10 things to watch in the stock market on Friday including more optimism for Apple’s AI plan

1. Stocks pointed to a slightly lower open Friday after declines for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Thursday. After hitting new intraday highs to start the day, the tech-heavy S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished lower by 0.25% and 0.79%, respectively. The Dow bucked the trend, climbing 0.77%.
2. A major culprit for Thursday’s run was the ugly reversal in the club’s name Nvidia as profits were taken in AI winners and the momentum was briefly lost. Meanwhile, Melius Research raised its price target for the leading artificial intelligence chipmaker to $160 per share from $125.
3. Nike was upgraded to an equal rating from buy at Oppenheimer. The firm also raised its PT on the stock to $120 per share from $110, representing more than a 25% increase from Thursday’s close. Analysts feel that many of the challenges and expectations of the footwear and apparel giant have now been translated into the stock, and the stock could gradually rise.
4. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi raised his price target to Club Holding Apple to $240 a share from $195 for AI monetization opportunities, representing a more than 14% increase from Thursday’s close. It’s another notable call from an analyst that turned on its head in late April when he upgraded the iPhone maker to an equal-buy rating after having a market-outperform rating on the stock since 2018.
5. Northrop Grumman downgraded to an equivalent rating at Bernstein. Analysts said the key catalysts that informed their optimism on the defense stock are taking longer than expected to play out, prompting them to recalibrate their outlook on the stock. Their new price target is $477 per share, up from $535.
6. DA Davidson began covering the club’s name Palo Alto Networks with a buy rating and price target of $380 per share. The firm also added the cybersecurity stock to its “Best of Breed Bison” list. Analysts argued that Palo Alto’s platform strategy is working and leading to bigger deals. They are focusing more on increasing cRPO and ARR rather than billings – echoing an argument we made last month.
7. Morgan Stanley has improved Freeport-McMoRan at an equal-to-buy rating, saying expectations for higher copper and gold prices will benefit the miner. The firm also improved Alcoa at a valuation equal to the purchase for the aluminum price.
8. Snow flakesWells Fargo’s price target was cut to $200 per share from $225, though analysts kept their buy rating on the data analytics stock. It’s been a rough ride for the stock since February, when then-CEO Frank Slootman announced his retirement along with weaker-than-expected guidance.
9. CarMax Shares rose on Friday after the company reported a light pace of earnings on softer earnings. CarMax’s quarterly profit was 33% lower than a year earlier, reflecting the challenges facing used car dealers.
10. JPMorgan lowered its price target Kroger shares to $58 each from $60, but analysts maintained their overweight rating on the grocer, arguing that its guidance for the second quarter is conservative.

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