S&P 500 Closes Unchanged, Nasdaq Inches Higher to Its 5th Straight New High

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Friday

7 hr 3 min ago

Advancers

• Investment manager Invesco (IVZ) filed a proxy statement asking shareholders of the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) for permission to restructure  the Nasdaq 100-tracking fund. The proposed reclassification of the massive tech-focused exchange-traded fund to an open-ended fund from a unit investment trust could boost Invesco’s fee revenue while lowering costs for shareholders. Invesco shares surged 15%, posting the S&P 500’s strongest daily performance.
• Shares of Regions Financial (RF) advanced 6.1% after the Alabama-based banking company beat second-quarter profit expectations. Year-over-year growth in net interest income and fee income contributed to the strong quarterly results.
• Power producer Talen Energy (TLN) announced a $3.5 billion deal to acquire a pair of gas-fired plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The move is part of the energy infrastructure firm’s portfolio expansion efforts as it aims to position itself to meet demand from power-intensive data centers. Talen stock soared more than 24% on Friday. Shares of nuclear power players Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG), which have drawn attention for their own data center ambitions, were up 6.1% and 4.3%, respectively.
• Dell Technologies (DELL) shares powered some 6% higher. Analysts at Bank of America said the tech firm could come close to doubling its earnings per share by 2030. BofA believes demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure from businesses and government entities along with resurgent capital spending on cloud technology could drive an acceleration in revenue growth for Dell over the next five years.

Decliners

• Elevance Health (ELV) shares plunged for a second straight session, shedding 8.4% on Friday. The downswing for the insurer’s stock came after Elevance cut its full-year guidance, citing high costs related to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage. Other health insurance stocks joined in the two-day swoon following Elevance’s reduced forecast. Shares of Molina Healthcare (MOH) posted a Friday decline of more than 10%, falling the furthest of any S&P 500 stock. 
• Netflix (NFLX) shares sank 5.1% in the wake of its quarterly earnings release. The video streaming giant topped net income estimates and lifted its full-year revenue guidance. Netflix said its operating margin would be lower in the second half of 2025 compared with the first half of the year, reflecting higher content amortization along with more sales and marketing costs involved in promoting a wider roster of content during the third and fourth quarters.

• Manufacturing conglomerate 3M (MMM) posted better-than-expected sales and profits for the second quarter and raised its 2025 outlook. Although the strong numbers initially helped push shares of the Post-it notes maker higher, the stock changed course during 3M’s earnings call as executives discussed sluggishness in the global economy and a challenging environment for the company’s consumer electronics and auto parts businesses. 3M shares ended 3.7% lower.

–Michael Bromberg

What Analysts Think of Alphabet Ahead of Earnings Next Week

7 hr 52 min ago

Google parent company Alphabet is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the closing bell Wednesday, with analysts largely bullish but also eyeing a key antitrust ruling expected next month.

Of the 19 analysts covering Alphabet (GOOGL) and that are tracked by Visible Alpha, 15 have a “buy” or equivalent rating for the stock, alongside four “hold” ratings. The consensus price target is near $200. Shares of Alphabet gained about 1% to close Friday around $185.

Jefferies analysts, who maintained a price target of $210 this week, believe Google’s Cloud division “benefits from strong enterprise demand and AI momentum.” Wall Street broadly expects Google Cloud revenue to have jumped 26% year-over-year to $13.11 billion. 

Advertising revenue will also be in focus, Wedbush Securities analysts said Thursday, with the rise of generative AI posing a threat to traditional search. The Street projects revenue from Google’s Search and Other division to have risen about 9% to $52.81 billion. 

Analysts on average expect Alphabet to report total revenue of $93.86 billion, up 11% year-over-year, and net income of $26.57 billion, or $2.17 per share, compared with $23.62 billion, or $1.89 per share, a year earlier. 

–Andrew Kessel

Invesco Stock Soared After Proposing QQQ Change

8 hr 36 min ago

Invesco (IVZ) shares surged Friday after the investment manager said it’s looking to change the structure of its popular Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) exchange-traded fund  tracking the Nasdaq 100 Index, in a move that could make it more profitable for Invesco.

Shares of Invesco rose 15% to lead the day’s gainers on the S&P 500. The stock has added close to one-quarter of its value over the past 12 months.

Invesco said Friday it’s seeking shareholder approval to shift the QQQ’s structure from the unit investment trust (UIT) it has had since its creation in 1999, to an “open-end fund” ETF structure used by many ETFs that have been created since. The move would allow Invesco to generate revenue and potential profits from the ETF; in its current structure, Invesco is only allowed to be reimbursed for marketing expenses.

QQQ shareholders will be able to vote on the proposal at a special meeting on October 24, along with the election of nine members of a newly created board of trustees, and an agreement that would make Invesco the investment advisor to the fund.

Invesco said the changes would give the ETF’s investors “greater operational flexibility, greater regulatory certainty, the ability to engage in securities lending,” along with a lower expense ratio.

Bloomberg estimated that with roughly $355 billion in assets under management and a 0.2% expense ratio, the ETF generates north of $700 million annually, giving Invesco a significant new stream of revenue if shareholders approve the shift.

–Aaron McDade

Talen Energy Soars on Purchase of Two Plants

9 hr 15 min ago

Talen Energy (TLN) shares soared to an all-time high Friday after the energy provider said it’s buying two natural gas-powered plants for $3.5 billion, in a move to meet growing demand to support AI data centers.

The stock was up 24% in recent trading at around $327, on track to close at an all-time high, after setting an intraday record near $331 earlier in the session.

The deal gives Talen the Moxie Freedom Energy Center in Pennsylvania, owned by private energy producer Caithness Energy, and the Guernsey Power Station in Ohio, co-owned by Caithness and BlackRock (BLK).

Talen said the acquisition boosts its portfolio, and “enhances Talen’s ability to offer reliable, scalable, grid-supported and regionally diverse low-carbon capacity to hyperscale data centers and large commercial off-takers.” Talen noted that the deal is expected to be “immediately accretive to free cash flow per share by over 40% in 2026, and over 50% through 2029.”

The move also comes just days after President Donald Trump attended a summit in Pennsylvania, where he announced a $92 billion commitment to support growth of AI data centers and the energy sources to supply them.

Jefferies analysts on Friday raised their price target on Talen stock to $380 from $326, with the analysts calling it a “highly accretive & strategic acquisition.”

With Friday’s gains, Talen shares have added over 60% this year so far. 

–Bill McColl

Chevron Closes $53 Billion Purchase of Hess

10 hr 21 min ago

Chevron (CVX) can complete its $53 billion purchase of Hess (HES) after an international arbitrator ruled in favor of Chevron in a dispute with Exxon Mobil (XOM) related to Chevron’s planned acquisition. Following the decision, Chevron said it had closed the deal.

Exxon Mobil and partner China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) had raised the challenge with the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) over the acquisition, which gives Chevron access to Hess’s oil-rich fields in Guyana. Exxon Mobil and CNOOC argued they had the right of first refusal for the Hess deal because of their production interests in that country.

However, the ICC sided with Chevron, leading the company to announce that it had met “all necessary closing conditions, including a favorable arbitration outcome regarding Hess’ offshore Guyana asset,” to complete the Hess purchase. Chevron’s deal for Hess had been in limbo since it was struck in October 2023.

Chevron said that the Hess acquisition “adds world class assets, including Guyana and U.S. Bakken, to Chevron’s diversified global portfolio” that now boasts “a 30% position in the Guyana Stabroek Block, which has more than 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered recoverable resource.”

Exxon Mobil responded to the ICC ruling by saying it disagreed, noting that “we believed we had a clear duty to our investors to consider our preemption rights to protect the value we created through our innovation and hard work at a time when no one knew just how successful this venture would become.” The company added that it welcomes Chevron to the venture and looks forward “to continued industry-leading performance and value creation in Guyana for all parties involved.”

Chevron shares were down nearly 3% in recent trading, weighing on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

–Bill McColl

What Analysts Think Tesla Ahead of Earnings Next Week

10 hr 38 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) is slated to report second-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, after deliveries fell short of estimates earlier this month.

Tesla is expected to report a 10% decline in revenue from the same time a year ago to $22.9 billion, while adjusted earnings per share are projected to fall nearly 20% year-over-year to $0.43, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.

Ahead of the EV maker’s results, UBS analysts recently said that they still think Tesla is “fundamentally overvalued,” holding a $215 price target, well below Friday level of about $327. The analysts said they think the stock’s movement could be affected more by CEO Elon Musk’s comments on the quarterly earnings call about its recently launched robotaxi program and other projects than by Tesla’s actual results.

JPMorgan analysts, even less optimistic with a Street-low $115 price target, said they “continue to see risk to the full year outlook and valuation” as the EV maker’s deliveries have continued to fall. Wedbush analysts, however, with their Street-high $500 price target, were more bullish as they said deliveries didn’t fall quite as much as some had feared, noting that Tesla returned to sales growth in China for the first time in eight months in June.

Earlier this month, William Blair analysts downgraded Tesla stock to “market perform” from “outperform” as they said investors may be “growing tired of the distraction” of Musk’s involvement in politics. They also said the Trump administration’s ending of EV tax credits and fines that led other automakers to buy clean energy credits from Tesla could impact demand for Tesla’s vehicles and hurt its profit margins.

Of the 17 brokers tracked by Visible Alpha, eight call Tesla a “buy,” compared to five “hold,” and four “sell” ratings. Their mean price target is just shy of $300.

Tesla shares were up 3% at $330 in mid-afternoon trading Friday. The shares have lost nearly a fifth of their value since the start of the year, making Tesla the worst-performing member of the Magnificent 7 stocks in 2025.

–Aaron McDade

Charles Schwab Shares Hit Record High on Strong Earnings

11 hr 56 min ago

Charles Schwab (SCHW) shares traded at an all-time high on Friday after the discount broker and investment firm reported better-than-expected results on higher trading fees and net interest income. 

The company posted second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.14, with revenue rising 24.8% to $5.85 billion. Both were above estimates.

Trading revenue jumped 22.5% to $952 million, and net interest income soared 30.8% to $2.82 billion. Bank deposit fees skyrocketed 61.4% to $247 million. Total client assets grew 14%, hitting a record of $10.76 trillion.

CEO Rick Wurster said retail investors and registered investment advisors drove the performance, which included more than 1 million new brokerage accounts added, and $80.3 billion in core net new assets, a 31% increase year-over-year.

Shares of Charles Schwab are up about 30% this year.

-Bill McColl

Sarepta Tumbles on Report of Third Death in Clinical Trial

12 hr 46 min ago

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) plummeted Friday following a report that a third patient has died during a clinical trial for one of its medications.

Bloomberg reported late Thursday that a third person who was involved in a clinical trial for a gene therapy drug had died from acute liver failure, after the company announced that patients had died in March and June during a clinical trial for the drug Elevidys, which treats muscular dystrophy.

A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that regulators and investigators were informed “in an appropriate and timely manner.” Sarepta did not immediately respond to Investopedia’s request for comment. The company earlier this week said it had agreed to put a warning label about the risk of liver failure on the drug.

Sarepta on Wednesday announced plans to lay off some of its staff and pause the development of some drugs as part of a restructuring effort to cut an estimated $400 million in costs. That news boosted shares by nearly 20% in Thursday trading. But they were down 26% early Friday afternoon as the latest report hit shares.

UBS analysts on Thursday said the warning label addition and Sarepta’s restructuring effort were both positives for the company, but cut their price target to $45 from $85 to account for their lowered revenue projections.

-Aaron McDade

Lucid Levels to Watch After News of Robotaxi Partnership

13 hr 30 min ago

Lucid Group (LCID) were down slightly Friday after soaring yesterday on news the EV startup is partnering with self-driving software maker Nuro and rideshare giant Uber Technologies (UBER) to bring a new group of robotaxis to Uber’s platform.

The deal will see at least 20,000 self-driving Lucid vehicles enhanced with Nuro’s autonomous driving software added to Uber’s network over the next six years in exchange for Uber investing hundreds of millions of dollars in both companies.

Following the partnership announcement, analysts cautioned that the companies may face challenges scaling as fast as Uber wants, pointing out that Tesla and Google parent Alphabet’s (GOOGL) autonomous vehicle company Waymo have scale and technology advantages over Lucid and Nuro. Last month, Tesla (TSLA) launched its own robotaxi service in Austin, Texas as competition in the self-driving taxi market accelerates.

Lucid shares jumped 36% on Thursday, putting the stock back into positive territory for 2025, though it remain about 12% lower over the past 12 months, weighed down by heavy losses, capital raises, and a string of analyst downgrades. Lucid shares were down 1% at $3.09 in late-morning trading Friday.

After consolidating just below the 50-day moving average in recent weeks, Lucid shares staged a decisive breakout in Thursday’s trading session, potentially setting the stage for follow-through buying. Importantly, the pop occurred on the highest volume since the company debuted on the Nasdaq in July 2021, suggesting conviction behind the move.

Thursday’s breakout also raises the possibility that the stock has completed a triple bottom, with three distinct troughs forming at roughly the same level on the chart between November and July. Meanwhile, the relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum, though the indicator has crossed into overbought territory, increasing the chances of short-term profit-taking.

Investors should watch important overhead areas on Lucid’s chart around $3.60, $4.35 and $5.30, while also monitoring an key support level near $2.50.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Does Netflix Stock Need ‘A Breather’ After Earnings?

14 hr 8 min ago

Have investors binged too much Netflix?

That’s one analyst’s theory, though not the Street’s consensus. The streaming giant’s shares were down 5% Friday morning following yesterday evening’s  earnings report. Netflix (NFLX) shares, which rose nearly 2% yesterday ahead of the results, had gained more than 40% this year through Thursday’s close.

The company’s results and improved outlook were “solid against high expectations,” wrote JP Morgan analysts. But they reiterated a neutral rating, setting a $1,300 price target that calls for comparatively little appreciation between now and the end of next year. The shares, they wrote, “need a breather.”

Most of Wall Street, according to Visible Alpha data, is more optimistic, with nearly all the analysts who track the stock holding bullish ratings and the mean price target sitting right around $1,400. (That number would represent a new milestone for the shares.)

UBS analysts, for example, lifted its price target by $45 to $1495—which is high, but not the high, with Visible Alpha tracking several targets at or above $1,500. “We see Netflix as a secular winner and think 2Q results support our conviction,” they wrote.

Netflix yesterday turned in net income that topped analysts’ estimates and revenue, lifted by price increases, that came in right around them; it also lifted its sales forecasts for the third quarter and full year. The company said its second-half operating margin will come in lower than its first-half figure, which it called typical and tied largely to the timing of expenses throughout the year.

–David Marino-Nachison

Amex Tops Earnings Expectations on Record Card Spending

14 hr 51 min ago

American Express (AXP) on Friday reported second-quarter results that were lifted by record spending.

The payment-cards provider reported earnings per share of $4.08 as revenue increased 9% from the same time a year ago to $17.86 billion. Both metrics came in higher than Visible Alpha’s average analyst forecast.

Net interest income rose 12% year-over-year to $4.19 billion, just below the analyst consensus of $4.23 billion. More than $416 billion in transactions were billed on American Express cards in the quarter, up 7% from last year.

“We saw record Card Member spending in the quarter, demand for our premium products was strong, and our credit performance remained best in class,” American Express CEO Stephen Squeri said.

The company affirmed its full-year projections of 8% to 10% revenue growth and EPS of $15 to $15.50, ranges it also held steady last quarter.

Shares of American Express were down nearly 3% in early trading, after rising slightly in the premarket session following the release of the numbers. The Dow component entered the day up about 6% since the start of the year.

–Aaron McDade

Major Index Futures Point to Slightly Higher Open

16 hr 18 min ago

Futures tied to the three major U.S. stock indexes were up 0.1% in recent trading.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

S&P 500

Nasdaq 100