This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
HSBC analyst Paul Rossington initiated coverage on S&P 500 component Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOG) at a buy rating and a $285 price target this morning.
“We like Alphabet’s full-stack AI strategy,” said the analyst. “Underpinned by a leading frontier Gemini model and its own chip development, this is complemented by the broadest datasets among the CSP peer group through historical Search queries, YouTube and other apps. … Offering AI Overviews and AI Mode in browser (powered by Gemini) should help maintain its c90% share of the traditional query market, the areas that generate the greatest proportion of search revenues.”
Despite the analyst’s optimism, trading is taking a turn for the worse right now. Alphabet stock is down more than 1%, and the Voo is now down 0.5%.
Morgan Stanley analyst Manan Gosalia upgraded S&P 500 component company Fifth Third Bancorp (Nasdaq: FITB) to overweight with a $60 price target after yesterday’s news that Fifth Third will acquire rival regional bank Comerica (NYSE: CMA).
Gosalia raised 2027 earnings estimates for Fifth Third by 12% on the news, to $5.24 per share, lowered its target P/E multiple to 11.5x — and still concluded the stock is a buy. “We believe that the accretion math for this deal is conservative, and there is more upside from revenue synergies and additional cost saves down the line,” commented Gosalia.
Fifth Third stock is up more than 1% today, but the Voo is now down 0.1%.
Evercore ISI analysts Trey Morrish and Stephen Kim took a chainsaw to homebuilder stock ratings this morning.
Toll Bros. (NYSE: TOL), KB Home (NYSE: KBH), DR Horton (NYSE: DHI), and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) are just a few of the housing stocks that got their outperform ratings yanked, and downgraded to “in line” (i.e. hold).
Toll Bros. and KB Home are both down 2.2%, Pulte 2.6%, and DR Horton is leading the group lower with a 2.8% loss as trading gets underway for the day. The Voo, however, is still up 0.2%.
Live coverage has ended. The full story is below.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
As Tuesday dawns, the U.S. Government is seven days into its shutdown — with no end in sight. The U.S. Senate tried yesterday, for a fifth time, to pass a bill to fund the government through November 21. It failed to win the necessary 60 votes, which would require eight Democrats to switch sides and join their Republican comrades.
Despite their being no movement towards compromise, however, the U.S. stock market just keeps on climbing. Premarket today, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) is up nearly 0.2%.
Shutdown or not, the government continues to make news today, however, most notably thanks to the Trump Administration announcing that it will directly invest $35.6 million in tiny Trilogy Metals (NYSEMKT: TMQ), a profitless, revenue-less miner of copper, cobalt, lead, zinc, gold, and silver. The government will receive a 10% stake in the company for its investment. It’s presumably buying into the company in hopes of securing access to strategic metals such as copper and cobalt.
Trilogy Metals stock is soaring 240% premarket. That means little to the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, however, for Trilogy is far too small to be included in the S&P 500.
Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ | STZ Price Prediction) on the other hand is much bigger. The S&P 500 component company reported fiscal Q2 2026 earnings last night, and beat forecasts by 15 cents. Q2 profits were $3.63 per share, and revenue was just under $2.5 billion. (Analysts had forecast just over $2.5 billion, however).
Constellation’s followed up its earnings report with guidance for $11.30 to $11.60 in fiscal 2026 earnings. Taken at the midpoint and relative to the consensus forecast of $11.44, that means Constellation might “beat by a penny” this year. The stock is up nearly 5% premarket in response to the news.
McCormick & Company (NYSE: MKC), another S&P 500 component, beat by three cents this morning, reporting a $0.85 per share profit for its fiscal Q3. Revenue edged out expectations at $1.7 billion, however, guidance through the end of 2025 is for earnings of only $3.00-$3.05 per share. Taken at the midpoint, this would miss the consensus of $3.04.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) opened lower on Friday, down 0.35%, as investors looked in vain…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. It’s finally, officially, over. On Wednesday, Nov. 12, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to end the longest…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) closed down 0.3% on Thursday as the U.S. government endured its…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. It’s Day 2 of the Government Shutdown of 2025, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is warning investors that…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) set a new all-time high on Wednesday, rising 0.6% to close…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. After rising modestly Thursday, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) turned lower in Friday’s premarket, trading down…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. As Friday dawns, today’s big news is that Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX | NFLX Price Prediction) will buy streaming…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. Everything that could go right to drive the stock market higher today, appears to be going right, and…
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates. It’s Tuesday, September 30 — and the U.S. government is about to run out of money. Unless Congress…
