Good Morning, Traders!…👋

Stock futures are on the rise Thursday, aiming to recover from the previous session's declines. Despite a dip in Nvidia's shares post-earnings, Wall Street is showing resilience.

Nvidia saw its shares fall by 4% after delivering its latest earnings report Wednesday afternoon. The AI chip giant surpassed expectations in both revenue and earnings and provided an optimistic outlook for the current quarter.

Wednesday's market dip, driven by anticipation surrounding Nvidia’s earnings, saw major indices in the red. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.12%, the S&P 500 shed 0.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid by 159 points, or 0.39%.

Nvidia’s growing market influence cannot be overstated. Having briefly surpassed a $3 trillion market cap this year, the semiconductor titan now represents approximately 7% of the S&P 500, underscoring its critical role in today’s market landscape.

Happening Today

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Initial Jobless Claims

✓ 08:30 AM ET – GDP (QoQ) (Q2)

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Core PCE Prices (Q2)

✓ 08:30 AM ET – Goods Trade Balance (Jul)

✓ 10:00 AM ET – Pending Home Sales (MoM) (Jul)

✓ 01:00 PM ET – 7-Year Note Auction

✓ 04:30 PM ET – Fed's Balance Sheet

PREMARKET SNAPSHOT📈

Market futures are up, with the S&P 500, Dow, and NASDAQ all showing gains, led by a stronger rise in the Dow.

SECTOR SNAPSHOT✨

The market faced widespread declines, with Information Technology and Consumer Discretionary leading the losses, reflecting a cautious investor sentiment. Energy and Materials also posted notable declines, contributing to the overall negative tone. Despite these setbacks, Financials and Health Care managed to eke out modest gains, showing some resilience. However, most sectors, including Utilities and Real Estate, either remained flat or ended in the red, indicating a challenging day across the board.

PreMarket Unusual Volume Stocks

📈 XORTX Therapeutics Inc (XRTX): XORTX Therapeutics Inc experienced a significant increase in trading activity with a volume of 6,706,293, far exceeding its average volume of 65,090. This surge in activity led to a 55.57% price change, reflecting heightened market interest.

📈 BioCardia Inc. (BCDA): BioCardia Inc. saw an extraordinary surge in volume, trading 8,125,831 shares compared to its average of 212,460. This dramatic increase resulted in a 119.55% price change, indicating strong investor activity.

📈 GRI Bio Inc (GRI): GRI Bio Inc's trading volume rose to 3,422,050, significantly higher than its average of 520,080. The stock's price change of 2.64% mirrors this spike in trading volume.

📈 UTime Ltd (WTO): UTime Ltd saw its volume rise to 49,525,148, far surpassing its average of 9,221,430. Despite the increased trading activity, the stock experienced a -15.76% price change.

📈 Theriva Biologics Inc (TOVX): Theriva Biologics Inc's volume spiked to 206,186, a substantial increase from its average of 48,760. The stock's 8.00% price change highlights the impact of the increased trading activity.

Premarket Picks

BioCardia, Inc. (BCDA) has seen its stock rise to $5.00 in premarket trading, marking an impressive surge of 127.27%. This gain follows the FDA's recent clearance for the company’s Morph DNA Steerable Introducer product family, a significant regulatory milestone that has spurred investor enthusiasm.

Autozi Internet Technology (Global) Ltd. (AZI) is experiencing a notable premarket boost, with its stock up 56.10% to $4.09. This surge comes after the company announced the pricing for its Initial Public Offering (IPO), which has attracted considerable investor interest and driven up the stock price.

XORTX Therapeutics Inc. (XRTX) has seen its premarket price increase to $1.88, reflecting a gain of 60.68%. The rise is attributed to new research indicating that genetic factors linked to xanthine oxidase over-expression are involved in several diseases, including kidney disease, enhancing the company’s market prospects.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (AFRM) is trading at $38.28 in premarket hours, up 21.22%. This gain follows the release of its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2024.

Below is a list of other hot stocks in pre-market today:

Top Upgrades:

1. Foot Locker, Inc. (FL)

Analyst Firm: Barclays
Upgrade: Equal Weight to Overweight
Price Target: $34
Yesterday’s Close: $29.45

Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih has upgraded Foot Locker, Inc. from "Equal Weight" to "Overweight," setting a new price target of $34. Foot Locker, a major global retailer known for its significant influence in sneaker culture through brands like Foot Locker, Champs Sports, and WSS, is projected to have stock price targets ranging from a low of $17.00 to a high of $38.00.

The median target stands at $29.00, with an average estimate of $28.67. With approximately 2,500 stores across 26 countries, Foot Locker continues to maintain a strong presence in the global retail landscape.

2. Marriott International, Inc. (MAR)

Analyst Firm: Bernstein
Upgrade: Market Perform to Outperform
Price Target: $262 (Previous: $247)
Yesterday’s Close: $227.32

Bernstein has upgraded Marriott International, Inc. from "Market Perform" to "Outperform," raising the price target to $262, up from the previous $247. Marriott, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, operates an extensive portfolio of around 9,000 properties under more than 30 brands across 141 countries and territories.

Analysts have set stock price targets for Marriott ranging from a low of $195.00 to a high of $275.00, with a median target of $245.00 and an average estimate of $244.82.

3. Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. (NBIX)

Analyst Firm: Piper Sandler
Upgrade: Neutral to Overweight
Price Target: $159 (Previous: $131)
Yesterday’s Close: $123.76

Piper Sandler has upgraded Neurocrine Biosciences from "Neutral" to "Overweight," increasing the price target to $159 from the previous $131. Neurocrine Biosciences is a leading biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.

The company’s stock price targets range from a low of $128.00 to a high of $204.00, with a median of $170.00 and an average estimate of $170.39.

Happy investing,

Maeve Grace
Editor In Chief
Premium Trade Alerts

Important: This newsletter does not provide investment advice. The stocks mentioned should not be taken as recommendations. Your investments are solely your decisions.

Disclosure: I hold no positions in any companies mentioned, either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.