Mid-Morning Look: May 04, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Monday, May 04, 2026

U.S. stocks are flattish after volatility overnight and this morning, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq coming into the week at all-time highs and having risen 5 straight weeks and technology (XLK) again leading in the S&P. There were mixed reports this morning amid the goings on in the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. futures turned red following reports that two missiles hit U.S. warship near Jask Island after it ignored Iran warnings , according to Iran’s FARS news agency. Brent crude hit highs of $114.30 and WTI crude $107.46 per barrel on the reports before pulling back after the news was quickly denied by the U.S. The reports came hours after U.S. Central Command announced via X that the U.S. military will begin supporting “Project Freedom” on May 4, an initiative aimed at restoring freedom of navigation for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said it is ready for any scenario in the Strait of Hormuz. No additional news to this point. Meanwhile, Wall Street awaits another busy week of earnings as 128 S&P companies are due to report after a whopping 42% reported last week. in sector news early, seeing notable strength in momentum sectors like memory (WDC, SNDK, MU), neocloud and data center infrastruture (NBIS, CRWV, IREN); meanwhile Dow Transport index falls around -3%, led by weakness in parcel names FDX, UPS and logistics names GXO, FWRD, ODFL, after AMZN opens logistics network to other businesses.

• In Packaging & Containers: PKG was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank and raise tgt to $256 as believes the company is at a positive inflection point following the Q1 report with per-day shipment growth is significantly outpacing the broader market. Wells Fargo upgraded OI to Overweight from Equal Weight saying shares trade at historic lows following the Q1 miss and guide-down. The firm also upgraded IP to Overweight saying they see a favorable risk/reward following the Q1 earnings selloff. The stock’s 19% decline year-to-date does not give International Paper credit for its completed self-help initiatives or upcoming spinoff.
• In Chinese Autos: Monthly April EV delivery data released: LI said it delivered 34,085 vehicles in April 2026. As of April 30, 2026, Li Auto’s cumulative deliveries reached 1,669,442; NIO April total vehicle sales 29,356 units; up 22.8% on year; Jan-Apr total vehicle sales 112,821 units; up 71.0% on year; XPEV delivered a total of 31,011 vehicles, representing a 13% increase from the prior month. Furthermore, following the official rollout of VLA 2.0 in March, test-drive satisfaction rates at XPENG retail stores recorded a significant increase by the end of April.

• CELC +14%; announced positive topline results from the PIK3CA mutant cohort of the Phase 3 VIKTORIA-1 clinical trial; said achieves primary endpoint with clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival.
• EBAY +5%; after GME submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire 100% of EBAY at $125.00 per share in cash and stock. GameStop has built a 5% economic stake in eBay through derivatives and beneficial ownership of common stock. Aggregate undiluted equity value is approximately $55.5B
• GBTG +54%; shares jumped as Long Lake agrees to acquire American Express Global Business Travel, the world’s largest corporate travel platform, for $6.3B as Amex GBT holders to receive $9.50 per share in cash
• IREN +10%; announced the successful energization of its 1.4GW Sweetwater 1 data center site in Texas. Energization marks the connection of the site’s high-voltage substation to the ERCOT grid, representing a key milestone in the development of the broader 2GW Sweetwater campus.
• MSTR +2%; along with COIN, IBIT and other crypto stocks as Bitcoin climbed above $80,000 for the first time in more than three months, before pulling back.
• TEAM +5%; adds to Friday’s advance after earnings and guidance topped consensus, leading to strength in software names late last week.

• CCOI -34%; shares tumbled after posted Q1revenue of $231.9M, missing the consensus of $241.9M as of-net revenue fell 4.2% sequentially and 17.0% y/y, reflecting continued reduction in off-net customers and connections; Q1 basic loss per share of (-$0.83), beat analyst est. of loss per share of (-$1.00).
• NCLH -8%; Q1 adj EPS $0.23 vs. est. $0.14; Q1 revs rose 10% y/y to $2.33B vs. est. $2.35B; Q1 Adjusted EBITDA increased 18% to $533M, compared to $453M; lowered full year 2026 guidance with adjusted EPS expected to be $1.45 to $1.79 (est. $2.11) as experiencing headwinds related to disruptions in Middle East
• ULH -19%; shares dropped after Q1 revenue declined y/y and posted a Q1 net loss, citing continued weakness in intermodal segment; said lower load volumes and reduced average revenue per load contributed to decreased trucking segment revenue and income.
• UPS -6%; along with FDX after AMZN said it was rolling out “Amazon ‌Supply Chain Services”, opening up its ‌logistics network for other businesses to use. Businesses ​of all types and sizes can now move, store and deliver everything using ‌the full breadth ⁠of Amazon’s own supply-chain network.
• VITL -3%; was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at Davidson and cut tgt to $16 from $47 saying while they “loath” to downgrade on such weakness, and so close to the print, it can’t defend the stock into this setup. Increased egg supply has weighed on prices, just as the company accelerated supply & capacity expansion efforts.