift threatens seat-based models utilized by cloud leaders like Snowflake and Workday Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY).

Economic Growth Stalls

Macroeconomic headwinds are further dampening the mood for growth stocks. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) looks clean. The balance sheet says about $14.5 billion in debt. The stock is hovering near $100. Nothing alarming. Nothing screaming leverage. But that’s only if you take the accounting at face value.

Because sitting just off the balance sheet is something far more interesting — and arguably just as real: $7.4 billion worth of in-the-money stock options, The Information reported.

The $7.4B That Doesn’t Count (But Maybe Should)

As of year-end, Netflix had roughly 127.7 million vested options outstanding, with an average exercise price of just $36.07. With the stock now near $100, that gap translates into billions of embedded value — or cost, depending on how you look at it.

Netflix itself pegs that value at $7.4 billion.

Under current accounting, that doesn’t …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) shares are retreating Thursday as a broader sell-off hits the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) sector.

The Nasdaq is down 0.03% while the S&P 500 has shed 0.03%

The decline follows news that Anthropic launched “Managed Agents,” AI systems capable of autonomous tasks.

• CrowdStrike Holdings stock is taking a hit today. What’s pressuring CRWD stock?

Economic Growth Stalls

Thursday’s data showed U.S. GDP grew at 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, noted the consumer was “vulnerable and fragile” even before recent energy …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Nio Inc. (NYSE:NIO) has opened pre-sales for its latest flagship SUV, the ES9, positioning it as a premium yet competitively priced offering in China’s electric vehicle market.

The company unveiled the ES9 during a technology event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, highlighting its pricing strategy and feature set as it targets higher-end buyers.

According to Benzinga Pro, NIO stock has gained over 82% in the past year. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF (NASDAQ:PGJ).

Pricing Strategy Signals Competitive Push

Nio set the ES9 pre-sales price at 528,000 yuan, or about $77,230, including the battery pack, CnEV Post reports. The pricing undercuts the company’s ET9 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) bounced from $67,000 to $72,000, but Glassnode data reveals weak spot demand, contracting futures volume, and persistent long-term holder capitulation running above 4,000 BTC per day, suggesting the recovery lacks conviction.

The Bear Market Zone

Bitcoin remains within bear market territory according to key on-chain pricing models. 

The realized price at $54,000 represents the average acquisition cost of all circulating supply. The True Market Mean at $78,000 narrows this calculation to only actively transacted coins.

Price trading within this band is historically consistent with a market that has not transitioned into a sustainable recovery. 

Bitcoin also trades below the Short-Term Holder Cost Basis at $81,600, the level at which recent buyers collectively break even.

Until price reclaims $81,600, the mid to long-term bias tilts to the downside. Any rally into this zone will likely encounter meaningful distribution pressure from recent buyers seeking to …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) shares are retreating on Thursday. The decline follows social media commentary from “Big Short” investor Michael Burry.

Burry used his X account, Cassandra Unchained, to challenge Palantir’s market position. He suggested the company is losing ground to Anthropic. Burry noted that “Anthropic is very well run and knows what it is doing.”

Anthropic Expansion Signals Shift

The scrutiny intensifies following Anthropic’s Monday announcement. The AI firm signed a massive compute deal with Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google and Broadcom Inc.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) shares up slighting on Thursday as the company is scaling production of its Sharrow Propeller in collaboration with Sharrow Engineering. This news comes during a mixed market day, with the S&P 500 showing minimal movement.

The auto behemoth is partnering with Sharrow Engineering to significantly reduce production timelines for the Sharrow Propeller, cutting the process from approximately 130 days to just two weeks.

A Shallow Propeller is a marine propeller featuring a loop-shaped blade design that replaces traditional swept-tip blades.

• Ford Motor shares are consolidating. What should traders watch with F?

Broader Industry Backdrop

In the broader industry, the Donald Trump administration is cracking down on Chinese-made airbag inflators used in vehicles sold in the U.S. that have been reportedly tied to multiple fatal crashes in recent years amid a push to nullify China’s growing influence in the auto and tech industries.

Meanwhile, Ford’s collaboration leverages advanced 3D sand-casting techniques, aiming to meet the growing consumer demand ahead of the summer boating season.

The broader market is experiencing slight fluctuations, with the Consumer Discretionary sector …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Simply Good Foods Company (NASDAQ:SMPL) shares fell sharply Thursday after the company reported mixed second-quarter results and lowered its full-year outlook.

The packaged food maker posted adjusted earnings of 45 cents per share, topping analysts’ estimates of 40 cents. However, revenue declined 9.4% year over year to $326.0 million, missing the consensus estimate of $345.6 million.

Chief Executive Officer Joe Scalzo said the company is not pleased with its current performance and is taking steps to address the shortfall.

Sales Decline Driven by Brand Weakness

The revenue drop was largely driven by steep declines in its Atkins and OWYN brands, which fell 26.6% and 16.8%, respectively. Growth in the Quest brand was modest at 0.3% and did little to offset the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is developing an all-new compact electric SUV priced well below its current lineup, as the company faces mounting pressure to demonstrate that its core vehicle business can stage a meaningful recovery.

Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein expects the company’s slump to persist, noting: “Globally, I’m forecasting a third straight year of deliveries decline in 2026.”

Legendary short-seller James Chanos had a concise take on Tesla’s predicament. When a user posted on X that “the selling pressure on Tesla is a bit suspicious,” Chanos replied: “Yeah, totally suspicious. Why would anyone be selling a stock at 170x declining earnings (EPS peaked in 2022)…?!”

What We Know About The New Model

The compact SUV will measure roughly 14 feet in length, significantly shorter than the Model Y. Three sources said it would be produced at Tesla’s Shanghai factory, with one …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stocks traded lower this morning, with the Dow Jones index falling more than 100 points on Thursday.

Following the market opening Thursday, the Dow traded down 0.27% to 47,778.78 while the NASDAQ fell 0.40% to 22,544.04. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.23% to 6,767.01.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Utilities shares climbed by 1.6% on Thursday.

In trading on Thursday, information technology stocks fell by 0.8%.

Top Headline

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 0.5% in the fourth quarter. That’s a sharp deceleration from the 4.4% pace recorded in the third quarter and a downward revision of 0.2 percentage points from the prior estimate, primarily due to weaker investment data.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Onconetix Inc (NASDAQ:ONCO) shares shot up 76% to $1.99 after the company announced Realbotix, its pending acquisition target, has delivered its first Vinci-equipped humanoid robot to Ericsson.
• Shares of DarkIris Inc (NASDAQ:DKI) got a boost, surging 59% to $0.63 after the company announced …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The U.S. natural gas market is showing signs of seasonal normalization, with the front-month April contract (J26) trading near the lower end of its historical range. While a moderate winter premium remains visible in the Z26 contract, the overall forward curve has moved closer to 2024–2025 levels, reflecting reduced concerns over acute shortages.
Inventories are building faster than average (+56 BCF forecast), pushing storage levels above seasonal norms at around 1.92 TCF. European storage remains tight at just 28.6%, but weather-driven demand is expected to stay near normal in the coming weeks. The supply-demand balance is shifting toward a moderately bearish bias in the short term, although the number of days of supply from storage (16.2 days) continues to provide some underlying support.

Current natural gas prices compared to the price range 10 days prior to expiration, by month, since 2010

The current price of the nearest April contract (J26) is near the lower end of the historical range for the 10-day period leading up to expiration and is close to the median values. For the summer months, the 2026 curve is generally around the median or slightly below it, with no significant weather premium. The most notable upward deviation persists in the winter contract Z26, which is trading above the average level and closer to the upper half of the historical range. For 2027 and 2028, values are also slightly higher than 2026 in the winter segment, but without an extreme deviation from historical data. Overall, the near end of the curve now looks noticeably calmer than in winter, and the market premium is concentrated mainly in the coming heating season.

Forward natural gas curve compared to 2020–2026

The 2026 forward curve is significantly lower than the 2022–2023 peaks and, overall, closer to the 2024–2025 trajectory. After the winter peak, the market moves into a range of around 3.7–4.0 during the summer months and then resumes seasonal growth heading into the winter of 2026/27. January 2027 remains one of the most expensive points on the curve, but no longer appears extreme compared to the crisis years. The distant segments for 2028–2030 maintain a stable seasonal sine wave without sharp spikes, which suggests a normalization of long-term expectations. Overall, the current curve reflects a moderate …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Tarek Mansour, CEO of prediction market exchange Kalshi, says Donald Trump Jr. has never made a regulatory ask on the platform’s behalf, pushing back on conflict-of-interest concerns as monthly trading volume surges past $12 billion.

Trump Jr. was hired as a Kalshi strategic advisor shortly after inauguration day.

He is also an investor and advisor to rival Polymarket. “We have never asked for any favors and he has never done anything, any regulatory ask, nothing like that,” Mansour said in a new interview.

Sports Share Is Falling, But That’s The Point

Sports contracts still make up roughly 70% of volume, down from over 90% recently.

Mansour defended that remaining share directly: sports betting, he argued, works like options in traditional markets, generating the liquidity that makes Kalshi’s economics and politics contracts viable.

Kalshi co-founder Luana Lopes Lara flagged tech layoff contracts as among the fastest-growing markets, up over 20% week over week.

She highlighted a …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stocks were lower, with the Dow Jones index falling over 100 points on Thursday.

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB) rose sharply after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued first-quarter sales guidance above estimates.

BlackBerry reported adjusted earnings per share of 6 cents, beating the consensus estimate of 4 cents. In addition, the company reported revenue of $156.00 million, beating the consensus estimate of $144.36 million, per Benzinga Pro data.

BlackBerry shares jumped 12.2% to $3.96 on Thursday.

Here are some other big stocks recording gains in today’s session.

• Mega Fortune Co Ltd (NASDAQ:MGRT) shares jumped 44% to $63.00.
• STAAR Surgical Co (NASDAQ:STAA) gained 25.2% to $26.14 after the company reported a year-over-year increase in first-quarter net sales results.
• Forte Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:FBRX) surged 22.6% to …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Corvex, Inc. (NASDAQ:MOVE) shares are climbing Thursday morning. The company announced it regained compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements. This news ends a delisting threat that began in late 2025.

Nasdaq Compliance Restored

The AI cloud firm received a formal letter from Nasdaq on Tuesday. The letter confirmed Corvex met the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement. This resolves a deficiency first reported on Oct. 1.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

IonQ (NYSE:IONQ) on Thursday signed a strategic agreement with Horizon Quantum. The deal involves Horizon Quantum acquiring IonQ’s 256-qubit trapped-ion system, which is expected to enhance their quantum computing capabilities as the company aims to unlock broader quantum advantages for developers.

This news comes as the broader market experienced declines, with major indices like the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both slipping.

Horizon Quantum will purchase one of IonQ’s first 6th-generation, chip-based 256-qubit trapped-ion systems, a move that aims to significantly boost their quantum computing resources.

This acquisition is part of Horizon Quantum’s strategy to expand its capabilities and provide advanced software infrastructure for quantum applications.

The broader market saw declines on Thursday, with the Nasdaq falling 0.01% and the S&P 500 down 0.13%. IonQ’s drop comes as the technology sector struggled, indicating that the stock may be reacting to broader market pressures rather than just company-specific news.

Technical Analysis

At $28.78, IonQ is trading 6.7% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) of $30.84, suggesting short-term bearish momentum. Additionally, the stock is 15.5% below its 50-day SMA of $34.02, indicating a continued struggle to regain upward traction in the intermediate …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

AGA Precision Systems, a unit of PMGC Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ELAB), said on Thursday it has signed a new long-term agreement with a Tier 1 aerospace and defense company to supply precision CNC components.

The multi-year deal formalizes an ongoing relationship and includes commitments on quality, delivery, and pricing for mission-critical programs. It follows a similar agreement announced on March 31, 2026, with Turbo-Jet Products Co., Inc.

AGA said the contract strengthens its position in the U.S. defense supply chain and supports recurring revenue potential. The customer’s identity was not disclosed due to confidentiality and ITAR requirements.

Technical Analysis

PMGC Holdings is …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Federal Reserve leadership transition is scheduled to occur during a turbulent time. Rate-cut expectations have been slashed to zero, private-sector job growth is effectively zero, and trillions of dollars in debt need to be refinanced.

Each of these variables alone would be manageable. Together, they form a trifecta of macro constraints of 2026.

Expectations Revisited

Wells Fargo has revised its rate change projection on April 6. According to Reuters, the bank scrapped its expectation of two rate cuts this year, expecting a transient inflation bump and higher uncertainty.

Inflation, particularly from energy shocks tied to geopolitical conflict, remains too persistent. The bond market has made that clear by pushing yields higher and demanding a greater risk premium to hold U.S. debt.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged weakness in the job market

“If you adjust what has been the trend in job creation over the past six months…If you adjust that for what we think is the overstatement due to overcounting, effectively there’s zero net job creation in the private sector,” he said on March 18.

For Powell, whose term ends on May 15, the economy isn’t collapsing, but it is not expanding in a meaningful way either.

Under normal circumstances, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Jet.AI Inc. (NASDAQ:JTAI) stock continued tanking Thursday following its 1‑for‑200 reverse stock split that took effect before Wednesday’s market open. 

The company pointed focus to a fresh $5 million investment in a special purpose vehicle tied to Elon Musk‘s SpaceX and xAI‑related entities. 

• JTAI stock is moving. See the chart and price action here. 

On Wednesday, Jet.AI began trading split‑adjusted after converting roughly 129.4 million pre‑split shares into about 646,800 shares, significantly reducing the float. 

At the same time, the company announced an investment of $5 million into an outside special purpose vehicle (SPV) to provide exposure to SpaceX and xAI, tying Jet.AI’s story to future events or re‑valuations in …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) shares fell in Thursday’s trading.

The company on Thursday announced an investment in AI-powered software platform Replit through Accenture Ventures, alongside a strategic partnership to expand AI-driven development for enterprises.

The collaboration aims to help organizations build applications faster using AI-native tools, including natural language prompts and agentic AI. Accenture and Replit will work together to identify scalable enterprise use cases and new development workflows.

Replit’s platform integrates coding, AI assistance, collaboration, and hosting in a single workspace, enabling rapid prototyping and deployment.

Based on Accenture’s second-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report, as of February 28, 2026, the company had a total cash balance—comprising cash and cash equivalents—of $9.4 billion.

Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Technical Analysis

The stock is currently trading 2.5% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 10.4% below its 50-day SMA, suggesting a bearish short-term trend. The stock is also 20.1% below its 100-day SMA and 22.9% below its 200-day SMA, indicating a continued struggle in the intermediate to long-term outlook.

The relative strength index (RSI) is at 38.53, which is considered neutral …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Beasley Broadcast Group Inc (NASDAQ:BBGI) shares are trading lower on Thursday morning. The move comes as investors engage in profit-taking following Wednesday’s massive rally.

The radio station operator’s stock price surged over 80% during the previous session.

Earnings Spark Volatility

The recent volatility followed the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings report.

Naples, Florida-based Beasley Broadcast reported a quarterly loss of $105.40 per share. Compare that with a loss of $1.17 per share in the same period last year, and it’s clear that losses widened significantly. Sales for the quarter totaled $53.050 million, down 21.16% …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page.

• Morgan Stanley raised the price target for Alcoa Corp (NYSE:AA) from $64 to $80. Morgan Stanley analyst Carlos De Alba upgraded the stock from Equal-Weight to Overweight. Alcoa shares closed at $71.76 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• BTIG increased SuRo Capital Corp (NASDAQ:SSSS) price target from $12.5 to $15. BTIG analyst Marvin Fong maintained a Buy rating. SuRo Capital shares closed at $12.17 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• Stifel raised price target for Texas Instruments Inc (NASDAQ:TXN) from $215 to $250. Stifel analyst Tore Svanberg upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy. Texas Instruments shares closed at $208.90 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• BMO Capital raised the price target for Healthequity Inc

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

• Morgan Stanley analyst Carlos De Alba initiated coverage on NovaGold Resources Inc (AMEX:NG) with an Overweight rating and announced a price target of $13.8. Novagold Resources shares closed at $9.26 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• Clear Street analyst Tim Moore initiated coverage on REalloys Inc (NASDAQ:ALOY) with a Buy rating and announced a …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

• HC Wainwright & Co. analyst Raghuram Selvaraju downgraded Assertio Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ASRT) from Buy to Neutral and cut the price target from $35 to $18. Assertio shares closed at $18.41 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• BTIG analyst Gray Powell downgraded Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) from Buy to Neutral. Zscaler shares closed at …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the San Francisco, California-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.58 per share, up from $1.39 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Wells Fargo’s quarterly revenue is $21.77 billion (it reported $20.15 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On Feb. 23, Wells Fargo announced that Dennis Devine has been named the company’s new head of Business Banking.

Wells Fargo shares gained 3.6% to close at $84.66 on Wednesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Oil industry leaders have reportedly expressed their disapproval to the Trump administration regarding Iran’s proposal to levy tolls on the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Executives from various oil companies have reached out to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance to voice their concerns. A meeting was held with senior administration staff in the State Department on Wednesday to discuss the matter, reported POLITICO.

The industry leaders worry that the proposed tolls could add about $2.5 million per shipment through higher insurance and fees, costs likely to be passed on to consumers. They also fear it may set a precedent for countries like Singapore and Turkey to impose similar charges on key routes such as the Strait of Malacca and the Bosporus.

Furthermore, the executives worry that paying the toll could potentially put companies at risk of violating sanctions on Iranian officials. Despite these concerns, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the administration is working with a “more reasonable” set of Iranian proposals, without specifying the changes in the plan. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

OpenAI has reportedly projected a dramatic increase in its advertising revenue, expecting to hit $2.5 billion this year and a staggering $100 billion by 2030.

The ambitious revenue forecasts of the Sam Altman-led company were presented to investors, Axios reported on Thursday. OpenAI’s ad pilot earned $100 million annual recurring revenue in under two months, with strong growth projected, and it told investors that it anticipates its 2026 ad revenue of $2.5 billion to rise to $11 billion in 2027, $25 billion in 2028, and $53 billion by 2029.

These estimates are based on the assumption that OpenAI’s products will reach 2.75 billion weekly users by 2030, capturing a significant portion of the global ad market currently dominated by tech giants like Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG), Meta Platforms

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (NYSE:MUFG) shares retreated Thursday as a landmark acquisition in India met a cooling global appetite for risk.

The Tokyo-based lender saw its shares fall 1.47% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange to close at 2,842 Japanese Yen, while U.S. premarket levels signaled deeper selling.

Historic Investment in Shriram Finance

MUFG Bank said Wednesday it completed an investment in India-based Shriram Finance Limited. The bank subscribed to 471,121,055 equity shares at 840.93 Indian rupees per share.

The total deal amounts to approximately 396.18 billion Indian …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.67 per share, down from $2.77 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Johnson & Johnson’s quarterly revenue is $23.6 billion (it reported $21.89 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On March 12, Johnson & Johnson announced the FDA approval of TECNIS PureSee Intraocular Lens intended for use in cataract surgery.

Johnson & Johnson shares gained 1.2% to close at $241.30 on Wednesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate

Full story available on Benzinga.com

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $5.48 per share. That’s up from $5.07 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for JPMorgan’s quarterly revenue is $48.80 billion (it reported $45.31 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

With the recent buzz around JPMorgan, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company’s dividends too. As of now, JPMorgan has an annual dividend yield of 1.95%, which is a quarterly dividend amount of $1.50 per share ($6.00 a year).

To figure out how to earn $500 monthly from JPMorgan, we start with the yearly target of $6,000 ($500 x 12 months).

Next, we take this amount and divide it by JPMorgan’s …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

As of April 9, 2026, two stocks in the utilities sector could be flashing a real warning to investors who value momentum as a key criteria in their trading decisions.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered overbought when the RSI is above 70, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major overbought players in this sector.

Pure Cycle Corp (NASDAQ:PCYO)

• On April 8, Pure Cycle posted an increase in earnings and sales for the second quarter. “While our unseasonably warm and dry winter in Denver may have impacted the ski season, it …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

GoodRx Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:GDRX) shares are gaining during Thursday’s premarket session.

The company revealed that it is expanding access to Eli Lilly and Company’s (NYSE:LLY) new oral GLP-1 medication, Foundayo.

GoodRx announced that eligible self-pay consumers can access Foundayo starting at $149 per month.

The company is also expanding access to Zepbound, available to eligible self-pay patients starting at $299 per …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

During times of turbulence and uncertainty in the markets, many investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. These are often companies that have high free cash flows and reward shareholders with a high dividend payout.

Benzinga readers can review the latest analyst takes on their favorite stocks by visiting Analyst Stock Ratings page. Traders can sort through Benzinga’s extensive database of analyst ratings, including by analyst accuracy.

Below are the ratings of the most accurate analysts for three high-yielding stocks in the communication services sector.

National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:NCMI)

• Dividend Yield: 3.64%
• Barrington Research analyst Patrick Sholl maintained an Outperform rating and cut the price target from $6.5 to $5.5 on Jan. 26, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 59%
• B. Riley Securities analyst Drew Crum maintained a Neutral rating and slashed the price target from $5 to $4 on Jan. 22, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 69%.
• Recent News: On Feb. 26, National CineMedia posted …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

TORONTO, April 9, 2026 /CNW/ – Building on the tremendous success of last year’s WWF Climb for Nature and Aviso’s inaugural sponsorship, which brought together more than 5,800 people nationwide to raise $1.7 million for wildlife conservation, Aviso is proud to announce the renewal of its partnership with World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) as the national sponsor of the WWF Climb for Nature. This three-year commitment reinforces Aviso’s dedication to environmental conservation and the protection of wildlife habitats across the country.

The 2026 WWF Climb for Nature will challenge participants to step up for wildlife at events across Canada, including at the flagship CN Tower in Toronto on May 2 and 3, BC Place in Vancouver in the fall, and “anywhere” else.

In addition to serving as the national sponsor, Aviso employees will actively participate in the events, demonstrating their dedication to the cause. Teams of employees will support WWF-Canada by climbing, fundraising, and volunteering their time to help operations run smoothly.

Mark Nicholson, Senior Vice President of Client Experience and Marketing at Aviso, will once again lead the company’s climb efforts.

“This renewed commitment as national sponsor for the WWF Climb for Nature means a great deal to Aviso. Supporting WWF-Canada’s conservation efforts is …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Fundstrat Head of Research Tom Lee believes the stock market has bottomed out and is on track to hit new record highs, maintaining a bold 7,300 target for the S&P 500 even as he warns of a looming macroeconomic “inflation shock.”

The Bottom Is In

Following a tumultuous period marked by geopolitical conflicts and volatile oil prices, Lee sees a clear runway for equities. Speaking to CNBC, he noted that markets demonstrated impressive resilience when headwinds were at their fiercest.

“I think the bottom is in… because last week was a period where the war was getting worse and oil was going up, but stocks weren’t going down,” Lee explained.

“So I think stocks are now on the process to go back to their all-time highs. And I think maybe get to that 7,300 that we were expecting this year.”

Surviving A ‘Rolling Bear Market’

Lee attributes this bullish outlook to the fact that much of the market has already taken its lumps. He highlighted that roughly 70% of the S&P 500 has recently endured a “rolling bear market”—with energy and financials …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stock futures were lower this morning, with the Dow futures falling around 0.4% on Thursday.

Shares of Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) fell sharply in pre-market trading following third-quarter results.

Applied Digital posted third-quarter revenue of $126.6 million, beating analyst estimates of $76.56 million, according to Benzinga Pro. The digital infrastructure provider reported adjusted earnings of nine cents per share for the quarter, beating estimates for a loss of 10 cents per share.

Applied Digital shares dipped 6.1% to $26.11 in pre-market trading.

Here are some other stocks moving lower in pre-market trading.

• The Metals Royalty Company Inc. (NASDAQ:TMCR) fell 11.5% to $12.35 in …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) are signaling a significant fundamental discount for investors, with its Benzinga Edge value score climbing from 89.69 to 90.69 week-on-week.

Deep Discount Amid Strategic Pivot

This upward tick solidifies the tech giant’s position in the top 10% of equities for relative worth. The value ranking evaluates a stock’s relative worth by comparing its market price to fundamental measures of the company’s assets, earnings, sales, and operating performance.

This enhanced valuation profile is also the direct mathematical result of a steep 14.96% year-to-date (YTD) drop in share price, creating a potential divergence between the stock’s market cost and its underlying assets just as the company aggressively accelerates its artificial intelligence operations.

Contrasting Technical Trends

Despite the highly attractive value score, Alibaba continues to face severe …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Natera Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) shares rose slightly in premarket trading after a Delaware court awarded the company a 30% ongoing royalty on post-injunction revenues tied to its MRD-related patents.

The April 6, 2026 ruling builds on a prior jury award of a 20.5% royalty on pre-injunction sales, which remains unchanged. The court also upheld patent validity and infringement findings involving ArcherDx and Invitae.

Natera said the decision reinforces the strength of its MRD patent portfolio, part of its broader base of more than 650 issued or pending patents.

Technical Analysis

At $212.00, the stock is trading 7.1% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) of $198.02, suggesting a positive short-term trend. However, it is also trading 4.0% below its 100-day SMA of $219.58, indicating some intermediate-term weakness that traders should monitor.

The relative strength index (RSI) currently sits at 56.03, suggesting neutral momentum, while the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) indicates bullish sentiment, with the MACD line at 0.0940 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

On CNBC’s “Halftime Report Final Trades,” Stephen Weiss, chief investment officer and managing partner of Short Hills Capital Partners, named Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS) as his final trade.

On the earnings front, Leidos is scheduled to announce its first quarter financial results on May 5. Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings at $2.92 per share on revenue of $4.29 billion.

Jason Snipe, founder and chief investment officer of Odyssey Capital Advisors, picked The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) ahead of quarterly earnings on Monday.

Analysts expect the investment bank to report quarterly earnings of $16.22 per share. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Applied Digital Corp (NASDAQ:APLD) shares are in focus on Thursday. The company reported third-quarter financial results after the closing bell on Wednesday.

While the company beat the analyst expectations, the stock faced downward pressure in early premarket action.

Nasdaq futures are down 0.26% while S&P 500 futures have shed 0.32%.

Massive Revenue Growth Drives Q3 Beat

Applied Digital posted third-quarter revenue of $126.6 million. This figure easily cleared the $76.56 million estimate. Total revenue surged 139% year-over-year.

The company reported adjusted earnings of nine cents per share. Analysts had expected a loss of 10 cents per share. Growth in the HPC hosting business fueled these gains.

Management …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Goldman Sachs warned that damage to Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure could push global gas prices 50–100% higher, sparking a potential energy crisis ahead of winter.

Qatar LNG Attack Disrupts Global Supply

The concern centers on QatarEnergy’s Ras Laffan Industrial City, the world’s largest LNG production site, which was knocked offline by attacks. Qatar supplies roughly one-fifth of the global LNG market.

“There is a risk that this just drags so much that it makes the process very painful,” said Samantha Dart, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, on the bank’s “Exchanges” podcast.

Dart emphasized the severity of the damage, “It doesn’t take three years to fix anything. What they are really saying is these two liquefaction trains were so damaged that we need to start over. We need to rebuild them from …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

 Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) did not predict when America’s $39 trillion debt issue might reach its peak, but stressed that the country’s fiscal trajectory cannot be ignored indefinitely. 

Speaking at the  NPR’s Newsmakers podcast on Wednesday, Dimon warned that the debt issue could lead to volatile markets, increased rates, and a reluctance to buy U.S. Treasuries. The billionaire banker called for the problem to be addressed sooner rather than later, to avoid crisis management.

“The best way to deal with the problem is to actually deal with the problem—to acknowledge it, to work on it,” he said.

Dimon urged the problem to be recognized and addressed, citing the Obama-era Simpson-Bowles Commission’s solution, which was never implemented. ” I wish it had gotten done. It would have …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The most oversold stocks in the industrials sector presents an opportunity to buy into undervalued companies.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered oversold when the RSI is below 30, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major oversold players in this sector, having an RSI near or below 30.

TaskUs, Inc (NASDAQ:TASK)

• On March 23, Wedbush maintained TaskUs with an Outperform rating and lowered the price target from $15 to $14. The company’s stock fell around 70% over the past month and has a 52-week low of $6.20.
• RSI …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

CarMax, Inc. (NYSE:KMX) will release earnings for its fourth quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the Richmond, Virginia-based company to report quarterly earnings of 23 cents per share. That’s down from 58 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for CarMax’s quarterly revenue is $5.69 billion (it reported $6 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On Feb. 12, the company announced the appointment of Keith Barr as its president and CEO.

Shares of CarMax rose 2.2% to close at $44.24 on Wednesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its strongest daily performance in a year on Wednesday, surging more than 1,300 points, or 2.8%, as easing geopolitical tensions sparked a broad-based rally across equities.

The move rekindled investor appetite for sectors most sensitive to lower oil prices, including technology, industrials, construction, and consumer discretionary.

SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA), which tracks the Dow Jones Index, mirrored the rally. With $43 billion in assets under management, the fund trades an average of more than 7 million shares daily and has an expense ratio of 0.16%

While most of the stocks in the fund’s portfolio have gained sharply, the following five led the gains.

Sherwin-Williams Co.

Falling input costs, especially oil-linked chemicals, will benefit the paint and coatings giant. The Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE:SHW) has seen a negative target price revision in recent weeks. An analyst at Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) slashed the target price on SHW to $385 from $410, citing higher oil prices …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

A year after President Donald Trump proclaimed a “golden age” of growth after introducing ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, a new Cato Institute study reveals that his sweeping duties have delivered higher consumer prices and bureaucratic chaos rather than the promised “economic independence.”

A Stalled ‘Golden Age’

When President Trump unveiled his global “reciprocal” tariffs twelve months ago, he championed a rebirth of American industry. However, the data paints a starkly different reality.

According to the Cato Institute, the promised manufacturing boom never arrived. Instead, manufacturing employment continued to struggle and overall economic growth slowed, despite strong tailwinds from the booming artificial intelligence sector.

Rather than lowering costs, the duties undeniably inflated prices. Economic research shows that up to 96% of the higher costs from the tariffs were passed directly onto American consumers, keeping prices elevated across major U.S. retailers.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The second quarter of the year started with arguably the most volatile macro situation since 2020. Brent crude has surged to $141 per barrel, with supply disruptions in the Middle East threatening to prolong the shocks. Inflation risks are reaccelerating, growth expectations are softening, and recession probabilities are climbing.

Yet AI-linked equities are rallying sharply. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) rose 8.54%, according to Benzinga Pro, while Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) gained around 12%. Automated systems leader Teradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ:TER) surged 28.8% on an upgrade to Outperform from Baird.

Memory stocks also did well. SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) is up 20% month to date. Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) is up around 16.5%, while Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) climbed approximately 20.7%.

Communication component manufacturer Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) is …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shares experienced notable volatility as the stock’s momentum score surged from 4.62 to 24.69 on a week-over-week basis.

AEO Insider Stock Sale

On Monday, AEO director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 2,887 shares of American Eagle stock at an average price of $17.32, totaling roughly $50,003.

Earlier, on January 21, he sold 1,896 shares at $25.66 per share, worth about $48,651. These transactions highlight ongoing insider activity in the company’s stock.

The company’s momentum score has risen sharply, jumping from 4.62 to 24.69, reflecting improved market sentiment and positive movement in stock-related metrics.

The Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings now provide a full breakdown of AEO’s price structure. According to the latest data, AEO’s short- and medium-term trends have turned negative, while its long-term trend remains positive.

AEO Struggles With Mall Traffic And Tariffs

AEO, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is facing growing pressure from India’s fast-expanding generics market. Lower-cost versions of its blockbuster drugs are weighing on the company’s sales, with the most significant impact seen in its diabetes and weight-loss drug Mounjaro.

Mounjaro Losing Its Exclusivity

Mounjaro, which was previously a top-selling drug, is now facing headwinds as competitors enter the market, according to a report by Bloomberg. Its sales dropped to $12.3 million in March from $14.6 million a month earlier, per Pharmarack data.

The decline came amid the launch of multiple cheaper alternatives that mimic the effects of Lilly’s therapies. This has eroded Lilly’s market share among cost-conscious patients and intensified …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Market commentator The Kobeissi Letter has flagged a divergence in equity markets, noting that stocks heavily favored by U.S. billionaires are underperforming the broader S&P 500 — a trend it says has historically preceded stronger market performance.

Billionaire-Favored Stocks Lag Broader Market

In a post on X on Wednesday, The Kobeissi Letter cited the ratio of the Bloomberg U.S. Billionaires Investment Index to the S&P 500, which has fallen to 0.41, the lowest since April 2025. The index tracks the top 50 U.S.-listed stocks held by American billionaires.

The commentator noted the ratio has declined …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has touted that his tunneling startup, The Boring Company, can build a tunnel from Los Angeles to San Francisco that can exceed high-speed rail.

Technological Marvel

On Wednesday, Musk took to the social media platform X to express his criticism of Governor Gavin Newsom‘s (D-CA) High Speed Rail project from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

“The @BoringCompany could build a Hyperloop tunnel from downtown SF to downtown LA for 5% of this [$120 billion] cost,” Musk said, quoting a post that claimed the same money could be used to fund free flights between the cities for 200 years.

He added that the Hyperloop tunnel dug by The Boring Co. would “be a technological marvel exceeding any high speed rail on Earth.”

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some easing in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Fear” zone on Wednesday.

U.S. stocks settled higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones index jumping more than 1,300 points during the session as a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran triggered the biggest single-day oil price collapse in years, easing concerns about energy-driven inflation and sparking a sweeping relief rally from airlines to semiconductors.

In earnings, shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) jumped more than 25% on Wednesday following third-quarter results. Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) gained around 4% after the company reported upbeat sales results for the first quarter.

On the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) is reportedly set to lay off up to 1,000 employees in the coming weeks under new CEO Josh D’Amaro.

Disney is gearing up for substantial layoffs, primarily within its recently consolidated marketing department. These plans were reportedly in the pipeline before D’Amaro’s appointment, reported the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

The entertainment behemoth is also merging the staff of its Disney+ and Hulu streaming services into a single app. As part of its cost-cutting strategy, Disney has been consulting with Bain & Co.

Since assuming leadership last month, D’Amaro has not detailed specific plans for restructuring Disney. However, sources told the publication that fostering quicker and more efficient collaboration across different divisions is one of his priorities.

The Walt Disney Co. did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comments.

Past Layoffs At Disney

This move comes on the heels of previous reports indicating layoffs at Disney. In June, the media giant was …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The S&P 500 surged on Wednesday, rising 2.51% to close at 6,782.81, as markets rallied sharply following President Donald Trump‘s decision to pause attacks on Iran.

However, the Polygon-based (CRYPTO: POL) Polymarket crowd has turned bearish heading into Thursday. The April 9 market shows a majority of traders betting “Down,” and only 11% “Up,” following $144,916 in traded volume on the April 8 outcome, where sentiment stayed firmly tilted toward gains.

Why That Number Matters

Markets are now balancing optimism around a ceasefire with lingering geopolitical risks. The rally was driven by Trump’s decision to suspend military action …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

President Donald Trump warned of renewed military action against Iran, saying U.S. forces will remain deployed “in and around” the region if a ceasefire agreement is not fully complied with.

Late on Wednesday, Trump stated in his Truth Social post that “the ‘Shootin’ Starts'” if terms are breached, reiterating a hardline stance on preventing nuclear weapons and ensuring the Strait of Hormuz remains open.

“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the “Shootin’ Starts,” bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before. It was agreed, a long time ago, and despite all of the fake rhetoric to the contrary – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS and, the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE,” he wrote in his post.

Ceasefire Under Strain

The warning comes as a fragile two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire, announced on Tuesday and met with mixed reactions domestically and abroad, faces pressure from Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday.

According to the Lebanese Civil Defense, strikes across the country have killed at least 254 people and injured 1,165 others.

Israel’s escalation of the conflict in the Middle East follows the posting by Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office on X, which backed the truce but said Lebanon remains outside the agreement.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In the ever-evolving and intensely competitive business landscape, conducting a thorough company analysis is of utmost importance for investors and industry followers. In this article, we will carry out an in-depth industry comparison, assessing NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) alongside its primary competitors in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry. By meticulously examining key financial metrics, market positioning, and growth prospects, we aim to offer valuable insights to investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry.

NVIDIA Background

Nvidia is a leading developer of graphics processing units. Traditionally, GPUs were used to enhance the experience on computing platforms, most notably in gaming applications on PCs. GPU use cases have since emerged as important semiconductors used in artificial intelligence to run large language models. Nvidia not only offers AI GPUs, but also a software platform, Cuda, used for AI model development and training. Nvidia is also expanding its data center networking solutions, helping to tie GPUs together to handle complex workloads.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In today’s rapidly changing and highly competitive business world, it is vital for investors and industry enthusiasts to carefully assess companies. In this article, we will perform a comprehensive industry comparison, evaluating Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) against its key competitors in the Automobiles industry. By analyzing important financial metrics, market position, and growth prospects, we aim to provide valuable insights for investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry.

Tesla Background

Tesla is a vertically integrated battery electric vehicle automaker and developer of real world artificial intelligence software, which includes autonomous driving and humanoid robots. The company has multiple vehicles in its fleet, which include luxury and midsize sedans, crossover SUVs, a light truck, and a semi truck. Tesla also plans to begin selling a sports car and offer a robotaxi service. Global deliveries in 2025 were nearly 1.64 million vehicles. The company sells batteries for stationary storage for residential and commercial properties including utilities and solar panels and solar roofs for energy generation. Tesla also owns a fast-charging network and an auto insurance business.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In today’s rapidly evolving and fiercely competitive business landscape, it is crucial for investors and industry analysts to conduct comprehensive company evaluations. In this article, we will undertake an in-depth industry comparison, assessing Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) alongside its primary competitors in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry. By meticulously examining crucial financial indicators, market positioning, and growth potential, we aim to provide valuable insights to investors and shed light on company’s performance within the industry.

Apple Background

Apple is among the largest companies in the world, with a broad portfolio of hardware and software products targeted at consumers and businesses. Apple’s iPhone makes up a majority of the firm sales, and Apple’s other products like Mac, iPad, and Watch are designed around the iPhone as the focal point of an expansive software ecosystem. Apple has progressively worked to add new applications, like streaming video, subscription bundles, and augmented reality. The firm designs its own software and semiconductors while working with subcontractors like Foxconn and TSMC to build its products and chips. Slightly less than half of Apple’s sales come directly through its flagship stores, with a majority of sales coming indirectly through partnerships and distribution.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV) CEO He Xiaopeng has widened his push to showcase the company’s autonomous-driving technology, inviting hundreds of international media outlets and influencers to China to test its VLA 2.0 intelligent driving system as the automaker seeks to build global credibility for its next-generation software.

XPENG Expands Global Test Drive Push

In a post on X on Wednesday, He wrote, “Can’t wait to welcome more international media to take on the VLA 2.0 challenge,” while reposting a clip of Toby Clarke from ev.com testing the system and praising the experience.

The challenge He referenced is XPENG’s VLA 2.0 Gold Challenge, which the company has framed as an outgrowth of internal testing built around extreme driving scenarios selected by its community.

XPENG has been using those scenarios to judge whether the system …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk urged customers wanting to get their hands on the outgoing Model S and Model X vehicles to place their orders, citing limited inventory.

Inventory Nearly Over

Musk, in a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday, shared that there were only a “few hundred Tesla Model S & X cars left in inventory.” Musk also urged people to order them now before the inventory runs out. On the official Tesla website, you can see that there are fewer than 5 Model S units available near Austin, Texas, while a single Model X vehicle remains in the same area.

JerryRigEverything Weighs In

Quoting Musk’s post on X, YouTuber Zack Nelson, aka JerryRigEverything, shared a sarcastic jibe at Musk. “Tesla going out of business sale,” he said.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) announced the launch of its first major artificial intelligence model on Wednesday, nine months after the high-profile hiring of Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang.

The AI model, called Muse Spark, initially code-named Avocado, is the first in the new Muse series. Meta Superintelligence Labs has rebuilt the AI stack from scratch in the past nine months, marking a faster development cycle than any previous ones.

Muse Spark Powers AI, Shopping, And API

Meta is positioning Muse Spark not as a top-tier model but is highlighting its efficiency and competitive performance across various tasks. The company plans to open-source future versions of the model, a shift from its current proprietary stance.

“Muse Spark offers competitive performance in multimodal perception, reasoning, health, and agentic tasks,” Meta said.

The Mark Zuckerberg-led company is aiming to create a new revenue stream by providing third-party developers with access to Muse Spark’s core technology through an API. This model currently powers the company’s digital assistant on both the standalone Meta AI app and its desktop website.

Muse Spark will include a Shopping mode that helps users buy clothes …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Federal Reserve is increasingly worried about the fragility of the U.S. labor market, signaling a potential shift in the focus of monetary policy as risks to employment begin to rival lingering inflation concerns.

A Vulnerable Labor Market

“The minutes suggest that the FOMC is somewhat more sensitive to labor market vulnerabilities than to inflation risk,” noted prominent economist Mohamed El-Erian following the release of the minutes from the March 17-18 meeting.

While the central bank voted almost unanimously to maintain the benchmark interest rate at 3.5 to 3.75%, officials explicitly noted that “job gains had remained low” and the unemployment rate was little changed.

Many meeting participants warned that the labor market “appeared vulnerable to adverse shocks” given the current low-hiring environment.

They explicitly cautioned that a further drop in labor demand could push the unemployment rate sharply higher, highlighting the deep structural concerns among central bankers.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Global central banks added 19 tonnes of gold to their reserves in February, marking an unbroken 23-month streak of net purchases as nations aggressively diversify their global holdings.

Poland Leads The Charge

The latest February data pushes year-to-date net gold purchases to a robust 25 tonnes, underscoring what analysts view as a monumental shift in reserve management.

The National Bank of Poland dominated the month’s activity, acquiring a staggering 20 tonnes. This purchase brings Poland’s total gold reserves to 570 tonnes, comprising roughly 31% of its total foreign exchange holdings.

Other notable buyers included the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, which added 8 tonnes, and China, which purchased 1 tonne. While smaller in volume, China’s acquisition marks its 16th consecutive monthly purchase, pushing its massive stockpile to 2,308 tonnes.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the New York-based company to report quarterly earnings of $2.61 per share. That’s up from $1.96 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Citigroup’s quarterly revenue is $23.44 billion (it reported $21.6 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On April 2, Citigroup declared a quarterly dividend of 60 cents per share.

Shares of Citigroup rose 5.4% to close at $123.49 on Wednesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

With U.S. stock futures trading lower this morning on Thursday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows:

• Wall Street expects BlackBerry Ltd. (NYSE:BB) to report quarterly earnings at 4 cents per share on revenue of $144.37 million before the opening bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. BlackBerry shares gained 2% to $3.60 in after-hours trading.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (NYSE:STZ) posted better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter, after the closing bell on Wednesday. The company also said it expects fiscal 2027 adjusted EPS of …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Investor Ross Gerber of Gerber Kawasaki said on Wednesday that Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) should initiate refunds for customers if the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system does not work as intended.

$10K Refunds

In a post on the social media platform X, Gerber weighed in on Tesla’s FSD v14.3 update. “If tesla FSD 14.3 doesn’t work unsupervised… we should all get our $10k back… we’ve waited long enough,” the investor said in the post. The $10,000 Gerber is referring to is the one-time payment Tesla charged for its FSD package from 2020 to 2022.

Waymo Has Solved Autonomy

In another post, the investor hailed Alphabet Inc.-backed

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, executed a significant trade on Thursday by purchasing shares of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA). This move comes amid mixed analyst opinions and market volatility surrounding the electric vehicle giant.

The Tesla Trade

ARK Innovation ETF (BATS:ARKK) acquired 33,210 shares of the Elon Musk-led company. The purchase was made amid recent bearish sentiment among analysts, including JPMorgan’s Ryan Brinkman, who highlighted concerns about Tesla’s growing inventory levels. Brinkman pointed out that Tesla had a record 50,363 unsold vehicles at the end of the first quarter, which could potentially lead to a significant drop in stock value. He reiterated an Underweight …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stock markets experienced a significant surge on Wednesday, following a mixed close the previous day. The futures of major benchmark indices climbed as President Donald Trump declared a two-week ceasefire on Iran strikes.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 2.85% to 47,909.92, while the S&P 500 climbed 2.5% to 6,782.81 and the Nasdaq advanced 2.8% to 22,634.99.

These are the top stocks that gained the attention of retail traders and investors through the day.

Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F)

Ford’s stock rose by 5.73%, closing at $12.18. The stock reached an intraday high of $12.24 and a low of $11.96, with a 52-week range between $14.80 and $8.44. 

Ford’s CEO Jim Farley recently acknowledged the challenges of the electric vehicle transition, citing a $4.8 billion annual loss. The company has canceled several battery-electric models due to insufficient demand.

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)

Applied Digital’s stock surged 10.37%, closing at $27.79. The stock’s intraday high was $29.39, with a low of $27.35, and its 52-week range is $42.25 to $3.31. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) is consolidating its holdings across eight private credit funds into a debt offering, backed by an insurance guarantee against default.

Through its money management division, Unified Global Alternatives, UBS plans to issue $500 million in securities, of which $375 million will be protected by the unnamed insurer to mitigate default risk. 

This structure secured an A2 rating from Moody’s Ratings, Bloomberg reported. Conversations are still ongoing and details could change, unnamed sources told the publication.

Unlocking Cash From Hard-To-Sell Investments

The trend of securitization reflects broader market shifts, as private equity firms grapple with slower exits …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Moody’s Ratings has revised Blue Owl Capital’s (NYSE:OWL) flagship private credit fund rating to negative, a sign of continued strain on the private credit space.

The firm cut Blue Owl Credit Income Corp’s (OCIC) rating to negative from stable in response to “significantly higher-than-peer redemption requests in the first quarter,” Moody’s stated.

Last week, it was reported that Blue Owl Capital capped redemptions in both its funds at 5% after investors requested withdrawals of 22% and 41% in its private credit and technology-focused funds, respectively.

The firm attributed the above-average number of requests to “heightened market concerns around AI-related disruption to software companies.”

“We continue to observe a meaningful disconnect between the public dialogue on private credit and the underlying trends in our portfolio,” Blue Owl wrote in a letter to shareholders and reported by CNBC.

 Moody’s noted that while Blue Owl kept net outflows contained during the first quarter, they expect to see “elevated redemptions to persist in the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) surged after Anthropic named both as launch partners in Project Glasswing, a controlled rollout of its Claude Mythos Preview model, a system the company says can find thousands of vulnerabilities that even elite human researchers would miss.

CRWD posted its best single-day performance in over six months, gaining 6.2%, while PANW climbed nearly 5%.

Why Anthropic Is Sitting On It

The move marks a sharp reversal from late March, when cybersecurity stocks slid after Fortune first reported on Mythos — CRWD dropped 7% and PANW declined 6% in a single session. Tuesday’s announcement reframed the threat as an opportunity.

Mythos Preview is described as extremely autonomous, with reasoning capabilities that match those of an advanced security researcher.

In testing, it found bugs in every major operating system and web browser, including some believed to be …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Vice President JD Vance isn’t selling peace. Speaking in Budapest Wednesday, Vance called the U.S.-Iran agreement “a fragile truce,” warning that some Iranian officials are “lying about even the fragile truce that we’ve already struck.”

“The president of the United States is not one to mess around,” Vance added. “He’s impatient. He’s impatient to make progress.”

Trump’s ceasefire announcement had hammered the sector before Vance spoke. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) fell more than 6% as West Texas Intermediate crude tumbled more than 17% …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Richtech Robotics Inc. (NASDAQ:RR) on Wednesday announced a distribution agreement with Netherlands-based NewConsultancy B.V. to expand into Europe, following momentum from ProWein 2025.

Details

Under the deal, NewConsultancy will distribute Richtech’s AI-driven service robots across the Netherlands and the broader EU/Schengen region, providing local deployment, service, and support.

CEO Wayne Haung said the partnership marks “a pivotal moment” in the company’s global growth and supports expansion of its Robotics-as-a-Service model.

The move targets rising demand for automation in hospitality and logistics, where businesses face labor shortages and higher costs.

The broader market is experiencing gains, with the S&P 500 up …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE) shares are trading sharply higher Wednesday. The move comes amid a massive global market relief rally. Investors are pivoting back to clean energy names as geopolitical tensions ease.

The Nasdaq is up 2.92%, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.36% on Wednesday.

Ceasefire Ignites Rate Cut Hopes

The primary catalyst stems from a ceasefire in the Iran war. This development sent WTI crude crashing 18% to $92. Lower energy prices have boosted CME FedWatch odds for a rate cut by year-end. Clean energy projects depend on cheap financing. Falling yields make these long-duration capital projects …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Elon Musk once swore SpaceX would stay private until humans reached Mars. Now he wants $2 trillion and a June listing.

SpaceX filed confidentially with the SEC on April 1, targeting a late-May prospectus and early June roadshow at a reported $1.75 trillion valuation, roughly five times what SpaceX was worth just nine months ago.

The AI Pivot Driving The Numbers

The valuation jump owes less to rockets than to Musk’s February merger of SpaceX with his AI company xAI, owner of the Grok chatbot. The stated rationale for the xAI merger is building AI data centers in space, though specifics remain vague.

xAI pulled in roughly $100 million in revenue last quarter. OpenAI reported $2 billion a month over the same period.

Starlink currently serves around 10 million subscribers. T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) has roughly 14 times as many at a …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) shares are up on Wednesday following the announcement of a significant contract award.

Details

The company has secured a U.S. Space Force contract with a potential value of $446.8 million to support the Resilient Missile Warning and Tracking program.

The company will act as prime contractor for ground management and integration, building a scalable, secure architecture to operate missile-tracking satellites in Medium Earth Orbit.

Kratos will lead a team including Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) and others to integrate legacy and next-generation systems into a unified global network. The system is designed to detect and track advanced threats such as hypersonic glide vehicles and maneuvering ballistic missiles.

The award underscores Kratos’ growing role in U.S. space and missile defense infrastructure.

The broader market is experiencing gains, with the S&P 500 up 2.47% and the Technology sector rising 3.37%. Kratos’s stock performance aligns with this positive trend, indicating that the company’s news is contributing to its upward movement.

Technical Analysis

At $74.34, the stock is trading 8.9% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) of $80.80, suggesting a short-term bearish trend. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 600 points on Wednesday.

The Dow traded up 2.59% to 47,788.74 while the NASDAQ surged 2.87% to 22,650.38. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 2.42% to 6,777.12.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Industrials shares climbed by 3.7% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy stocks fell by 5%.

Top Headline

U.S. crude inventories gained by 3.1 million barrels to 464.7 million barrels in the week ended April 3, versus market estimates of a 701,000-barrel gain.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc (NASDAQ:OMEX) shares shot up 90% to $1.58. Odyssey Marine Exploration and American Ocean Minerals signed a $1 billion merger agreement.
• Shares of Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR) got a boost, surging 27% to $63.84 following third-quarter results.
• U Power Ltd (NASDAQ:UCAR) shares …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Aidan Hall upgraded PJT Partners Inc (NYSE:PJT) from Market Perform to Outperform and lowered the price target from $180 to $166. PJT Partners shares closed at $141.65 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Michael Brown upgraded Perella Weinberg Partners

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Alternative investment manager Chicago Atlantic plans to launch an emerging markets private credit strategy.

The platform will focus on senior secured loans, structured credit, and asset-backed financing solutions and is expected to expand the firm’s private credit capabilities into high-growth markets across Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, a press release stated.

The strategy will be led by Peter Marber and Jim Garvey. 

Marber previously led the emerging markets business at UBS, HSBC and Loomis Sales, while Garvey previously managed portfolios at Emso Asset Management and held roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Santander, Bancomer, ABN Amro, and Smith Barney, among others.

Scott Gordon, Chicago Atlantic partner, will oversee the business. Gordon previously worked as a founding member of JPMorgan’s Emerging Markets Business. He also held emerging markets-related positions at ING Bank, and the Global Special Situations Group at Bank of America. 

Umesh Mahajan, Bill Healy …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Reddit, Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) shares traded higher on Wednesday after announcing a strategic data partnership with Nectar Social.

The deal expands Reddit’s reach into enterprise analytics as brands seek deeper consumer insights.

The collaboration grants Nectar access to Reddit’s Data API, unlocking real-time insights across thousands of communities, Benzinga reports. The move highlights Reddit’s growing role in shaping digital discovery and purchasing decisions.

• Reddit stock is surging to new heights today. What’s fueling RDDT momentum?

Partnership Expands Data Access

Nectar Social will integrate Reddit data directly into its platform for enterprise clients. The system aggregates insights from multiple social channels into one unified interface.

Brands can track conversations, identify trends, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

IREN Ltd (NASDAQ:IREN) shares are climbing during Wednesday’s session. The move comes as global markets react to a significant geopolitical shift.

• IREN stock is surging to new heights today. What’s behind IREN gains?

Geopolitical De-Escalation Boosts Sentiment

Investors are piling into risk assets following news of a two-week ceasefire agreement. The deal involves Iran, the U.S., and Israel. President Donald Trump announced the truce on Tuesday. He described the deal as a “total and complete victory.” This news relieved pressure on global markets and lowered oil prices.

Bitcoin Surges Past Key Levels

The ceasefire news triggered a sharp rally in the crypto market. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

After eight years of negotiations, the European Union (EU) and Australia have concluded a landmark free trade agreement – one driven partly by concerns about US and Chinese trade policies.

The agreement eliminates over 99% of tariffs on EU exports to Australia. The deal scraps duties on nearly all Australian goods and critical minerals entering the EU. It opens the EU’s high-income market of 450 million consumers.

It is the fourth-largest FTA the EU has ever concluded by tariff savings, behind only the UK, Mercosur, and India. The two sides already trade more than €89.2 billion in goods and services annually, supporting 460,000 jobs across the EU.

US tariff volatility and China’s tightening export controls accelerated negotiations by reinforcing Europe’s need for supply-chain diversification. The EU finalized free trade agreements with Indonesia in September 2025 and India in January 2026. It cemented three major Indo-Pacific agreements in rapid succession.

Source: Eurostat

“The EU and Australia may be geographically far apart, but we couldn’t be closer in terms of how we see the world,” Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said. “We are sending a strong signal to the rest of the world that friendship and cooperation are what matter most in times of turbulence.”

Formal negotiations began in June 2018 but stalled in October 2023. At that point, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell demanded new beef and sheep meat export quotas. The EU negotiators described it as incompatible with their final offer.

They revived the talks again in 2025 in response to the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs across the globe. Von der Leyen and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed the deal in Canberra on March 24.

EU Runs Trade Surplus with Australia

The EU runs a goods trade surplus of €28 billion with Australia, exporting €37 billion in goods in 2025. The bloc imports just €10.7 billion in goods.

In services, the imbalance is equally pronounced. EU firms supplied €31 billion to Australian clients in 2024, against €11 billion flowing the other way.

About 97.6% of EU exports will be duty-free at entry into force. About 2% will have duties removed over a transition period of up to five years. For Australian exporters, 97.8% of goods will enter the EU duty-free once the agreement starts.

EU exports to Australia are expected to grow by as much as 33% over the next decade. They could reach up to €17.7 billion annually,

Polymarket’s Iran ceasefire market has logged over $170 million in total volume, making it one of the largest geopolitical wagers in prediction market history.

But a dispute over whether a ceasefire actually occurred has left traders locked out of payouts, with no clear resolution timeline.

The Discord That Decides

On Polymarket, resolution works like this: any user can propose an outcome by posting collateral. If another user disputes it, the matter goes to a vote among holders of UMA (CRYPTO: UMA), a governance cryptocurrency.

Traders debate the evidence in a public Discord server.

The sticking point is definitional. Some traders argue the US-Iran agreement qualifies as a “temporary tactical stand-down,” which may not meet Polymarket’s resolution criteria.

Others point to Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi’s statement that Iran’s forces would cease …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Hertz Global Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HTZ) shares are gaining momentum on Wednesday. The rally follows a significant surge in used vehicle valuations.

Manheim Index Hits Multi-Year High

The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index rose 6.2% last month. This marks the highest level since summer 2023, according to CNBC. The index tracks wholesale auction prices across the U.S.

Tight Inventory Boosts Resale Value

Cox Automotive reports that used vehicle demand remains resilient. Supply fell below 40 days in March. This represents the lowest inventory level seen in 2026. …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in China aims to open 350 new stores this year, boosting its footprint by about a quarter

image credit: Bamboo Works

Key Takeaways:

• DPC Dash’s revenue rose 25% last year, as its profit more than doubled on a rapid expansion that included the net addition of 307 new stores during the year
• The master franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in China reported a slight same-store sales decrease for the year, though its tier one cities remained positive for that metric

Why settle for 98% of the pie when you can have the whole thing?

That’s what DPC Dash Ltd. (1405.HK), operator of the Domino’s Pizza (DPZ.US) chain in China, may have been thinking when it recently completed a clean sweep of the leader board for the 50 best-performing new Domino’s stores worldwide during their first 30 days. DPC revealed it achieved the milestone in its latest results announcement published on March 25, upping its previous claim to 49 of the 50 top spots midway through last year.

The company has powered its way to the top echelons of China’s pizza market through an aggressive expansion campaign, much of it focused on smaller Chinese cities, with names less familiar to most Westerners like Handan, in Central China’s Hebei province, and Hohhot in the Inner Mongolia region.

Those smaller markets have become some of DPC’s biggest cash cows, captivating local populations that sometimes line up for hours to sample a type of Western food often considered unusual and even exotic. As a result, many of the 50 top performers from DPC’s portfolio are in smaller markets. One of those, its first store in the Northeastern city of Dalian, generated a company record of close to 700,000 yuan, or about $100,000, on its first day of business in last year’s fourth quarter.

“It is a true demonstration of the strong momentum and recognition of the Domino’s Pizza brand and high demand of our products and services from the customers in China, forming a solid foundation of our continued rolling-out of our store footprint,” the company said in its announcement.

Despite taking over the Domino’s global leader board, the news was hardly all rosy for DPC as the company and its peers continued …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Tilray Brands (NASDAQ:TLRY) shares are up on Wednesday as the Canadian cannabis company launches a new brand aimed at seasoned consumers.

This move comes as the broader market is experiencing gains, with the S&P 500 up 2.3% and the Materials sector gaining 2.1%, reflecting a positive sentiment across the trading day, adding pressure as broader markets edged higher.

The company has expanded its portfolio to include high-potency infused pre-rolls and liquid diamond vapes, targeting consumers who demand intensity and consistency.

The new brand, dubbed “Portal,” features a lineup of high-potency infused products designed for high-tolerance users, with availability across select Canadian retailers. This strategic move is expected to position Tilray as a leader in the evolving cannabis market, especially as consumer preferences shift towards more potent offerings.

The broader market saw gains, with the Technology sector up 3.3% today. Tilray’s stock is moving higher, indicating it is in line with the market’s positive momentum.

Technical Analysis

At $6.80, the stock is trading 2.9% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 5.6% below its 50-day SMA, suggesting short-term strength but some struggle in the intermediate term. Additionally, the stock is 19.1% below its 100-day SMA, indicating a bearish trend over a longer horizon.

The relative strength index …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Advanced Biomed Inc (NASDAQ:ADVB) shares traded lower during Wednesday’s premarket session. The move follows a massive rally on Tuesday. Investors appear to be taking profits after the stock surged over 51% yesterday.

All-Stock Acquisition Details

The volatility follows an April 2, announcement. The company entered a Share Purchase Agreement with Acellent Technologies. Advanced Biomed will acquire 100% of the equity interest.

The deal is an all-stock transaction. The Company will issue 270,000 shares of common stock to the seller.

The deal carries an estimated value of $1.08 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The most bearish analyst call on Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) right now rests on a single uncomfortable data point: a record 50,363 vehicles sitting unsold at the end of Q1.

Analyst Ryan Brinkman from JPMorgan reiterated his Underweight rating and $145 price target on Monday, implying roughly 60% downside from TSLA’s current price of around $350.

The Delivery Miss That Started It

Tesla reported 358,023 Q1 2026 deliveries, 4% below analyst consensus and 7% below JPMorgan’s own 385,000 forecast. Tesla built 50,363 more vehicles than it sold in the quarter, the largest single-quarter inventory buildup in the company’s history.

Brinkman noted that Tesla’s production has grown 80% since Q1 2023, while vehicle sales have declined 15% over the same period. Free cash flow, he argued, may bear the consequences.

The Narrative Problem

The deeper issue, according to Brinkman, is the gap …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp (NASDAQ:DJT) shares are surging on Wednesday following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a two-week conditional ceasefire with Iran.

The geopolitical breakthrough triggered a massive relief rally, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 2.78% by mid-morning. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.92% while the S&P 500 rose 2.26%.

Ceasefire Details Spark Market Optimism

The rally follows a Truth Social post where Trump agreed to suspend military action. “I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump stated, citing requests from Pakistani leadership.

The …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Strategy’s (NASDAQ:MSTR) Stretch preferred stock grew from zero to $5 billion in seven months, faster than Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Ads, as the product pays an 11.5% yield tax-deferred with 80% retail participation.

The Seven-Month Sprint

Strategy launched Stretch at the end of July 2025. From that point to mid-March 2026, the product grew to $5 billion. 

Apple’s iPhone took about a year to reach $5 billion in cumulative revenue. Google Ads took about four years.

“From a pure product perspective, you could argue that Stretch is the fastest growing product in the history of the world,” said Fong Lee, CEO of Strategy.

Compared to ETFs, the gold ETF launched in the early 2000s took four to five years to reach $5 billion in assets under management. 

Meanwhile, the Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) ETF took closer to a year. Only BlackRock’s IBIT (NASDAQ:

Full story available on Benzinga.com

China’s latest move against predatory lenders is crippling legitimate loan facilitators like Yiren and Qfin by imposing a strict interest rate cap

image credit: Bamboo Works

Key Takeaways:

• Yiren Digital plunged into the red in the fourth quarter of 2025, while Qfin’s profit tumbled, as regulators enforced a 24% ceiling on borrowing costs levied by private lenders
• All lending platforms must fully disclose every facilitation fee by Aug. 1 — stripping away gray zone fees that once boosted their profits

Beijing has once again reminded investors of the type of sudden new regulation it often doles out without warning, which can quickly change the fortunes of financial companies for the worse.

Last Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Public Security and the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) signaled the start of a new phase in their war on the financial “black and gray” markets. The official rhetoric targets “predatory” brokers and other underworld financial firms that do things like tricking grandmothers into guaranteeing loans for strangers. But legitimate consumer loan platforms like Yiren Digital Ltd. (NYSE:YRD) and Qfin Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:QFIN) (3660.HK) are also ending up as collateral damage in the latest dragnet.

At the heart of the matter is a 24% cap on interest rates. While China’s Supreme People’s Court has long held that rates above that level are legally unprotected, the limit was previously just a judicial guideline. But that changed last October, when it became a hard ceiling, above which anything was illegal. Now, under a new enforcement regime declared last week, authorities are shifting from administrative fines to aggressive criminal prosecutions, targeting lenders who exceed the cap as criminals rather than simply regulatory violators.

For years, platforms like Qifu and Yiren Digital operated in a lucrative “gray” zone by charging interest rates that often effectively drifted toward 36% when various fees were included. They could get away with this because borrowers technically volunteered to pay those charges under their contracts. But after the October rule change, regulators have stripped away these extra interest costs disguised as …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) shares traded lower on Wednesday as geopolitical tensions disrupted operations.

The oil and gas behemoth said in an exchange filing that it expects Middle East disruptions to reduce first-quarter upstream earnings by $300 million to $500 million.

The company also sees a $100 million to $300 million hit to its energy products segment.

Broader Market Backdrop

Oil and gas stocks moved lower after President Donald Trump signaled progress toward a U.S.-Iran agreement, easing fears of prolonged supply disruptions.

The de-escalation outlook pressured oil prices as expectations of improved Middle East supply and reduced geopolitical risk weighed on the sector.

Exxon Mobil outlined multiple factors expected to influence first-quarter 2026 results, including supply interruptions and pricing dynamics.

ExxonMobil said instability in the Middle East affected production volumes and logistics during the quarter.

These disruptions, combined with market factors and seasonal trends, impacted performance.

Middle East Disruptions Pressure Output

ExxonMobil …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Moolec Science SA (NASDAQ:MLEC) shares are down on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the company announced a significant breakthrough in molecular farming.

Moolec said it successfully demonstrated the stable expression of bovine myoglobin in pea seeds, expanding its molecular farming platform, which could enhance its market position in the alternative protein sector.

Moolec Science has achieved a milestone by producing bovine myoglobin in pea seeds through a 28-month research project with a leading U.S. academic institution.

This breakthrough reinforces the company’s ability to expand its molecular farming capabilities and could unlock new pathways for scalable protein production.

Technical Analysis

At $10.80, the stock is trading 28.1% above its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) and 21.8% above its 50-day SMA, suggesting a bullish short-term trend. However, it is trading 49.7% below its 200-day SMA, indicating a bearish long-term trend that traders should monitor closely.

The relative strength index (RSI) is currently at 58.88, suggesting that the stock is in neutral territory, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The oil trade that defined the first quarter of 2026 broke on Wednesday.

The energy sector — as tracked by State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLE) — fell 4.7% on Wednesday morning, its worst single-session loss since April 10, 2025.

The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE:XOP) dropped 6.3%, also its worst day in exactly a year.

President Donald Trump announced a conditional two-week ceasefire and Strait of Hormuz reopening late Tuesday, sending WTI crude futures down more than 18% on Wednesday — the sharpest single-session drop since April 2020.

Energy stocks, which had surged 40%–50% since Feb. 28 as the Strait closure drove oil above $112, reversed with the same velocity that built the rally.

The war premium that had built up over six weeks of Strait of Hormuz disruption unwound in hours, and the stocks that had been riding it had nowhere to hide.

XLE And XOP ETF Eye Worst Session Since Tariff Shock

Both XLE and XOP charts tell the same structural story.

Since U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets began on …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) CEO Ed Bastian had one thing on his mind Wednesday morning.

“The question of not just the day, of the month, is going to be how we navigate this higher fuel environment brought on by the Iranian conflict,” he said, noting jet fuel had more than doubled in 30 days.

Oil was already down 15% before he finished speaking.

The Beat

Delta’s adjusted EPS came in at $0.64 versus the $0.57 expected, with operating income of $652 million and an operating margin of 4.6%.

Premium revenue grew 14%, loyalty climbed 13%, and corporate sales hit a record.

Bastian said demand remains “broad-based” and strong across “all geographies, products and categories.”

The Guidance That’s Already Stale

Delta projects Q2 pretax profit of around $1 billion despite a more than $2 …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The AI race is running into an unexpected wall—and it’s not chips or capital. It’s water, power, and local resistance. As Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) push to expand data center capacity, investors are starting to question whether the physical footprint of AI is becoming the real constraint.

AI Growth Meets Real-World Limits

According to a Reuters report, multiple hyperscalers have already scrapped or delayed billion-dollar data center projects in the U.S. amid community pushback over water usage, land, and energy demand. Shareholders are now pressing for greater transparency, particularly around water consumption—an issue that’s quickly moving from ESG talking points …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page.

• Ascendiant Capital cut the price target for Cingulate Inc (NASDAQ:CING) from $58 to $55. Ascendiant Capital analyst Edward Woo maintained a Buy rating. Cingulate shares closed at $5.94 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• TD Cowen cut Wingstop Inc (NASDAQ:WING) price target from $285 to $175. TD Cowen analyst Andrew M. Charles maintained a Hold rating. Wingstop shares closed at $166.04 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• HC Wainwright & Co. slashed price target for DeFi Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:DEFT) from $5.5 to $2. HC Wainwright & Co. analyst Kevin Dede maintained a Buy rating. DeFi Technologies shares closed at $0.76 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• Roth Capital raised the price target for Diamondback Energy Inc

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

• Stifel analyst Dara Azar initiated coverage on Inhibrx Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:INBX) with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $150. Inhibrx Biosciences shares closed at $62.35 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• Needham analyst Ami Fadia initiated coverage on MapLight Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Magnificent Seven stocks staged a powerful rebound Wednesday morning after a ceasefire agreement between Iran and President Donald Trump sparked a broad risk-on rally across global markets. 

• AAPL stock is up. See the chart and price action here. 

Nasdaq Rallies

Investors piled back into mega-cap tech names, lifting Nasdaq futures 3.55% higher as geopolitical tensions eased and fear-driven trades reversed.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) led the pack with a 5% jump, while Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) surged 4.5% in early trading. 

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) both climbed roughly 4%, followed closely by Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) up 3.5% and Microsoft Corp.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) shares are trading higher during Wednesday’s premarket session. The upward movement follows a significant de-escalation in Middle East tensions after President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire regarding strikes on Iran.

Ceasefire Terms Fuel Market Optimism

The rally across the tech sector comes after Trump posted on Truth Social that he agreed to suspend attacks. The deal, brokered with Pakistani leadership, hinges on Iran ensuring the “complete, immediate, and safe opening of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump characterized the agreement as …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite surging more than 3% on Wednesday.

Following the market opening Wednesday, the Dow traded up 2.85% to 47,910.78 while the NASDAQ surged 3.33% to 22,751.02. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 2.54% to 6,785.02.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares climbed by 3.9% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, energy stocks fell by 6.6%.

Top Headline

Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) jumped more than 10% on Wednesday after the company reported upbeat sales results for the first quarter.

The company posted quarterly earnings of 64 cents per share which missed the analyst consensus estimate of 65 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $15.854 billion which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $13.944 billion.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc (NASDAQ:OMEX) shares shot up 121% to $1.84. Odyssey …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Iran will demand shipping companies pay tolls in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz during the two-week ceasefire, directly contradicting President Trump’s demand for “complete, immediate, and safe opening” of the waterway.

The Bitcoin Toll System

Hamid Hosseini, spokesperson for Iran’s Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters’ Union, told the Financial Times that Iran wants to collect tolling fees from any tanker passing and assess each ship.

“Iran needs to monitor what goes in and out of the strait to ensure these two weeks aren’t used for transferring weapons,” Hosseini said. 

His industry association works closely with the state.

Each tanker must email authorities about its cargo. Iran will then inform them of the toll in digital currencies.

The tariff is $1 per barrel of oil, while …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:AMD) stock is demonstrating exceptional relative strength, with rapidly improving technicals amid a highly bullish fundamental outlook from Wall Street.

Momentum Surges To The Top Tier Of Rankings

The semiconductor giant’s Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings‘ momentum score recently jumped week-on-week from 89.98 to 91.48, securing its place in the top tier.

The momentum ranking measures a stock’s relative strength based on its price movement patterns and volatility over multiple timeframes, ranked as a percentile against other stocks.

Beyond its impressive short-term momentum, AMD’s broader metrics reflect sustained structural health. The company boasts a massive growth ranking of 97.06, a metric that measures a stock’s combined historical expansion in earnings and revenue across multiple time periods.

Complementing this expansion, Benzinga Edge data shows that AMD‘s price trend is flashing positive across the board. The stock is currently in a confirmed upward trend in the short term over the last couple of months, the medium term over the last couple of quarters, and the …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The ad industry spent years debating whether AI would hollow out Google‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) business. Instead, Google handed advertisers an AI toolkit and turned it into an opportunity. The company’s latest numbers tell the story plainly: ad revenue of $82.28 billion in Q4 2025, up 13.5% year over year, with total annual revenue crossing $400 billion for the first time.

AI Ads Boost Retail Revenue

At the heart of this push is a suite of AI-powered ad tools like AI Max and Performance Max that Google claims are delivering extraordinary results for brands. Canadian fashion retailer Aritzia is an example. In an interview published on Tuesday, Courtney Rose, Google’s VP of Retail Ads, told ModernRetail, “When they enabled AI Max, they saw a 80% increase in revenue.”

Rose shared an example of a natural-language search, asking Google for outfit suggestions for a spring trip to Atlanta, including a sweater, purse, and jeans, instead of using simple …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

As of April 8, 2026, two stocks in the real estate sector could be flashing a real warning to investors who value momentum as a key criteria in their trading decisions.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered overbought when the RSI is above 70, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major overbought players in this sector.

Janus Living Inc …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The United States’ economy has faced plenty of twists and turns in the first quarter of 2026, but what’s next for GDP at a time of increased geopolitical uncertainty following the escalation of conflict in Iran? 

Since the flare-up of the conflict in Iran back in late February, the economy has faced fresh inflation pressures in a way that’s derailed the ambitions of investors who had been expecting Federal Reserve rate cuts throughout the year. 

Recently, Michael Feroli, chief US economist at JPMorgan, forecasted that there will be zero rate cuts throughout 2026 as a result of the conflict and oil price hikes due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in Iran. Instead, Feroli believes that the next Fed move would be a 25 basis point hike in Q3 2027, which would take the upper band of federal funds rates to 4%. 

Despite this, Institute for Supply Management data suggests that the US economy had begun the year in a healthy state, growing at a 2.5% annual pace in 2026. 

However, conflicting job reports and inflation fears appear set to remain strong headwinds for the economy looking ahead. But could upbeat industry figures help firms to out-innovate their economic challenges should uncertainty continue to hamper prospects? 

Economic Headwinds Build

Given that there is still no clear indication of when the war in Iran will end, there is plenty of uncertainty about how much longer the US economy will have to face volatility arriving from the Middle East. 

Disruptions to the global supply of oil and liquefied natural gas persist while the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, creating significant inflationary pressures to add to the economic fallout of going to war. 

In early March, the price of crude oil reached a peak of $118, representing an increase of $67 from before the US and Israel began their campaign in Iran. Given that the majority …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares are climbing on Wednesday morning. The move follows a sharp decline during Tuesday’s session.

Futures Rally Lifts Growth Names

Broader market sentiment is shifting rapidly after the ceasefire news. Nasdaq futures gained 3.45% early Wednesday. S&P 500 futures rose 2.77%.

President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire regarding strikes on Iran. Market sentiment remains optimistic despite Tehran’s warnings that the conflict has not officially concluded.

This risk-on tone provides a tailwind for hydrogen growth stocks. Traders are moving back into speculative sectors after Tuesday’s defensive posture.

Validating the Courant Project Win

Traders are reassessing the 275-megawatt GenEco PEM electrolyzer award. Plug recently

Full story available on Benzinga.com

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the company to report quarterly earnings of $12.09 per share, up from $11.30 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for BlackRock’s quarterly revenue is $6.6 billion (it reported $5.28 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund, BCRED, experienced a monthly downturn in February. This marked the fund’s first loss in over three years.

BlackRock shares fell 0.1% to close at $958.46 on Tuesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is sitting on a staggering $150 billion in overlooked venture capital investments, signaling a major financial shift as the tech giant’s long-term bets in space exploration and artificial intelligence (AI) finally mature.

Uncovering Alphabet’s ‘Hidden Assets‘

For years, Wall Street investors have heavily scrutinized Alphabet’s “Other Bets” division, often viewing the experimental segment as a massive, unprofitable drain on capital. However, according to Christopher Davis, the founding partner of Hudson Valley Partners, that pessimistic narrative is rapidly changing.

“It was just seen as them lobbing money into a ‘black hole’ of Waymo,” Davis told Schwab Network. Yet, a closer examination reveals massive, unrealized value sitting quietly on the company’s balance sheet.

Davis emphasized that big tech firms hold significant “hidden assets” that the market is currently ignoring, especially as excitement builds around upcoming venture capital initial public offerings this year.

Tech’s AI And Venture Capital Windfall

The sheer scale of Alphabet’s venture success stems from two critical …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The gold market’s sharp March drop, down 12% to roughly $4,690 was, was the worst monthly decline since 2008. It was alarming at first glance, but it didn’t deter the relentless, one-directional accumulation by BRICS+ nations.

The latest study by EBC Financial Group notes that the bloc now controls more than 6,000 tons of gold, or 17.4% of global reserves. It is a big jump from 11.2% it had in 2019. Gold has become a “sovereign shield,” protecting nations from sanctions risk and the declining influence of the U.S. dollar.

“This is not speculative demand, it is policy,” EBC analyst Michael Harris noted, according to KITCO.

Buying on Weakness

Gold’s March weakness was multi-pronged. An energy shock renewed inflation fears, erasing the Fed’s rate-cut expectations. Meanwhile, it put pressure on the market to trim the winners to support other positions. Retail leverage just contributed to the cause. According to the Atlantic Council, retail market borrowing has reached a …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Monday, April 13.

Analysts expect the investment bank to report quarterly earnings of $16.22 per share. That’s up from $14.12 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Goldman Sachs’ quarterly revenue is $16.87 billion (it reported $15.06 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

Some of the firm’s investors may be eyeing potential dividend gains. Currently, Goldman Sachs has an annual dividend yield of 2.08% — a quarterly dividend amount of $4.50 per share ($18.00 a year).  

So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly?

To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $287,762 or …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

On CNBC’s “Halftime Report Final Trades,” Virtus Investment Partners’ Joseph M. Terranova picked two stocks: The Hershey Company (NYSE:HSY) and Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL).

Hershey announced today that it will release its first-quarter results on Thursday, April 30.

On Tuesday, Alphabet’s Google Chrome introduced an optional vertical tabs feature, allowing users to move tabs from the top of the browser to a sidebar.

Don’t forget to check out our premarket coverage here

Joshua Brown, co-founder and CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, named Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

• Roth Capital analyst Leo Mariani downgraded Magnolia Oil & Gas Corp (NYSE:MGY) from Buy to Neutral and raised the price target from $29 to $32. Magnolia Oil & Gas shares closed at $31.93 on Tuesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
• BTIG analyst Andre Madrid downgraded AIRO Group Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:AIRO) from Buy to Neutral. AIRO Group shares closed at $8.74 on …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE:SONY) shares moved higher in Wednesday’s premarket session after a major restructuring update.

The company is reportedly reshaping its entertainment arm while cutting roles across several divisions to support long-term growth priorities.

The layoffs affect Sony Pictures Entertainment, with reductions expected to reach several hundred positions worldwide, Variety reports.

According to the report citing sources familiar with the matter, the changes span film, television and corporate teams.

Sony executives framed the workforce reduction as a targeted move tied to future opportunities. The company aims to reallocate resources toward franchises, anime content and immersive experiences.

Benzinga has reached out to Sony requesting comments.

Management also highlighted growing focus on platform-native content and expanded use of YouTube distribution. Executives see stronger integration across Sony’s broader ecosystem, including video game adaptations.

Organizational Changes Take Shape

As part of the overhaul, Sony will merge its Game Show Group with GSN. Suzanne Prete will lead the combined unit under her current leadership role.

The company also …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) surged 5% after the White House announced a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire, yet ETFs bled $159 million on April 7.

The Ceasefire Rally

Bitcoin briefly rose to $71,700 on Wednesday morning, marking its highest point since March 18. 

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) posted a 6% gain to $2,238, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) rose 3.5% to $1.37, and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) added 6.5% to $84.81.

The price surge coincided with President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. and Iran agreed to a “double-sided ceasefire” for two weeks. 

Trump previously warned of “complete demolition” of Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran didn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.

“The reason for [ceasefire] is that …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U.S. stock futures were higher this morning, with the Nasdaq 100 futures jumping over 3% on Wednesday.

Shares of Kura Sushi USA Inc (NASDAQ:KRUS) fell sharply in pre-market trading following second-quarter results.

The company posted quarterly losses of 4 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of losses of 15 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $80.018 million which beat the analyst consensus estimate of $79.093 million.

Kura Sushi shares dipped 5.5% to $69.00 in pre-market trading.

Here are some other stocks moving lower in pre-market trading.

• Tamboran Resources Corp (NYSE:TBN) shares dipped 19.5% to $36.50 in pre-market trading after the company priced public offering of 2,956,602 shares at $35.00 per share.
• Better Home & Finance Holding Co (NYSE:BETR) shares declined 14.6% to $38.29 in pre-market trading as the company announced …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock saw a recovery during Wednesday’s premarket session.

New reports indicate the company’s first foldable smartphone remains on track for a September launch. This rebuts earlier concerns regarding manufacturing snags.

September Launch Aligns With iPhone 18 Debut

Apple is scheduled to introduce the foldable model during its traditional autumn window. It will debut alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported, citing sources.

While a Nikkei Asia report citing sources on Tuesday suggested engineering test challenges.

The new foldable device is expected …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Willie Walsh, the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said the two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire is positive for the airline industry but warned of higher jet fuel prices for some time, even if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened.

Jet Fuel Prices Remain A Major Concern

Fuel is the second largest expense for the airlines, accounting for roughly 27% of operating costs. Fuel prices depend heavily on refining capacity, much of which has been disrupted in the Middle East conflict. In fact, jet fuel prices surged more than oil prices, even doubling at one point during the crisis.   

Since the war erupted, WTI crude oil futures surged to nearly $118 per barrel from $67 per barrel and have now fallen below …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

During times of turbulence and uncertainty in the markets, many investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. These are often companies that have high free cash flows and reward shareholders with a high dividend payout.

Benzinga readers can review the latest analyst takes on their favorite stocks by visiting Analyst Stock Ratings page. Traders can sort through Benzinga’s extensive database of analyst ratings, including by analyst accuracy.

Below are the ratings of the most accurate analysts for three high-yielding stocks in the utilities sector.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

• Dividend Yield: 4.53
• Wells Fargo analyst Shahriar Pourreza maintained an Overweight rating and cut the price target from $78 to $74 on April 1, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 72%
• UBS analyst William Appicelli maintained a Neutral rating and slashed the price target from $80 to $74 on March 27, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 68%.
• Recent News: On Feb. 12, Eversource Energy posted …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The S&P 500 edged higher on Tuesday, rising 0.08% to close at 6,616.85, as investors bet on a last-minute diplomatic breakthrough in the Iran war.

The Polygon-based (CRYPTO: POL) Polymarket crowd is leaning strongly bullish heading into Wednesday. The April 8 market shows a clear majority of traders betting “Up,” with trading volume building on whether the S&P 500 will open higher or lower.

Why That Number Matters

President Donald Trump said he would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks, just ahead of a key deadline, after receiving a 10-point proposal from …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) have officially responded to accusations that the massive divergence in their March service-sector employment data exposes a fundamental flaw in U.S. economic reporting.

Both agencies are pushing back against claims by top economist David Rosenberg that their widely conflicting employment reports “can’t be right.”

Counting Jobs Vs. Measuring Sentiment

The agencies told Benzinga that the massive gap—which Rosenberg dubbed the “best month” versus the “worst month” for service-sector employment—is simply a matter of differing methodologies.

Stacey Standish of the BLS Press Office noted that “procedural differences in how surveys are conducted can understandably lead to different estimates of employment.”

Kristina M. Cahill, Manager of ISM Research & Analytics, echoed this, explaining, “The two statistics are measuring different things in different ways.” While the BLS rigorously estimates the total count of jobs using employer payroll records from a large sampling frame, the ISM Services Employment Index tracks relative sentiment from a curated panel of employers.

In March, the ISM index plunged to 45.2%. Cahill clarified that this simply means “more respondents reported employment decreasing than …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Despite concerns over Amazon Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) investing heavily in AI, BNP Paribas analyst Nick Jones believes the company is poised to meet the growing cloud demand.

Jones, in a note released on Tuesday, said “concerns are overdone,” and argued that Amazon’s increased spending is “appropriate and necessary given demand levels and the size of the future opportunity,” reported Market Watch.

He emphasized the company’s accelerating backlog growth and noted that Amazon and other hyperscalers like Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) are constructing data centers in line with the surge in contracted demand.

Jones advised investors to focus on the backlog-to-capex ratio, which compares contracted demand to infrastructure spending, rather than total spending. Jones believes that with a robust backlog, Amazon can instantly convert available capacity into revenue.

Jones also pointed to rising revenue per employee at Amazon, interpreting it as evidence of productivity gains as firms shift from physical to digital labor while expanding AI and cloud operations. Amazon’s revenue per employee has risen from …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Tuesday, April 14.

Analysts expect the New York-based company to report quarterly earnings of $5.48 per share, up from $5.07 per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for JPMorgan’s quarterly revenue is $48.8 billion (it reported $45.31 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On March 31, J.P. Morgan Private Capital announced the appointments of Rand Araskog and Eric Ghernati as Partners focused on investing in leading growth companies.

JPMorgan shares rose 0.7% to close at $297.40 on Tuesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed some increase in the overall fear level, while the index remained in the “Extreme Fear” zone on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks settled mixed on Tuesday, with the Dow Jones index falling around 0.2% during the session as escalating military action in the Middle East and surging oil prices kept investors on the defensive.

President Donald Trump stated that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” warning that unless Iran’s leadership agrees to a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. Eastern Time, the U.S. could target key Iranian infrastructure, including power plants and bridges.

However, after the closing bell, Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

Mach Natural Resources LP (NYSE:MNR) shares dropped around 11% on Tuesday after the company announced a secondary public offering of …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) rose sharply in pre-market trading as the company reported better-than-expected financial results for the first quarter of 2026 after the market closed on Tuesday.

Levi Strauss raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance from a range of $6.60 billion to $6.66 billion to a new range of $6.63 billion to $6.69 billion, versus estimates of $6.64 billion. The company also raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance from a range of $1.40 to $1.46 per share to a new range of $1.42 to $1.48 per share, versus estimates of $1.47 per share.

Levi Strauss shares jumped 9.9% to $21.67 in pre-market trading.

Here are some other stocks moving in pre-market trading.

Gainers

• Quince Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:QNCX) gained 103.4% to $0.33 in pre-market trading after jumping 86% on Tuesday. Quince Therapeutics recently announced a settlement of its outstanding obligations under a loan from the European Investment Bank for a payment of $5.5 million.
• VS Media Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:VSME) gained 67.6% to $1.26 in pre-market trading after dipping 19% on Tuesday.
• U Power Ltd (NASDAQ:UCAR) gained 61.7% to $0.89 in pre-market trading after entering subscription agreements with seven purchasers to sell 2.9 million Class A …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The sharp oil rally following the Strait of Hormuz disruption woke oil from its slumber. Spot Brent price briefly touched $141 per barrel, as energy stocks rallied, policymakers scrambled, and analysts revised price forecasts upward.

But the spike tells one part of the story – arguably the least important part. Just weeks before the crisis, Norwegian energy research firm Rystad Energy projected a different reality.

“Markets remain comfortably supplied, barring major geopolitical disruptions,” their report said. The Iran shock didn’t invalidate that outlook. It interrupted it.

The real risk isn’t that oil is suddenly too scarce. It’s that neither low-price stability nor crisis-driven price spikes are generating the kind of investment needed to sustain future supply.

Changing Prices, Not Solving Problems

Before the disruption, Rystad’s outlook pointed to persistent oversupply through 2026, with “balances… widening into the second half of the year” and sustained inventory builds.

The Hormuz disruption has dramatically altered short-term market conditions. A system that appeared to be comfortably supplied exploded almost overnight as geopolitical risk repriced the market. Yet, …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

In the fast-paced and highly competitive business world of today, conducting thorough company analysis is essential for investors and industry observers. In this article, we will conduct an extensive industry comparison, evaluating Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) in relation to its major competitors in the Broadline Retail industry. Through a detailed examination of key financial metrics, market standing, and growth prospects, our objective is to provide valuable insights and illuminate company’s performance in the industry.

Amazon.com Background

Amazon is the leading online retailer and marketplace for third party sellers. Retail related revenue represents approximately 74% of total, followed by Amazon Web Services (17%), and advertising services (9%). International segments constitute 22% of Amazon’s total revenue, led by Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Nebius Group N.V. (NASDAQ:NBIS) shares are trending on Wednesday.

Shares of the vertically integrated AI infrastructure company gained 7.17% in the pre-market session to $125.82 on Wednesday, following Jim Cramer‘s comments on data center expansion and recent insider filings.

The large-cap stock closed the regular session up 4.32% at $117.40, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Jim Cramer Highlights Data Center Expansion Trend

Last week, CNBC host Jim Cramer said in an appearance that investors “have to realize” the significance of data center-driven growth, adding that “you gotta stay close to Nebius.” He noted that as new data centers come online, demand rises across related infrastructure providers.

The remarks followed Nebius’s Mar. 31 announcement of a new AI factory in Lappeenranta, Finland, with planned capacity …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) has initiated a recall for over 271,000 units of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan over a rearview camera display issue, which could pose a safety risk.

GM Recalls 271K Malibu Units

In an acknowledgement letter sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on Tuesday, GM announced it would be recalling over 271770 units of the 2023-2025 Malibu sedan. “The rearview camera screen may display a distorted or blank image,” the acknowledgement said. The company said that its dealers would replace the rearview camera units on the affected units free of charge.

GM’s V-8 Investment

The automaker recently bolstered its internal combustion engine (ICE) push as GM invested over $150 million into the Saginaw Metal Castings Operations, which …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Fastenal Company (NASDAQ:FAST) will release earnings for its first quarter before the opening bell on Monday, April 13.

Analysts expect the Winona, Minnesota-based company to report quarterly earnings of 30 cents per share. That’s up from 26 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for Fastenal’s quarterly revenue is $2.19 billion (it reported $1.96 billion last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On March 5, Fastenal reported a year-over-year increase in FY26 net sales results.

Shares of Fastenal fell 0.5% to close at $45.64 on Tuesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate analysts have rated the company in …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

With U.S. stock futures trading higher this morning on Wednesday, some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are as follows:

• Wall Street expects Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE:DAL) to report quarterly earnings at 65 cents per share on revenue of $13.94 billion before the opening bell, according to data from Benzinga Pro. Delta Air shares gained 5.6% to $69.28 in after-hours trading.
• Kura Sushi USA (NASDAQ:KRUS) reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter and raised its FY2026 sales guidance. The company posted quarterly losses of 4 cents per share, which beat the analyst consensus estimate of losses of 15 cents per share. Kura Sushi …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The big three automakers from Detroit, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis N.V. (NYSE:STLA) have reportedly accused the European Union of intentionally blocking sales of pickup trucks in the bloc.

F-150, Silverado, RAM 1500 Affected

The automakers said that changes to the EU’s Individual Vehicle Approval scheme, which allows limited imports under less stringent standards, could shut out U.S. automakers’ large trucks like the Ford F-150 Pickup truck, Chevrolet Silverado and the RAM 1500 from the market, FT reported on Wednesday.

The trade bloc is looking to change some rules of the scheme, which would be implemented next year. U.S. automakers say the changes would negatively impact sales of their products despite the tariff agreement …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

FB Financial Corporation (NYSE:FBK) will release earnings for its first quarter after the closing bell on Monday, April 13.

Analysts expect the Nashville, Tennessee-based company to report quarterly earnings of $1.11 per share. That’s up from 85 cents per share in the year-ago period. The consensus estimate for FB Financial’s quarterly revenue is $175.66 million (it reported $130.67 million last year), according to Benzinga Pro.

On Jan. 21, FB Financial posted better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter.

Shares of FB Financial rose 1.2% to close at $54.30 on Tuesday.

Benzinga readers can access the latest analyst ratings on the Analyst Stock Ratings page. Readers can sort by stock ticker, company name, analyst firm, rating change or other variables.

Let’s have a look at how Benzinga’s most-accurate …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

President Donald Trump revealed that the U.S. will extend its assistance to manage the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil transportation.

Trump, via a post on Truth Social on early Wednesday, said: “A big day for World Peace! Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!”

The president also suggested that this move could lead to substantial financial gains, stating, “Big money will be made.” He hinted that Iran could start its reconstruction process, with the U.S. providing various supplies and ensuring a smooth transition.

This announcement comes on the heels of a turbulent period marked by threats of military action and fluctuating global markets. On Tuesday, Trump agreed to suspend military action against Iran for two …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

The stock market is caught in a violent tug-of-war between speculative futures and physical supply-chain realities. Just before late Tuesday’s sudden ceasefire announcement triggered a massive relief rally, live trading data revealed a market bracing for a severe, sustained stagflationary shock that threatened to derail the 2026 small-cap rotation completely.

The ‘Peak Fear’ Setup: Massive Tech Shorts And Oil Longs

While algorithm-driven futures are now celebrating a pause in geopolitical tensions, the fundamental data and physical market warnings suggest the inflation squeeze on small-cap margins is far from over.

Leading up to the ceasefire news, traders were aggressively positioning for a “higher for longer” inflation environment. According to live trading data from the Ostium Protocol provided by Kaledora Kiernan-Linn exclusively to Benzinga, traders heavily shorted growth proxies while piling into crude oil.

The Nasdaq 100 saw new shorts outweigh longs by a staggering 17:1 ratio on a notional basis, pushing current open interest to 91% short. Simultaneously, oil positioning showed overwhelming conviction in sustained high prices, with a 19:1 long-to-short ratio on Brent crude.

Key Trading Activity On Ostium Protocol

(Data for 7-day period from March 31 through April 6, 2026.)

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Global equities soared late Tuesday as the S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures surged after a sudden two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran perfectly aligned with one of the stock market’s most historically bullish months.

Seasonality Favors The Bulls

The geopolitical breakthrough arrives just as the market enters a highly favorable seasonal window.

According to analysis by The Kobeissi Letter citing Bloomberg data, April is historically one of the strongest periods for equities. “The S&P 500 has gained +1.3% on average in April since 1928, the 2nd-best month of the year after July,” the firm noted, adding that “seasonality favors the bulls this month.”

Furthermore, over the last 25 years, the MSCI World Index has posted positive returns 75% of the time in April, averaging a 2.0% gain—the strongest of any month. This broader global momentum is heavily driven by U.S. equities, which hold a dominant 70% weight in the index.

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Americans are now spending nearly 22% of their income on the basic cost of raising a child, as rising living expenses and uneven regional pricing continue to reshape household budgets, according to a report by LendingTree.

The analysis, published Monday, shows that families allocate 21.9% of their income toward child-related costs. This figure reflects the growing weight of essential expenses such as housing, food, childcare and insurance. The share remains elevated even as overall cost growth has slowed, indicating persistent structural pressure on disposable income rather than a short-term spike.

The total cost of raising a child over 18 years has climbed to $303,418, or about $16,857 annually. While daycare costs declined slightly in early childhood years, increases in rent and other essentials have offset those gains. Rent alone rose nearly 49% in the dataset, reinforcing how housing inflation is driving the higher income share.

Geography …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected Ford Motor Co.‘s (NYSE:F) request for tariff relief on Aluminum amid supply chain constraints caused by a fire incident at a key supplier last year.

Donald Trump Rejects Aluminum Tariff Relief

Trump rejected requests from Ford and other U.S. automakers following a fire incident at Novelis‘ plant in New York State, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, which said that the automaker hasn’t requested relief from tariffs in a “particularly pronounced way.”

Ford and the White House didn’t immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.

The fire incidents caused major headwinds in the production of the Ford F-150 Pickup Truck. In the report, officials from the Trump administration stressed that automakers were provided with relief from a few national security tariffs and that discussions on aluminum relief are part of larger negotiations …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has signalled approval for possible mergers between U.S. airlines amid rising jet fuel costs.

Trump Loves Big Deals

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Duffy was asked about the Donald Trump administration’s view on possible airline mergers, to which the Transportation Secretary responded that it would depend on various factors. “That’s going to come through us [Department of Transportation], but also President Trump,” Duffy said, adding that Trump “loves to see big deals happen.”

He also shared that any such deals would need to be reviewed by the administration, but said that there was “room for some mergers in the aviation industry” in the U.S. He also shared that there was a “lot of chatter” about mergers in the aviation industry, but he would gauge the impact of any proposals on “competition” within the sector, as well as pricing for consumers.

“I’m not gonna pre-commit to anything, I’m gonna look …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

U Power Limited (NASDAQ:UCAR) shares surged 58.69% to 0.88 after the bell on Tuesday after entering subscription agreements with seven purchasers to sell 2.9 million Class A shares.

The late-trading session gain follows a 2.11% jump in the regular session, closing at $0.55, according to Benzinga Pro data.

$3.19M Share Sale Supports Market Expansion

On Tuesday, after the market closed, U Power announced the sale of Class A shares at $1.10 per share, generating $3.19 million in gross proceeds. The board approved the transaction, which is expected to close on or about Tuesday.

The Chinese energy technology company plans to use the funds to expand in key markets, scale operations and accelerate deployment of its proprietary battery-swapping solutions.

The shares were offered in an offshore …

Full story available on Benzinga.com

Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) shares surged 2.93% to $15.12 after hours on Wednesday. The same day an Environmental Protection Agency certification for the electric automaker’s upcoming R2 mid-size electric SUV was found posted on a popular online community for Rivian owners and enthusiasts.

R2 Range Filing Gives Rivian Fresh Boost

Rivian last month estimated that the R2 Performance would deliver about 330 miles of range, but the newly shared EPA certification filing on Rivian Forums suggests the electric SUV could reach as much as 335 miles. The filing also points to an updated heat pump, which should help the vehicle manage battery temperature more efficiently and squeeze out a bit more range.

At $57,990, the R2 Performance goes straight after the Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model Y in the performance electric SUV segment. If the 335-mile figure holds, Rivian would give the R2 roughly a 30-mile edge over the Model Y Performance, strengthening its case against the category’s longtime benchmark.