Monday’s Insider Moves: Adverum Execs Lead Buys, Diamondback Sale Tops

Investing.com -- Citius Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CTOR) stock plunged 13.8% in premarket trading Tuesday after the company announced a capital raise of approximately $18 million through registered direct and private placement offerings.

The oncology-focused firm has entered into agreements with a single healthcare-focused investor to sell shares and warrants priced at $1.09 per share, representing an at-the-market offering under Nasdaq rules. The transaction includes the sale of 1,284,404 shares in a registered direct offering and 15,229,358 shares (or pre-funded warrants) in a concurrent private placement.

Both offerings include accompanying warrants that will be exercisable following stockholder approval and will expire five years from the approval date. H.C. Wainwright & Co. is serving as the exclusive placement agent for the transactions, which are expected to close around December 10, 2025.

Citius Oncology plans to use the proceeds to strengthen its cash position and support the commercial launch of LYMPHIR™, its novel cancer immunotherapy developed for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). The funds will also be allocated toward working capital and general corporate purposes.

The stock decline reflects typical market reaction to equity offerings that can potentially dilute existing shareholders’ stakes, despite the capital being raised to fund the company’s growth initiatives.

Citius Oncology is a subsidiary of Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXR) and focuses on developing and commercializing oncology treatments.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- SLM Corp. (NASDAQ:SLM) stock is down 14% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the education funding firm’s 2025 investor day forum revealed slower earnings growth projections and higher expenses.

The company hosted its investor forum after Monday’s market close, prompting multiple analyst downgrades. Morgan Stanley downgraded SLM from Overweight to Equalweight and lowered its price target to $31.00 from $36.00, while Compass Point took a more bearish stance, downgrading the stock from Buy to Sell with a price target of $23.00.

Analysts were particularly concerned about the magnitude of potential expense increases as SLM prepares for government pullback and the Graduate PLUS loan opportunity. The company’s illustrative earnings scenario implies a 16% year-over-year expense growth in what analysts consider to be 2026, significantly higher than expected.

The updated outlook represents a major reset that effectively erases about two years of progress. According to Compass Point, current consensus estimates for FY26/FY27 EPS are $3.40/$3.88, but SLM’s updated outlook suggests figures of $2.63/$2.87, approximately 23-26% below consensus expectations.

The company’s FY26 EPS is now projected to decline approximately 19% YoY from the current FY25 outlook midpoint of $3.25. Based on the updated projections, it will take until fiscal 2028 for earnings to return to growth relative to FY25 levels.

While SLM’s investments to capture the Graduate PLUS opportunity and build a more diversified funding structure may create long-term value, the significant near-term earnings reset and execution risks have prompted the negative market reaction.

Investing.com -- Wells Fargo plans to reduce its workforce in 2026 and is preparing for increased severance costs in the fourth quarter of 2025, CEO Charlie Scharf announced on Tuesday.

Scharf shared these plans during his presentation at the Goldman Sachs Financial Services conference, where he outlined the bank’s workforce strategy for the coming year.

The banking executive did not provide specific details about how many positions might be eliminated or which departments would be affected by the planned headcount reduction.

Wells Fargo is also anticipating higher severance-related expenses in the final quarter of this year as it prepares for the workforce changes, though exact figures for these costs were not disclosed during the conference.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Citi has lifted its price target on Apple to $330, pointing to stronger-than-expected momentum for the iPhone 17 cycle and a healthier upgrade pool moving into 2026 and 2027.

With iPhone 12 and 13 owners from the Covid-19 period entering a replacement window, unit growth in the current and March quarters remains well supported.

Citi now models iPhone shipments for calendar years 2025, 2026, and 2027 at 244 million, 247 million and 261 million, respectively.

“With iPhone 12/13 users from 2020/21 the Covid period entering their upgrade window, we continue to see upside to the Dec/Mar-Q IP17 units,” analyst Atif Malik said in a note.

Citi notes that delivery-time tracking across the U.S., China, India and the U.K. shows supply for the base model remains tight more than two months after launch, with wait times still around 10 days, compared with near-immediate availability for last year’s model at the same stage.

It also highlights a slight U.S. uptick heading into Black Friday, especially in the Air and Pro
models.

Looking ahead, Malik sees further tailwinds emerging from Apple’s shift to WMCM (Wafer-level Multi-Chip Module) packaging in 2026, which promises efficiency gains and positions future devices for heavier on-device AI workloads.

This architectural change, combined with the possible timing shift of the iPhone 18 base model to early 2027, underpins Citi’s more constructive view on 2027 trends.

Apple’s Services business also remains resilient despite softer Sensor Tower readings, with the company’s large installed base and expanding advertising and cloud contribution offering what Citi sees as a stable foundation for growth.

Updated EPS estimates move to $8.30 for fiscal 2026 (FY26), $9.44 for FY27, and $10.13 for FY28, supporting the higher valuation.

“We are optimistic on CY2027 given the new packaging architecture and the expectation of major design changes for iPhone’s 20th year anniversary,” Malik said.

Citi bases its new target on a 33x multiple of 2027 earnings, arguing that Apple’s margin profile, services mix and balance sheet justify the premium.

Investing.com -- Clear Secure Inc (NYSE:YOU) stock rose 2.3% in premarket trading Tuesday after the secure identity company announced it had secured a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to modernize identity verification for Medicare beneficiaries and providers.

The contract will integrate Clear’s identity platform, CLEAR1, into Medicare.gov for account creation, recovery, and access to healthcare information beginning in early 2026. The implementation aims to strengthen fraud prevention and improve security for millions of Medicare users.

Clear’s technology will replace legacy identity verification systems with multi-layered verification, addressing growing challenges from AI-driven synthetic identities and deepfake impersonation attempts that have been targeting the healthcare sector.

The contract supports CMS’s nationwide Health Tech Ecosystem initiative announced at the White House earlier this year, which aims to create a more connected and interoperable healthcare system. By implementing secure, reusable digital identity, CLEAR1 will help reduce friction and improve access for Medicare beneficiaries.

"CLEAR’s mission is to make experiences safer and easier by securely connecting people to their true identity," said Caryn Seidman Becker, CEO of CLEAR. "We have spent more than 15 years building public-private partnerships grounded in the belief that identity is foundational to trust."

The HIPAA-compliant platform is Full Service certified by Kantara Initiative for NIST IAL2/AAL2 standards. Clear has already established partnerships with healthcare providers including Epic, Sharecare, Welldoc, and several health systems such as Wellstar Health and University of Miami Health.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- BMO Capital Markets has initiated coverage on the U.S. airline sector with a constructive outlook for 2026, arguing that the industry is finally emerging from “a challenging 2024–2025” marked by excess domestic capacity and weak corporate travel. 

Analyst Michael Goldie said conditions are now improving, with “normalizing supply/demand and recovering corporate travel.”

BMO launched with Outperform ratings on Delta Air Lines (DAL) and United Airlines (UAL), and Market Perform ratings on American Airlines (AAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV). 

The firm sees an opportunity for carriers capable of “durable margin expansion” and reduced cyclicality, supported by “diversified revenues; brand loyalty; and balance sheet health.”

Margin pressure has been especially acute among discount airlines, BMO noted, as “cost inflation has outpaced unit revenue,” worsened by labour shortages that pushed up wages and a lack of premium products. 

But a turning point is said to be in sight. “Improving market conditions should benefit all carriers in 2026,” as the sector moves beyond both overcapacity and corporate demand weakness, said Goldie.

BMO highlights Delta as best positioned for re-rating potential. The carrier has reduced its reliance on main cabin seats and now generates “$8 billion in annual remunerations” from its American Express partnership, which delivers margins “multiple times that of the airline business.” 

The bank sees “a path for the stock to more than double over the medium-term.”

United could also re-rate if it executes on cost initiatives and monetises its customer base. 

Meanwhile, BMO sees Southwest’s limited leverage as de-risking its outlook, while American’s higher leverage offers torque but also “increases risk if [conditions] deteriorate.”