Scotiabank analyst Orest Wowkodaw upgraded Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) stock to sector outperform with a $47 price target this morning.
“Improved clarity on the company’s multi‑year outlook as the near‑term Grasberg overhang moderates” underlies the upgrade. Freeport also boasts “a very strong balance sheet, attractive valuation (particularly in 2027), and high leverage to Cu‑Au prices,” says the analyst, making the stock a buy today, albeit at a slightly lower price target than Scotiabank previously estimated.
Investors seem to agree. Freeport stock is up more than 3% now.
The Voo continues to march higher, now up 0.9%. In contrast, alternative energy darling QuantumScape (NYSE: QS) is one of the relatively few stocks having a bad day Wednesday, down almost 2%.
HSBC analyst Laisha Zaack downgraded QuantumScape to reduce with a $10.50 price target this morning, despite admitting the company is enjoying “a faster volume ramp-up [with] new collaboration and ecosystem revenue streams.”
“Although encouraged by QS’s achievements,” says the analyst, “we see more risk to the downside than upside.” The analyst cites a lack detail on licensing contracts and revenue, and limited visibility on costs.
Yet another S&P 500 component company reporting earnings this morning is retailer TJX Cos. (NYSE: TJX). TJX beat by a nickel this morning with a $1.28 per share Q3 profit on sales of $15.1 billion — also ahead of estimates.
Unfortunately for investors in the company, TJX followed up on its earnings news with poor guidance suggesting it will miss earnings in Q4. Management says this quarter’s earnings will range from only $1.33 to $1.36, versus Wall Street’s hope for $1.37.
TJX stock is down 0.4% on the news — but the Voo is now up 0.8%.
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The S&P 500 logged its fourth-in-a-row losing day Tuesday — but it seems the losing streak is over. On Wednesday the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) opened modestly higher, and it continues to gain, currently up 0.2%.
A change in sentiment on AI stocks may be helping. Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA | NVDA Price Prediction) is expected to report earnings after close of trading today, and options trading activity shows “calls” — bets that the stock will outperform — outnumbering “puts” — bets that the stock will fall, by a 1.8-to-1 ratio this morning. Moreover, Nvidia’s own slide seems to have ceased, and the stock is up 2% this morning.
Meanwhile on Wall Street, analyst Chris Senyek of Wolfe Research was quoted telling CNBC: “We continue to believe that concerns over an AI bubble bursting are overblown… at least for now.”
In earnings news, S&P 500 component company Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM) beat earnings by nine cents this morning, reporting a $1.96 per share Q3 profit on sales of $1.9 billion, also ahead of forecasts. The company stuck by its 2025 sales guidance, predicting sales will rise 0.5% to 3.5% this year, with same-store sales up 2% to +5%, but Williams-Sonoma stock is still down 2% this morning.
Home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) is another S&P 500 component company reporting today, and the company is making investors happy with a report of $3.06 per share earned in Q3 — also nine cents ahead of forecasts. Sales of $20.8 billion missed forecasts by only about $40 million, and investors appear willing to forgive the miss seeing as Lowe’s is forecasting a sales beat by the end of this year: $86 billion instead of Wall Street’s expected $85.6 billion.
Lowe’s stock is up more than 3% in response.
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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.
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