Stocks Mixed as Investors Await More Trade Deal News, Brace for Big Tech Earnings, Fed Decision Later This Week

How Much Traders Expect UnitedHealth to Move After Earnings

14 minutes ago

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is scheduled to report second-quarter results ahead of the opening bell on Tuesday, with markets expecting the health insurance giant’s stock to make a substantial move over the rest of the week.

Based on recent options pricing, UnitedHealth shares are expected to rise or fall by more than 7% by the end of the week from their recent levels. The stock was little changed at around $281 in mid-afternoon trading Monday.

Shares sank more than 22% the day of UnitedHealth’s last report in April, when the insurer slashed its full-year profit projections. In the three quarters before that UnitedHealth stock declined 6% and 8% on the day of its fourth- and third-quarter reports, respectively, and rose 6.5% on the day of last year’s second-quarter report.

The stock has lost about 45% of its value since the start of the year. It has been dragged lower by the disappointing first-quarter report, a sudden CEO departure in May, and reports that it is the subject of a Justice Department investigation into its billing practices, which the company confirmed last week.

Analysts have stayed bullish on UnitedHealth’s stock despite its troubles this year, with 12 of the 15 tracked by Visible Alpha still calling UnitedHealth’s stock a buy, along with two holds and one sell rating. The average price target is $379.40.

UnitedHealth is expected to report a 13% jump in revenue to $111.88 billion, while adjusted earnings per share are projected to drop to $4.64 from $6.80 in the year-ago quarter.

–Aaron McDade

Cheniere Energy Jumps US-EU Trade Agreement

2 hr 12 min ago

Shares of liquified natural gas provider Cheniere Energy (LNG) rose Monday, a day after President Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen struck a trade deal that will have the European Union purchase more LNG from American suppliers.

Trump explained that the 27 countries of the EU will buy $750 billion worth of LNG and other energy sources from the U.S. over a three-year period, in a move to allow Europe to replace Russian energy sources following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The energy pact was part of a larger trade agreement that puts 15% tariffs on exports from the EU into the U.S, and opens EU’s market to American exports with no tariffs. The bloc would also invest $600 billion dollars more than it’s currently spending in America, and buy a “vast amount” of military equipment from U.S. manufacturers. 

Cheniere Energy shares were up 1.5% in early-afternoon trading, after rising nearly 5% in the opening minutes of Monday’s session.

–Bill McColl

Celcuity Stock Soars on Positive Breast Cancer Treatment Study

3 hr 31 min ago

Shares of Celcuity (CELC) tripled to an all-time high Monday after the biotech firm announced positive results in a late-stage study of its experimental treatment for adults with two kinds of breast cancer.

The company reported primary endpoints were reached in the Phase 3 trial of gedatolisib, combined with two other drugs, palbociclib and fulvestrant, which it calls the “gedatolisib triple.” It said the three together reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 76% compared to fulvestrant alone. A “gedatolisib double” combination of gedatolisib and fulvestrant cut risk of disease progression or death by 67% versus fulvestrant alone, also exceeding endpoints.

The patients tested suffered from “hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, PIK3CA wild-type, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, following progression on, or after, treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and an aromatase inhibitor.”

Dr. Sara Hurvitz, co-principal investigator of the trial, said to her knowledge, “we have not seen Phase 3 results in patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer before where there was a quadrupling of the likelihood of survival without disease progression relative to the study control.”

Dr. Igor Gorbatchevsky, Chief Medical Officer at Celcuity, added that the results showed gedatolisib could be a “transformative new medicine” for the treatment of those breast cancers. 

The company plans to submit a New Drug Application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for gedatolisib in the fourth quarter.

Celcuity shares, which entered the day up 5% this year, were up 190% in recent trading at around $40, after jumping above $46 in the opening minutes of Monday’s session.

–Bill McColl

JPMorgan Analysts on Nike Stock: ‘Just Buy It’

4 hr 43 min ago

Nike (NKE) shares traded at their highest level in five months Monday after JPMorgan upgraded the stock on the athletic shoe and apparel maker’s turnaround strategy.

Playing on the company’s slogan “Just Do It,” the analysts wrote in a note to investors, “Just Buy It!,” boosting their rating to “overweight” from “neutral.” They also lifted the price target to $93 from $64. In addition, they increased the outlook for the company’s earnings per share in both fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

The analysts noted their optimism came after “recent fieldwork, management access, and 10-K review,” and pointed to Nike’s “5-pronged multi-year recovery path.” That plan included improving inventory alignment to sales growth, accelerating wholesale overbooks, and new performance products, especially with the soccer World Cup coming to the U.S. next year.

Nike shares, which entered Monday up less than 1% this year, were up 2.5% at around $78 in recent trading, after rising as high as $79.99 in the opening minutes of trading.

–Bill McColl

Questions Investors Want Answered in Big Tech Earnings

5 hr 45 min ago

Four of the world’s largest companies—Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META)—are set to report their results this week. AI will be the focus for many investors, who will be hoping for updates on companies’ investments in the era-defining technology and how they’re using it. But trade policy could also get some airtime, especially during Apple’s and Amazon’s calls on Thursday. 

Microsoft and Meta kick things off with their reports and earnings calls after the closing bell on Wednesday. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA) have already turned in results, so after this week the only Magnificent 7 company left to report will be Nvidia (NVDA), in late August.

Are AI Investments Still Ramping Up?

Six months ago, one of the most pressing debates on Wall Street was whether U.S. tech companies were spending too much on artificial intelligence. That issue appears to be settled—or, at least, on the back burner for now.

Alphabet last week raised its full-year capital expenditures forecast to $85 billion, citing growing demand for cloud computing products and services; that was generally read as a good thing. Google Cloud grew by more than 30% from the prior year, putting the unit on track to book over $50 billion in revenue within the next year. 

Cloud computing competitors Microsoft and Amazon could follow Alphabet’s lead. Both companies left their capex forecasts unchanged when they reported quarterly results three months ago, decisions that may have been influenced by the trade and economic uncertainty hanging over the market at the time. The companies could be feeling more confident about boosting AI spending now that some of the fog has been lifted by trade agreements. 

Meta was the odd one out last quarter when it raised its capex outlook. It’s not out of the question that the social media giant will lift its forecast again; it did so in the first and second quarters last year.

Is AI Leading to Monetization and Efficiency Gains?

Investors will be looking for evidence that big investments in AI are paying off. 

“AI is positively impacting every part of the business, driving strong momentum,” said Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in the company’s second-quarter earnings release. Executives said on the company’s earnings call that Google is monetizing AI search results at about the same rate as it is traditional search, and that AI overviews are driving increased search volume.

In recent quarters, Meta has convinced Wall Street that AI is improving ad performance and user engagement. Investors are hoping this week’s results continue to demonstrate that Meta’s investments are bearing fruit. 

Amazon could offer updates on how customers are engaging with Rufus, its AI shopping assistant, and Q, its work assistant. Microsoft is likely to elaborate on the uptake of its Copilot AI offering. 

As for Apple, experts say, investors may still have to wait for the details they crave.

“We don’t expect (1) an update on Apple Intelligence timing (2026), (2) any material change in quarterly capex, (3) an update on Apple Intelligence approval in China, and/or (4) any new partnership announcements,” wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring in an earnings preview last week. Management might, however, say product sales grew faster in Apple Intelligence-enabled regions than non-AI regions, he said.

How Are Big Tech Companies Handling Tariffs?

At least in the near term, Apple investors are likely more concerned with tariffs than most of its Magnificent Seven counterparts. 

President Donald Trump in April exempted smartphones and other consumer electronics from his sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, but the president has ordered his administration to consider invoking national security concerns to impose Section 232 duties on smartphones and semiconductors. Section 232 tariffs  have held up better in court than Trump’s country-specific duties and could be harder for Apple to avoid. 

Even with the smartphone exemption, Apple in May estimated tariffs would add $900 million to the company’s costs in the second quarter. Investors will watch for the actual impact and to hear how Apple is engaging with suppliers and the administration to fend off tariffs and mitigate their potential impact.

Trade policy will also be top of mind for Amazon investors. In the first quarter, Amazon saw some evidence buyers were stocking up to get ahead of tariffs, which could set the company up for a sequential slowdown in sales. Executives said merchants didn’t meaningfully increase prices in the first quarter, but noted that could change depending on where tariff rates end up.

–Colin Laidley

Major Index Futures Point to Higher Open

6 hr 8 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones industrial Average were up 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.3%.