Top Three Growth Stocks Poised for Explosive Gains, According to WarrenAI

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edged higher Friday, ending the week on a positive note after the release of mostly healthy earnings and strong economic data.

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

• PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC) stock rose 2.8% after the lender’s profit jumped 25% in the fourth quarter, as the U.S. bank earned more from interest payments and cashed in on a dealmaking rebound.

• Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) stock dropped 1.9% after the lender reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings that fell short of expectations, despite posting revenue growth and solid full-year performance.

• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) stock gained 1%, adding to the previous session’s gains after the world’s largest contract chipmaker posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter net profit and said demand from the AI industry remained strong.

• Novo Nordisk (CSE:NOVOb) stock gained 4.3% after the U.K. regulator approved a maximum dose of up to 7.2 milligrams per week of the drugmaker’s weight-loss drug Wegovy for patients with obesity.

• JB Hunt Transport Services (NASDAQ:JBHT) stock slumped 4.1% after the logistics company reported mixed fourth quarter results, with revenue declining from the previous year.

• Kraft Heinz (NASDAQ:KHC) stock fell 1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded its stance on the food and beverage company to “underweight” from “equal-weight”, saying it faces significant exposure to emerging competitive pressures that threaten its topline and margin recovery prospects. 

• MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM) stock dropped 2% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the casino operator to “underweight” from “equal-weight”, citing challenged Las Vegas trends after the first quarter amid a "reversion to the mean" on demand. 

• HP (NYSE:HPQ) stock dropped 3% after Barclays downgraded the tech company to “underweight” from “equal-weight”, citing concerns about secular challenges across both HP’s PC and printing businesses.

Investing.com - Futures linked to Canada’s main stock exchange pointed higher on Friday, as investors eyed a slight recovery in oil prices and Prime Minister Mark Carney’s announcement of an initial trade deal with China.

By 06:45 ET (11:45 GMT), the S&P/TSX 60 index standard futures contract had ticked up by 4 points, or 0.2%.

Oil prices regained some ground after hopes for easing tensions in Iran dented crude in the prior session.

Meanwhile, Carney said that Canada and China have agreed to slash tariffs on electric vehicles and canola, as part of a promise between both countries to forge new strategic ties in the face of a trade dispute with the U.S.

On Thursday, the commodities-heavy S&P/TSX composite index gained 112.45 points to end at 33,028.92, notching a fresh closing record for a second consecutive session.

U.S. futures inch up

U.S. stock index futures rose broadly, boosted by solid quarterly earnings and healthy economic data.

At 07:00 ET, Dow Jones Futures were mostly unchanged, S&P 500 Futures had gained 11 points, or 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 125 points, or 0.5%.

The main averages on Wall Street jumped on Thursday, with TSMC’s results fueling a spike in AI-related names like Nvidia, Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices, along with European peers such as ASM International and ASML.

The major averages are heading for losses on the week, with the S&P 500 off 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite down 0.6% in the period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.1% week to date.

Tech, bank stocks in spotlight

The tech sector has continued to show strength Friday in the wake of chipmaker TSMC’s record-high fourth-quarter profit.

The company is a key supplier to U.S. tech majors such as Nvidia and Apple, and has benefited greatly from an AI-driven surge in chip demand in recent years.

Shares of TSMC shares ticked higher in Taipei trade on Friday, and its U.S. shares inched up in extended hours trading.

Elsewhere, there are more results due from the banking sector due Friday.

PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), State Street (NYSE:STT) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) are all set to unveil quarterly returns before the opening bell on Wall Street.

Reports from America’s biggest lenders earlier this week underlined how a topsy-turvy 2025 in financial markets aided trading desks.

The bank earnings signaled the start of the fourth quarter earnings season in earnest, with a string of major companies set to report in the coming week. Netflix, 3M Company and U.S. Bancorp are due to report on Tuesday, while Johnson & Johnson will report on Wednesday.

Visa, Intel, Abbott Laboratories, Intuitive Surgical and many more will report later in the week.

Solid economic data

The U.S. economic data slate Friday includes industrial and manufacturing production figures for December, and comes after a series of stronger than expected numbers this week.

On Thursday U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 198,000 last week, below the 215,000 forecast, highlighting continued labor market strength.

The data reinforced market views that the Fed will keep policy rates steady for longer, resulting in traders pushing back expectations for the first rate cut toward mid-year.

Comments from several Federal Reserve officials overnight added to the cautious tone.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Thursday that amid ample evidence of stability in the job market, the central bank should be focused on getting inflation down.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid called inflation "too hot", while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that incoming U.S. economic data looks promising.

Crude set for weekly gain

Oil prices rose Friday, bouncing after the previous sessions hefty losses as concerns surrounding an immediate U.S. strike on Iran receded, easing supply risks.

Brent futures gained 1.3% to $64.60 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.4% to $60.04 a barrel.

Both contracts plunged more than 4% in the previous session after President Trump said Tehran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying worries about possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.

That said, the crude benchmarks are still set to end the week higher after rising to multi-month highs earlier in the week after protests flared up in Iran.

Gold dips

Gold prices edged down marginally, trading below record highs touched earlier this week, as steady U.S. labor market data dampened expectations of imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts, while easing concerns around unrest in Iran reduced safe-haven demand.

Spot gold was last down 0.1% at $4,611.93 an ounce, while U.S. Gold Futures had declined 0.2% to $4,614.74 an ounce.

The yellow metal has retreated from a record high of $4,642.72/oz reached on Wednesday. Despite the modest pullback, bullion was still on track for a weekly gain of about 2%.

Investing.com -- Morgan Stanley says the next major bottleneck in artificial intelligence is no longer compute, but memory, and the winners will be the companies positioned to meet an unprecedented surge in demand. 

Analyst Shawn Kim wrote that “memory sits in a capacity-constrained cycle with unusually long order visibility driven by AI inference,” adding that for 2026, “the risk is execution and transition, not demand.”

The firm argues that inference workloads increasingly depend on memory access, not just processing power. 

According to Morgan Stanley, “memory access increasingly determines the performance of longer text, image/video and Agentic AI workflows,” requiring more advanced server DRAM and enterprise NAND to support context-heavy and continuously learning systems.

Kim explained that the memory market is entering a rapid pricing upcycle, noting: “We expect a steeper upcycle with rapid gains in DRAM, HBM, NAND, and legacy memory.” 

The analyst estimates that text-only AI inference could consume “35% of 2026 global memory supply for DRAM and 92% for NAND.”

Supply, rather than demand, is said to now be the central debate. Morgan Stanley’s channel checks point to “potential upside to already aggressive 70%+ QoQ hikes for both DRAM and NAND,” with inventories continuing to fall across the supply chain. 

Capex acceleration is “inevitable,” especially in DRAM, with more meaningful greenfield expansions expected from 2027.

As for stock ideas, Kim wrote: “Bottlenecks are the winners – buy memory and semicap, especially EUV.” Morgan Stanley highlights DRAM leaders Samsung, SK hynix and Micron; legacy memory maker Winbond; HDD supplier Western Digital; and semicap names such as ASML and DISCO.

Investing.com — After two 60%+ wins last week, InvestingPro members are taking to the bank yet another set of spectacular gains in January.

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• NASDAQGS:SNDK SanDisk +72.40% in January alone
• NASDAQGS:CBRL Cracker Barrel Old +45.48% in January alone
• NYSE:RYAM Rayonier Advanced Materials +44.99% in January alone
• NYSE:ONTO Onto Innovation +38.00% in January alone

But these are far from the lone winners this month, in fact, in the list of picks for January, there are more than 9 US stocks already gaining more than 20% this month. 

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• IDX:INDY Indika Energy +54.02% in January alone
• TWSE:6239 Powertech Tech +48.84% in January alone
• IBSE:KTLEV Katilimevim Tasarruf Finansman AS +45.90% in January alone
• KOSE:A086280 Hyundai Glovis +42.30% in January alone
• IBSE:RYGYO Reysas GYO +34.38% in January alone

And many others...

What makes this even more compelling is that these aren’t just isolated wins. Our flagship list of AI-picked stocks, Tech Titans, is already up over 11% this month and has gained 178% since inception, outperforming the S&P 500 by 114%. Members also benefit from strategies like Small-Cap Sprinters, which identified three under-the-radar picks before each of them jumped +20% this January alone.

Why did the AI pick Rayonier Advanced Materials for January? 

One of the coolest features of our AI model is that it not only selects stocks but also explains to InvestingPro members why it made those choices, helping users with their decision-making process.

Below is the AI’s rationale for the stock, published on the first of the month:

Turnaround Opportunity with Strategic Refinancing

• Our ML engine identified RYAM as a compelling buy based on market performance metrics, advantageous volatility, and improving leverage/solvency position.
• The stock shows remarkable 6-month price return of 47.25%, suggesting strong momentum despite shorter-term pullbacks.
• RYAM trades at $5.93, well below analyst fair value target of $9.00, indicating significant upside potential of over 50%.
• Strategic refinancing plans for 2026 could save 400 basis points on its $700 million term loan, substantially improving cash flow.
• Management’s ambitious growth plan targets doubling EBITDA to $315 million by 2027 through price increases, $50 million in cost reductions, and biomaterials investments.
• Recent price increases of up to 10% for Cellulose Specialties products demonstrate pricing power in specialty markets.

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At the start of each month, the AI refreshes every strategy with up to 20 new stock picks, analyzing more than 100 investor-grade financial models built on over 25 years of global market data. It identifies where risk and reward align best — removing underperformers, keeping promising names, and adding fresh opportunities.

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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 -- U.S. stock index futures rose Friday, boosted by solid quarterly earnings and healthy economic data.

At 05:55 ET (10:55 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 50 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures gained 20 points, or 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 150 points, or 0.6%.

The main averages on Wall Street jumped on Thursday, with TSMC’s results fueling a spike in AI-related names like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), along with European peers such as ASM International (AS:ASMI) and ASML (AS:ASML).

The major averages are heading for losses on the week, with the S&P 500 off 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite down 0.6% in the period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.1% week to date.

Tech, bank stocks in spotlight 

The tech sector has continued to show strength Friday in the wake of chipmaker TSMC’s record-high fourth-quarter profit. 

The company is a key supplier to U.S. tech majors such as Nvidia and Apple, and has benefited greatly from an AI-driven surge in chip demand in recent years.

Shares of TSMC shares ticked higher in Taipei trade on Friday, and its U.S. shares inched up in extended hours trading.

Elsewhere, there are more results due from the banking sector due Friday.

PNC Financial Services (NYSE:PNC), State Street (NYSE:STT) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) are all set to unveil quarterly returns before the opening bell on Wall Street.

Reports from America’s biggest lenders earlier this week underlined how a topsy-turvy 2025 in financial markets aided trading desks.

The bank earnings signaled the start of the fourth quarter earnings season in earnest, with a string of major companies set to report in the coming week. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) and U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) are due to report on Tuesday, while Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) will report on Wednesday. 

Visa (NYSE:V), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Intuitive Surgical  (NASDAQ:ISRG) and many more will report later in the week. 

Solid economic data 

The U.S. economic data slate Friday includes industrial and manufacturing production figures for December, and comes after a series of stronger than expected numbers this week.

On Thursday U.S. initial jobless claims unexpectedly fell to 198,000 last week, below the 215,000 forecast, highlighting continued labor market strength. 

The data reinforced market views that the Fed will keep policy rates steady for longer, resulting in traders pushing back expectations for the first rate cut toward mid-year.

Comments from several Federal Reserve officials overnight added to the cautious tone. 

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said Thursday that amid ample evidence of stability in the job market, the central bank should be focused on getting inflation down.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid called inflation "too hot", while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly said that incoming U.S. economic data looks promising.

Crude set for weekly gain 

Oil prices rose Friday, bouncing after the previous sessions hefty losses as concerns surrounding an immediate U.S. strike on Iran receded, easing supply risks.

Brent futures gained 1.3% to $64.57 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 1.2% to $59.92 a barrel.

Both contracts plunged more than 4% in the previous session after President Trump said Tehran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying worries about possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.

That said, the crude benchmarks are still set to end the week higher after rising to multi-month highs earlier in the week after protests flared up in Iran.

Ambar Warrick contributed to his article

Investing.com -- UBS downgraded French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi SA (EPA:SASY) to “neutral” from “buy” rating  and cut its price target to €88 from €105, citing clinical trial failures and weak pipeline replacement power that leave the company ill-equipped to offset the eventual loss of blockbuster drug Dupixent, in a note dated Friday.

The brokerage slashed mid-term earnings estimates by 8%, cutting 2027-2030 core earnings per share forecasts by an average of 8.1%.

"The failure to address pipeline replacement power is too great a strategic risk," the analysts wrote, adding that "meaningful M&A may be the only realistic solution."

The downgrade follows December’s failure of tolebrutinib to meet its primary endpoint in treating primary progressive multiple sclerosis. 

The US Food and Drug Administration also delayed approval for another indication, citing inability to mitigate "serious risk of severe drug-induced liver injury," according to the complete response letter cited in the report.

UBS removed tolebrutinib from its primary progressive multiple sclerosis forecasts entirely and slashed the probability of approval for non-relapsing secondary progressive multiple sclerosis to 20% with peak sales of $300 million, down from 80% probability of $1 billion.

The brokerage also flagged new risks from January 5 changes to US pediatric vaccination recommendations, which moved several vaccines from universal recommendations to "shared clinical decision-making."

UBS lowered its US birth cohort penetration for RSV antibody Beyfortus by 5 percentage points and expects mid-single digit declines in pediatric vaccine demand.

The analysts cut 2026 business earnings per share estimates to €7.79 from €8.05, a 2.9% reduction, and 2027 forecasts to €8.28 from €8.85, down 6.4%. The core operating income compound annual growth rate for 2025-2030 fell to 7.8% from 9.5%.

UBS’s proprietary Pharma Values analysis ranks Sanofi among the worst performers in 2026 Replacement Power analysis following "multiple pipeline disappointments in 2025." 

The company’s September phase 3 data for amlitelimab, another pipeline asset, fell on "the lower end of efficacy expectations and looked weaker than other marketed biologic treatment options," the report stated.

Despite trading at an attractive 10.5x 2026 price-to-earnings ratio versus peers at 14.7x, and approximately 40% discount to net present value, UBS sees "limited scope for valuation re-rating" while research productivity remains below peers and 2026 catalysts are light.

The analysts dismissed market speculation about extending Dupixent patent protection beyond assumed 2031 US and 2033 ex-US expiry, noting a patent extension to 2034 would boost group NPV by only 3.6% to €23.70 per share. UBS forecasts Dupixent peak sales of $27.8 billion in 2030.

The reduced pipeline outlook prompted UBS to cut share buyback assumptions to €3 billion across 2026-2028 from over €6 billion previously, as Sanofi will likely "preserve balance sheet strength to fund any potential larger mid-term acquisition."

Sanofi closed at €81.63 on January 15, implying 7.8% upside to the new target, with forecast dividend yield of 5.3% for total return of 13.1%.