Midday Fly By: Nvidia reports Q3 beat, Abbott buys Exact Sciences

The major averages were broadly higher near noon, reflecting investor confidence after a strong report and guidance from Nvidia renewed interest in the AI trade. However, investors must still wrestle with mixed signals and rising concerns about the sustainability of recent gains. Analysts point out that much of the rally this year has been anchored in the twin themes of AI and expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Meanwhile, the U.S. September jobs report was finally released, with nonfarm payrolls reported to have increased a stronger-than-forecast 119,000 for the month.

Looking to commodities, gold prices were fractionally lower near noon, while oil prices were higher as the commodity hovers near the $60 per barrel mark.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Nvidia (NVDA) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and provided upbeat Q4 revenue guidance
• Walmart (WMT) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q3
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW) also provided a “beat and raise” report for Q1 and agreed to acquire Chronosphere for $3.35B
• Abbott (ABT) agreed to acquire Exact Sciences (EXAS) for $105 per share, or an equity value of roughly $21B
• Verizon (VZ) CEO Dan Schulman announced the start of 13,000 layoffs across the company

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Nasdaq (NDAQ) to Overweight
• Morgan Stanley downgraded MarketAxess (MKTX) to Equal Weight
• BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage of Astera Labs (ALAB) with an Outperform rating
• Erste Group downgraded Coinbase (COIN) to Hold
• William Blair upgraded Parsons (PSN) to Outperform

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• KKR (KKR) has begun raising its fifth Asia private equity fund with a $15B target, positioning it to be one of the region’s largest vehicles, Reuters says
• Salesforce’s (CRM) Slack will end direct service in China, instead farming out to Alibaba (BABA), The Information reports
• South Korean antitrust officials visited Arm‘s (ARM) Seoul offices as part of ongoing scrutiny of its licensing practices, following a complaint by Qualcomm (QCOM), which alleges that Arm is hurting competition by restricting access to its technology, Bloomberg says
• The U.S. media and entertainment giant Paramount Skydance (PSKY) has won the auction for the rights to broadcast most Champions League matches in the U.K. from 2027 to 2031, Guardian reports
• Dominion Energy (D) is in discussions to purchase the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative in a move that would stretch the utility giant’s reach into the heart of the global data center market, Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• Pacs Group (PACS) increases after reporting Q3 results and providing guidance for FY25
• Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) higher after Leerink upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform
• Cerence (CRNC) and Magnera (MAGN) gains in New York after reporting quarterly results
• Vizsla Silver (VZLA) lower in New York after announcing a $250M senior notes offering
• USA Rare Earth (USAR) declines after its subsidiary entered a partnership with Solvay

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Jacobs (J) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26, with CEO Bob Pragada commenting, “We are pleased to have met or exceeded all our key metrics for FY25”
• Bath & Body Works (BBWI) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue missing consensus
• ZIM Integrated (ZIM) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25
• Formula Systems (FORTY) reported Q3 results, with EPS lower year-over-year
• Maximus (MMS) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26, with CEO Bruce Caswell commenting, “FY25 was a year of significant achievement for Maximus”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.26%, or 122.23, to 46,261.00, the Nasdaq was up 0.36%, or 82.09, to 22,646.32, and the S&P 500 was up 0.28%, or 18.44, to 6,660.60.