Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday
4 hr 35 min ago
Decliners
- Personal computer manufacturer Dell Technologies (DELL) released a mixed quarterly report, edging out profit estimates but missing sales forecasts. Although artificial intelligence demand helped boost the company’s networking and server revenue, Dell’s chief operating officer said on the earnings call that the AI business “will not be linear,” suggesting that AI-driven growth will be a gradual process as customers adapt to the shifting technology landscape. Dell shares plunged 12.3% on Wednesday, the steepest drop of any stock in the S&P 500.
Bridget Bennett / Bloomberg / Getty Images
- Shares of fellow PC maker and printer specialist HP (HPQ) plunged 11.4% after the company reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter. Although profits for the period matched expectations, sales were slightly below forecasts, and profit guidance for the current quarter came in below consensus estimates. AI PCs accounted for just 17% of sales for the full year, suggesting that adoption by consumers remains muted, and HP’s outlook raised concerns about overall PC demand trends.
- Design, engineering, and construction software provider Autodesk (ADSK) reported better-than-expected quarterly sales and profits, but its shares fell 8.6% as the company announced a transition in its chief financial officer (CFO) role. Interim CFO Betsy Rafael, who assumed the role in May amid concerns about the firm’s accounting practices, will be replaced by Janesh Moorjani at the end of the fiscal year.
Advancers
- Texas Pacific Land Corp. (TPL) shares logged Wednesday’s top performance in the S&P 500, adding 4.1%. Originally established to manage land related to long-defunct 19th-century railroad projects, the company has found numerous profitable uses for its acreage in the Permian Basin, the highest-producing oil region in the U.S. In addition to providing water and wastewater services for fracking operations, the firm has found new opportunities with bitcoin miners, wind farms, solar arrays, and carbon sequestration projects.
- Shares of cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty (ULTA) also advanced 4.1%. Analysts at investment bank DA Davidson said although Ulta is navigating difficult trends in the beauty industry, they expect competitive pressures to moderate. Davidson referenced a slowdown in sales growth in the Sephora “store within a store” business at Kohl’s (KSS) as well as signs of a flattening in market share gains by Amazon (AMZN) in the beauty category.
- Internet infrastructure firm VeriSign (VRSN) announced that it has renewed its deal with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a nonprofit organization that coordinates the domain name system (DNS) and IP addresses on the web. According to analysts at Citi, the updated agreement did not include changes to provisions that regulate the prices VeriSign charges for domain names. However, the company has yet to renew its agreement with the Department of Commerce, which will reportedly have a greater impact on its pricing scheme.
Dell Could be Poised to Benefit From AI Boom
5 hr 7 min ago
Dell Technologies (DELL) shares tumbled Wednesday in the wake of what JPMorgan called “admittedly messy” third-quarter results, but the bank’s analysts said Dell could still be positioned to benefit long-term from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Shares of Dell fell 12% Wednesday to close at $124.38, though even with Wednesday’s losses, they’ve gained 63% since the start of the year.
JPMorgan reiterated its “overweight” rating and price target of $160 following Dell’s results. Despite weaker-than-expected, “AI server demand momentum continues to build,” the analysts noted, pointing to Dell’s record quarterly backlog of $4.5 billion. Such a strong backlog, coupled with near-record AI server revenue, suggest “concerns on the results and [guidance] are likely overblown,” they said.
Morgan Stanley similarly maintained an “overweight” rating and a price target of $154. “DELL delivered where it needed to,” the analysts said, adding “we have strong conviction that DELL is gaining momentum in a fast-growing market, supporting our view that AI server revenue will ramp well into next year.”
Notably, Dell makes servers that use Nvidia (NVDA) AI chips, drawing a shoutout from the chipmaker in its earnings call last week.
JPMorgan Sees US Stocks Outperforming Europe in 2025
6 hr 51 min ago
Stocks in the U.S. market are likely to continue beating their European counterparts over the next year, analysts from JPMorgan (JPM) wrote Wednesday.
However, stocks across the board are likely to slow in the first half of next year as some uncertain political factors—such as the transition to the Trump administration and the trade effects of its economic policies—are realized, the analysts wrote.
The “current phase of polarized regional market performances is likely to extend” as the impacts of the tariffs Trump has said he will implement and other new policies materialize, the analysts wrote. They also noted that the U.S. stock market has outperformed international competitors by 22% so far this year.
Read the full article here.
Analysts Remain Bullish on CrowdStrike Despite Surprise Loss
8 hr 10 min ago
CrowdStrike (CRWD) shares slumped Wednesday, a day after the cybersecurity company reported an unexpected loss for the third quarter as it grapples with the fallout from a massive outage in July, but analysts are still bullish on the stock.
“Despite the increased near-term uncertainty, we remain steadfast in our view that CRWD’s cloud security platform is very differentiated,” analysts at Mizuho wrote Wednesday. The firm maintained its “outperform” rating and $375 price target.
Wedbush analysts boosted their price target to $390 from $330, noting CrowdStrike beat revenue expectations in the third quarter and raised its full-year guidance. They added that in the wake of the outage, “lost business continues to seem much more limited than first expected.”
Citi analysts were even more bullish, lifting their price target for the stock to $400 from $300, citing the company’s “impressive” revenue milestone above $1 billion for the quarter, and “higher conviction on out-year forecasts.”
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Shares of CrowdStrike were down nearly 6% at around $343 in recent trading. Despite Wednesday’s losses, they’ve gained about 35% since the start of the year.
Urban Outfitters Stock Soars After Earnings
9 hr 37 min ago
Urban Outfitters (URBN) shares jumped Wednesday after the company reported third-quarter results that were better than analysts had expected, thanks to rising sales across its non-Urban Outfitters brands.
After Tuesday’s closing bell, the retailer reported a third-quarter record of $1.36 billion in revenue, up from $1.28 billion the same time last year and slightly better than the $1.34 billion analysts had expected, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.
The operator of its namesake Urban Outfitters stores along with other brands like Free People and Anthropologie recorded $102.9 million in net income for the quarter, up from $83 million a year ago and the $78.9 million analysts projected.
Overall comparable store sales rose 1.5% year-over-year, driven by 5.8% growth at Anthropologie stores and 5.3% at Free People, each better than expected, while comparable sales at Urban Outfitters fell more than expected at 8.9%.
CEO Richard Hayne said the company is “optimistic” about demand the company is seeing ahead of the holiday shopping season, noting in Tuesday’s earnings call that Urban Outfitters has seen a “remarkably resilient” consumer. Hayne said positive sales trends seen in October continued into the start of the fourth quarter in November despite outside events like global conflict, severe weather, and the election, according to a transcript of the call from AlphaSense.
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Urban Outfitters shares were up 15% in recent trading. With today’s gain, the stock is up nearly 30% year-to-date, which is slightly better than the S&P 500’s increase over the period.
Workday Price Levels to Watch as Outlook Disappoints
10 hr 54 min ago
Workday (WDAY) posted better-than-expected third-quarter results, but provided a current-quarter subscription revenue outlook below Wall Street expectations, sending shares in the software maker tumbling Wednesday morning.
A bearish divergence has formed between the stock’s November peak and the relative strength index, a technical occurrence that signals weakening buying momentum.
Investors should monitor important support areas on Workday’s chart around $237, $223, and $207 while also watching a key overhead level near $279.
The stock was down 8% at $248 in recent trading.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
What’s the Schedule for Markets Over the Holidays?
12 hr 7 min ago
Traders will have some extra time to digest their turkey this week.
Both the stock and bond market will close on Thursday for Thanksgiving. Trading will resume on Black Friday, but wrap up early, with the stock market closing at 1 p.m. and the bond market at 2 p.m.
The markets will keep those same, shorter hours on Christmas Eve, which falls on Tuesday, Dec. 24, and remain shut on Christmas Day. The markets will return to their normal schedule on Thursday, Dec. 26th.
The bond market has another early closure scheduled on New Year’s Eve, or Tuesday, Dec. 31. Both markets will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, and reopen as usual a day later.
Dell Price Levels to Watch as Stock Plunges After Earnings
13 hr 17 min ago
Dell (DELL) shares tumbled in premarket trading Wednesday after the server and personal computer maker reported fiscal 2025 third-quarter revenue that came in below Wall Street expectations.
Since bottoming out below the 200-day moving average (MA) in early August, Dell shares have trended higher within a rising wedge, a chart pattern that may signal a potential reversal upon a breakdown below the formation’s lower trendline.
While the relative strength index (RSI) indicates positive price momentum with a reading above 60, the indicator turned downwards ahead of earnings as the stock’s price ran into selling pressure near the rising wedge pattern’s top trendline.
Investors should watch key support levels on Dell’s chart around $130, $105, and $87. while also monitoring an important overhead area near $180.
Dell shares were down 12% at $125 in recent premarket trading.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Index Stock Futures Little Changed
13 hr 56 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.
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S&P 500 futures were down 0.1%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.2%.
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