Mid-Morning Look

Monday, November 24, 2025

U.S. stocks come out of the gate sharply higher on this holiday shortened trading week as the stock market attempted to rally after falling again last week. Last week the Nasdaq finished lower for a third straight week (-2.74%), its longest run of weekly losses since March while the Smallcap Russell 200 index declined -0.78% in week, its fourth straight week and longest run of weekly declines since March. The stock market rebound began Friday after dovish remarks from New York Fed President John Williams boosted hopes of a December interest rate cut. This morning, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he is pushing for an interest-rate cut at the next Fed meeting citing a soft labor market and slowing inflation as basis for a rate cut. Government shutdown-delayed September data on retail sales and producer prices will be released this week as well as a handful of tech earnings tomorrow night in final Q4 push. This is also the final trading week of November and as of Friday’s close, the S&P 500 lost -3.5% for the month. Bitcoin prices do not bounce early, while Treasury yields slip. The selloff in US stocks may have run its course, setting the stage for a year-end rally, according to UBS Securities. In stocks news, health insurers rally on report Trump is considering ACA subsidy extension; shares of NVO slide on drug data, while BAYRY, BMY rise on drug data. In M&A news, BLFY rises in banks, GNK in tankers on deal headlines. Reminder, the stock market is closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day, and it shuts down early at 1 P.M. ET on Friday.

• Managed Care names (CNC, ELV, HUM, MOH, OSCR, UNH) and Hospitals (CYH, THC, HCA, UHS) saw big moves higher after Politico reported President Trump is preparing to roll out a new ACA framework, including a 2-year extension of Obamacare subsidies that expire next month. The plan would add income caps on eligibility at roughly 700% of the federal poverty line and introduce minimum premium payments. It also calls for Congress to fund cost-sharing reductions and offers an option for enrollees to take part of their tax credit into a savings account if they switch to a lower-premium plan.
• In Waste Sector: Goldman Sachs said it sees an attractive entry point to buy durable growth backed by competitive moat as they initiate WM ($256 PT), RSG ($255 PT) and WCN ($202 PT) all with Buys and Neutral on GFL, CLH. Said Environmental Services stocks have shifted from low-growth defensives to high-quality compounders and expect a durable price-cost spread to support high-single-digit % EPS growth through the Cycle, with additional upside from landfill gas, recycling investments, and company-specific initiatives like Wm’s synergy realization, WCN’s M&A, and RSG’s polymer investments.

• BAYRY +10%; reported positive results from a clinical trial for an experimental stroke-preventing drug which had previously shown to be ineffective in another trial. Bayer said that the once-daily 50mg asundexian medication, when combined with antiplatelet therapy, lowered the risk of stroke in patients during a late-stage trial, meeting the primary objective of the study.
• BIDU +7%; was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan and raise tgt to $188 from $110 saying the company’s narrative is shifting as cloud and artificial intelligence are now set to become its primary growth engines and value drivers.
• BIIB +4%; after NVO drug fails to meet main goal in Alzheimer’s trials (note BIIB and partner Eisai’s Leqembi and LLY’s Kisunla are the only approved treatments for Alzheimer’s in the U.S.).
• BLFY +41%; and FULT announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Fulton will acquire Blue Foundry in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $243 million, or $11.67 per share of Blue Foundry common stock.
• CVNA +6%; was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Wedbush with a $400 price target as believes the recent pullback in shares is overdone, and investors should take advantage of this period of relative weakness.
• GNK +7%; after DSX announces it has submitted a letter to the Board of Directors of GNK setting forth a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Genco not already owned by Diana for $20.60 per share in cash. The Company currently owns approximately 14.8% of Genco’s outstanding shares.
• GOOGL +5%; extending run from last week to new all-time highs following the release of its Gemini 3 AI model which has been well received by Wall Street.
• INSP +26%; was upgraded to Buy at Stifel and raised tgt to $110 saying the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a significant boost to Medicare reimbursement rates for Inspire therapy procedures; shares of LIVN also rose on the rate changes.
• OSCR +24%; as Managed Care names (CI, CNC, ELV, HUM, OSCR, UNH) and Hospitals (CYH, THC, HCA, UHS) saw moves higher after Politico reported President Trump is preparing to roll out a new ACA framework, including a 2-year extension of Obamacare subsidies that expire next month. The plan would add income caps on eligibility at roughly 700% of the federal poverty line and introduce minimum premium payments.

• GRND -9%; after saying it has ended talks on a non-binding proposal from major shareholders to take the company private for $3.46B, citing uncertainty over financing. The proposal, from investors Ray Zage and James Lu, who together control more than 60% of Grindr’s outstanding stock, lacked clarity on funding commitments, the company said.
• NVO -7%; shares tumbled after saying Evoke Phase 3 trials didn’t show statistically significant reduction in Alzheimer’s disease progression; trials evaluated efficacy, safety of oral semaglutide compared to placebo on top of standard of care (shares of BIIB advanced in reaction).
• PFGC -4%; after USFD said it is no longer pursue combination with PFGC and the two have mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced information sharing process and will no longer pursue a potential business combination between the two companies.
• XOM -1%; along with rest of oil/energy complex on lower oil prices with APA, COP falling.