Dj Ibd: Eli Lilly, Alphabet Among Megacap Leaders On This Growth List

Investing.com -- Parsons Corp. (NYSE:PSN) stock fell 15% Friday after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded the Brand New Air Traffic Control System (BNATCS) contract to rival Peraton instead of Parsons.

The loss of the approximately $12.5 billion contract represents a significant setback for Parsons, which had been widely considered a frontrunner for the prime integrator role on the project to modernize America’s air traffic control infrastructure.

Raymond James analyst Brian Gesuale downgraded Parsons from Strong Buy to Market Perform following the news. "In our view, Peraton’s award will be a major surprise to investors, dents the psyche of the stock, and eliminates significant organic upside to numbers in 2026/2027," Gesuale noted.

The analyst further explained that Parsons shares had reached the highest multiple among peers, trading at a 35% premium to the broader group, largely reflecting market expectations of a contract win. Gesuale believes this premium "could be cut in half or more" as catalysts become less significant and timing more uncertain.

In a statement, Peraton Chairman, President, and CEO Steve Schorer called the award "a historic opportunity to fundamentally transform America’s air traffic control system," pledging to deliver a more secure and reliable system.

Despite the setback, Raymond James maintains that Parsons’ longer-term market positioning remains intact, with expectations for mid-single-digit-plus organic growth excluding confidential projects. The company still has potential upside from missile defense, border security, and Middle East infrastructure projects, though these now represent medium-term rather than near-term growth drivers.

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Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures traded in tight ranges Friday ahead of the release of key inflation data, which could cement a Federal Reserve rate cut next week.

Here are some of the biggest premarket U.S. stock movers today:

• Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock fell 3% after the streaming giant agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion. Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) stock fell 1.1%.

• Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) stock gained 6.3% after the cosmetics retailer topped Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock slumped 9.3% after the cloud services and hardware company forecast first-quarter revenue below estimates, as it sees a fall in AI server income due to customers shifting their orders to the second half of the year.

• SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) stock slumped 7.4% after the fintech company announced an underwritten public offering of $1.5 billion of shares of its common stock.

• Cooper Companies (NASDAQ:COO) stock rose 13% after the health-care company issued earnings guidance for 2026 that topped expectations, while also launching a strategic review.

• Rubrik (NYSE:RBRK) stock surged 18% after the security and AI operations company reported a surprise earnings beat in the third quarter and provided a full-year outlook that exceeded Wall Street expectations on increased demand spurred by the artificial intelligence boom.

• Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) stock rose 0.1% despite the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stating that the auto giant has recalled 108,762 vehicles in the U.S. over issues with an improperly secured liftgate hinge cover that could detach from the vehicles.

Investing.com — The first week of December has left investors uneasy. The S&P 500 barely moved, and the market continues to drift without clear direction. Some traders see stretched valuations and worry that a correction may be approaching. Others believe the rapid spread of AI across the economy is about to spark a new wave of productivity and growth. The result is a market caught between fear and opportunity, which makes confident decision-making harder than ever.

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• NASDAQGS:FTRE Fortrea Holdings: +16.56% in December ALONE
• NASDAQGS:ENTG Entegris: +15.53% in December ALONE
• NYSE:ONTO Onto Innovation: +14.65% in December ALONE
• IBSE:VERUS Verusa Holding: +22.44% in December ALONE
• SET:AOT Airports of Thailand: +19.10% in December ALONE
• KOSE:A064400 LG CNS: +17.48% in December ALONE
• SGX:D01 DFI Retail Holdings: +16.81% in December ALONE
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Investing.com — The first week of December has left investors uneasy. The S&P 500 barely moved, and the market continues to drift without clear direction. Some traders see stretched valuations and worry that a correction may be approaching. Others believe the rapid spread of AI across the economy is about to spark a new wave of productivity and growth. The result is a market caught between fear and opportunity, which makes confident decision-making harder than ever.

This kind of environment rewards investors who rely on more than instinct. It calls for a focused strategy built on high-conviction ideas supported by deep fundamental research and advanced AI analytics. That is where our approach stands out. Our AI-driven stock selections have a proven record of identifying future outperformers long before the broader market catches on. The latest update to our system went live on Monday, and the early results from the new list have already been remarkable.

*InvestingPro members can click HERE to jump straight to our new list of stock picks.

Still not a member? Then this is your chance to subscribe at up to 55% off and secure access to the top picks for December.

Here’s how some of our high-conviction picks have performed so far:

• NASDAQGS:FTRE Fortrea Holdings: +16.56% in December ALONE
• NASDAQGS:ENTG Entegris: +15.53% in December ALONE
• NYSE:ONTO Onto Innovation: +14.65% in December ALONE
• IBSE:VERUS Verusa Holding: +22.44% in December ALONE
• SET:AOT Airports of Thailand: +19.10% in December ALONE
• KOSE:A064400 LG CNS: +17.48% in December ALONE
• SGX:D01 DFI Retail Holdings: +16.81% in December ALONE
• IBSE:LIDER LDR Turizm AS: +16.34% in December ALONE

Among several others...

But how does the AI behind these picks actually work?

At the start of each month, the AI refreshes every strategy with up to 20 new stock picks, analyzing more than 150 investor-grade financial models built on over 15 years of global market data. It identifies where risk and reward align best — removing underperformers, keeping promising names, and adding fresh opportunities.

The strategies use equal weighting across all selected stocks, creating a transparent and consistent way to track results. The goal is not just to find winners but also to know when to move on from the ones that stop performing.

Check out the 12-year outperformance of Tech Titans over the S&P 500 below:

This means a $100K principal in our strategy would have turned into an eye-popping $2,757,500.

Use your chance to get InvestingPro with up to 55% off during our Cyber Monday Extended sale.

Disclaimer: Prices mentioned in articles are accurate at the time of publication. We regularly test different offers for our members, which may vary by region.

Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s main stock exchange hovered around the flatline on Friday, after a wave of upbeat domestic bank earnings drove the average to a fresh all-time peak.

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By 06:23 ET (11:23 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract was broadly unchanged.

On Thursday, the S&P/TSX composite index rose by 1% to 31,477.57, surpassing a prior record notched late last week.

TD Bank, CIBC, and Bank of Montreal all delivered better-than-anticipated estimates for fourth-quarter earnings, underpinned by strength at their capital markets divisions which stemmed from improved dealmaking and trading revenues. Shares of CIBC and TD, in particular, jumped new record highs.

Reports from Royal Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, and Scotiabank -- the last of Canada’s six major lenders -- were similarly solid earlier in the week.

Investors are now keeping tabs on impending Canadian employment numbers for November, as well as a trove of data releases in the United States.

U.S. futures inch up

U.S. stock futures pointed slightly higher, but have been trading in tight ranges, with investors awaiting a key inflation report for confirmation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week.

At 06:36 ET, Dow Jones Futures rose 46 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures gained 13 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures added 94 points, or 0.4%.

The main averages closed in a mixed fashion in the prior session, with the benchmark S&P 500 and tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite both advancing, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged.

All three indices have managed to eke out small gains so far this week.

PCE inflation gauge in spotlight

Expectations of 25-basis point reduction at the Fed’s December 9–10 meeting are running hot -- with futures now pricing in roughly an 87% probability -- on the back of recent weak labor data and broader signs of economic cooling.

Thursday’s weekly jobless claims plunged by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 191,000, the lowest level since September 2022, but economists cautioned that distortions tied to the Thanksgiving holiday may have exaggerated the decline.

Elsewhere, a private-sector payroll report from ADP on Wednesday showed a decline of 32,000 jobs -- the largest drop in over two and a half years, and a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas stated that announced job cuts dropped sharply in November but hiring intentions remained weak.

While the importance of price stability, the second element of the Fed’s dual mandate, has faded a little of late, all eyes are now on the release of the delayed monthly core inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE), later in the session.

This is widely seen as the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, and a soft PCE print could further embolden rate-cut expectations.

Excluding food and energy, the underlying, or "core," PCE price index is seen holding at 2.9% in the 12 months to September and 0.2% month-on-month.

Beyond PCE, the economic calendar will feature the latest survey of consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.

Netflix linked with Warner Bros Discovery’s film assets

In the corporate sector, Netflix has entered into exclusive negotiations to purchase Warner Bros Discovery’s film and television studios as well as its prized streaming assets, media reports have said.

The streaming giant reportedly offered $28 per share for those portions of the long-time Hollywood stalwart, whose brands include HBO and DC Comics.

Should the transaction be finalized, it would transform Netflix into a media powerhouse with control over one of the most valuable content libraries in the entertainment industry.

Netflix and Warner Bros are anticipated to announce a deal imminently, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Elsewhere, Ulta Beauty shares soared premarket after the cosmetics retailer topped Wall Street estimates for its fiscal third quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

HPE stock slumped after the cloud services and hardware company missed analysts’ revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, posting $9.68 billion versus a consensus estimate of $9.94 billion.

Crude steadies; WTI on track for weekly gain

Oil prices steadied Friday, maintaining the previous session’s gains as stalled diplomatic progress over the Ukraine war and firm expectations of a Fed rate cut supported sentiment.

Brent futures last slipped marginally by 0.1% to $63.23 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures inched down 0.1% to $59.60 a barrel.

Both contracts jumped nearly 1% on Thursday, and while Brent was mostly unchanged this week, WTI was on track for a 1.5% weekly gain -- a second straight week of increase.

The lack of progress in U.S.-Russia talks to end the Ukraine war has dampened hopes that energy sanctions on Russian crude could be eased soon, keeping a risk premium in the market.

Gold climbs

Gold prices rose modestly, aided by a softer dollar and firm wagers that the Fed will cut interest rates next week.

Spot gold was up 0.3% at $4,222.85 an ounce by 06:49 ET. U.S. Gold Futures for February delivery rose 0.2% to $4,252.35 an ounce.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, stood near a five-week low, having dipped as markets priced in Fed cut in December and expectations of additional easing early next year.

A weak dollar can boost demand for bullion, as it makes gold cheaper for overseas buyers.

Investing.com -- In a note to clients on Friday, Mizuho named the stock that it is buyers of heading into earnings next week, with analyst Vijay Rakesh telling clients he is bullish on the name as AI demand accelerates into 2026.

Mizuho reiterated its Outperform rating and $435 price target on Broadcom, arguing that it is positioned for “further 2026 AI compute offload upside into earnings.”

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Mizuho said Broadcom’s AI opportunity is expanding meaningfully as Google’s Gemini 3 ramps and TPU adoption spreads across major frontier-model developers, including Meta, Apple and Anthropic.

The firm wrote that an “expanding TPU reach… position[s] key manufacturing partner AVGO to see upside into 2026E,” noting that Broadcom’s TPUv7p and TPUv8p chips carry estimated average selling prices of ~$10,000 and ~$15,000.

If Google gains traction, the revenue implications could be substantial, Mizuho added.

The firm also highlighted a new set of networking catalysts. It said Broadcom remains “a networking beneficiary with TPU Scale-Up and ESUN with META into 2026,” pointing to Ethernet-led architectures that could grow to roughly 25% of networking revenue next year.

Broadcom’s next-generation Tomahawk 6-Davisson switch, which offers “>70% lower power needs,” and the new Thor Ultra 800G NIC were also cited as competitive strengths.

Mizuho sees multiple ASIC ramps between 2026 and 2028 and stated that the company’s AI revenue estimates for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 are above the Street.

For fiscal 2026, the firm expects $86.9 billion in revenue and $9.34 in EPS, with AI revenue of $41.1 billion, again above consensus.

With revenue growth expected to exceed 30% next year and accelerate further in 2027, Mizuho believes Broadcom offers a rare combination of scale, visibility and upside, concluding: “We are buyers on AVGO heading into earnings next week.”