Midday Fly By: Target earnings hit the mark, Elliott invests $1B in Pinterest

The three top indexes were each down nearly 1.5% near noon following fresh military strikes and widening hostilities in the Middle East, triggering concerns about prolonged conflict and its potential to disrupt global energy markets. Iran’s Strait of Hormuz, the globe’s most vital transit route for crude oil, has been closed, with Reuters reporting that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander said Iran would set ablaze ships attempting to pass through the strait. Oil prices are up about 4% at midday following the news, while gold prices are dropping nearly 5% as the commodity sees continued volatility.

Claim 55% Off TipRanks

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Target (TGT) reported upbeat Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1 and FY26
• Best Buy (BBY) reported mixed Q4 results and increased its quarterly dividend
• MongoDB (MDB) reported better-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue but provided a conservative outlook for Q1
• Pinterest (PINS) announced a $1B investment from Elliott Investment Management, saying it expects to use the proceeds to repurchase shares
• Apple (AAPL) announced a new MacBook Air with the M5 chip and announced new M5 Pro and M5 Max chips

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Block (XYZ) upgraded to Buy at HSBC
• MongoDB (MDB) downgraded to Neutral at Baird
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW) double upgraded to Buy from Sell at Arete
• uniQure (QURE) received two more downgrades, from Wells Fargo and Mizuho, after the company said the FDA “strongly recommended” a new Huntington’s disease study
• Wall Street(OFRM) and SpyGlass Pharma (SGP)

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Federal Communications Commission, FCC, chair Brendan Carr has signaled the watchdog does not plan to block Paramount’s (PSKY) $110B deal to buy Warner Bros (WBD), FT says
• A Waymo (GOOGL) robotaxi briefly blocked an ambulance near the scene of a mass shooting in Austin while en route to pick up a passenger, an incident confirmed by both Waymo and EMS officials, Axios reports
• Hims’ (HIMS) pharmacy partner will reintroduce a compounded pill version of GLP-1 drug Wegovy that was pulled from the market last month, Endpoints News says
• DF Research, representing the opinions of Keith Dalrymple and Dalrymple Finance, issued a cautious note on WillScot (WSC)
• U.S. officials are weighing imposing caps on the number of H200 chips Nvidia (NVDA) can export to any single Chinese company, Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• Battalion Oil (BATL) gains after entering into a definitive agreement to raise approximately $15M at a price of $5.50 per share
• Ziff Davis (ZD) higher after entering a definitive agreement to sell its Connectivity division to Accenture (ACN) for $1.2B in cash
• Plug Power (PLUG) increases after appointing Crespo as Chief Executive Officer
• Theravance Biopharma (TBPH) falls after announcing it will wind down its ampreloxetine program after Phase 3 results
• ThredUP (TDUP) lower after reporting Q4 results and providing guidance for FY26

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE

• Upload Software (UPLD) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1 and FY26
• Antalpha (ANTA) reported Q4 results, with CFO Paul Liang commenting that the company “finished 2025 on a solid footing”
• Paysafe (PSFE) reported Q4 results, with EPS beating consensus
• Cigna (CI) backed its guidance for FY26 as it announced a change in CEO
• On Holding (ONON) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 1.45%, or 710.52, to 48,194.26, the Nasdaq was down 1.38%, or 313.63, to 22,435.23, and the S&P 500 was down 1.35%, or 91.83, to 6,788.43.