Mid-Morning Look: April 22, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

U.S. stocks rally on the open, erasing yesterday’s declines as the Middle East rollercoaster continues. Late Tuesday (after the market close), President Trump indefinitely extended the ceasefire with Iran, while maintaining a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, after plans for peace talks fell apart and VP JD Vance cancelled his trip to Pakistan to meet Iran. Fresh reports this morning indicated President Trump plans to give Iran a short window to present a unified proposal to restart stalled negotiations (3-5 days). The administration wants to avoid an open-ended ceasefire extension, aiming to force a quick diplomatic outcome while internal divisions in Tehran continue to delay progress. U.S. officials say pressure from the Strait of Hormuz blockade is intended to push Iran toward agreement, though they acknowledge prolonged disruption could weigh on the global economy. While this remains a key development for commodity markets, major US averages appear to turn their attention to earnings the last few days. No major economic data in the U.S. today and the Fed remains in blackout period ahead of next week FOMC meeting.

Brent crude futures briefly topped $100 barrel earlier, erasing earlier losses after reports of gunfire attacks on at least three container ships in the Strait of Hormuz and a lack of progress in peace talks between the U.S. and Iran. Prices have since dropped back to around $95 per barrel but remain higher on the day. Attempts to resolve the seven-week conflict between the US and Iran have struggled. Iran seized two ships that “intended to secretly exit the Strait of Hormuz,” state TV reported. Earlier, the UK Navy said two ships were fired at near the Strait of Hormuz. Precious metal prices and Bitcoin prices both higher. Overall markets just holding/extending the massive 3 week gains as we head into crux of earnings season next week with results from big tech AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL, META and MSFT. All eleven S&P sectors higher to start trading today, led by Healthcare and Energy while REITs lag.

• Midstream & Renewable sector: Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of WBI to Overweight from Equal Weight and raised both AM and DTM to EW from Underweight and raise price tgts saying given strong performance in early 2026 across both midstream and renewable infrastructure, they favor an increasingly selective approach that prioritizes differentiated long-term growth and compounding potential. For midstream infrastructure, the firm sees a median of 19.9% one-year total return upside for the sector, including a 5.0% dividend yield. Morgan Stanley also moves TRGP and HASI to top picks.
• In MedTech: ISRG reported Q1 revenue and EPS beat of ~6% and ~18%, respectively, delivered robust Y/y growth of 23% and 38% on sales and EPS, respectively and procedure volumes grew 17% Y/y driven by strong dV5 utilization; BSX said Q1 net income roughly doubled as demand continued to grow worldwide for its stents, catheters and other cardiology devices, but the company cut its adjusted earnings growth projection for the year as now sees year EPS $3.34-$3.41 from prior $3.43-$3.49; Q1 MedSurg surgery equipment unit rose 7.8% to $1.7B, sales grew in all regions, with the Latin America and Canada region seeing a 19% increase. TFX shares rose after Bloomberg reported Private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and GTCR have submitted a joint bid to take the medical device maker private.
• In Consumer Finance: COF weaker results as Q1 adj EPS $4.42 misses consensus $4.57 on revs down -2% Y/y to $15.2B vs. est. $15.37B; Q1 Total non-interest expense decreased -9% to $8.5B; Provision for credit losses decreased $74M to $4.1B; Q1 Net interest margin of 7.87%, a decrease of 39 bps; SYF was downgraded from Buy to Neutral at BTIG saying valuation appropriately takes into account the following factors: Positives: Credit: The US Consumer has proven surprisingly resilient. Synchrony has also done a good job controlling losses through its tighter underwriting. At this point, BTIG doesn’t think NCOs will improve further, as it thinks Synchrony would instead prefer to drive loan and spending growth.

• ASTS +7%; shares jumped as the FCC grants them commercial authority for direct-to-device Cellular Broadband from space in U.S. as approval enables coverage using 700/800 MHz spectrum with Verizon, AT&T, and FirstNet.
• BA +2%; reported smaller-than-expected Q1 EPS loss of (-$0.20) vs. est. loss (-$0.83) on better revs $22.22B (est. $21.87B) as backlog grew to $695B; said expect certification of 737-7 & 737-10 in 2026, first delivery in 2027; 737 program continues to produce at 42/month rate.
• GEV +13%; shares rose on results as Q1 revs $9.34B topped est. $9.22B and raises FY26 revs view to $44.5B-$45.5B above prior $44B-$45B view and vs est. $44.49B and FY free cash flow $6.5B-$7.5B.
• INBX +45%; after Reuters reported Drugmakers including MRK, Merck KGaA and Ono Pharma are eyeing its experimental cancer drug INBRX-106; INBRX-106 is being tested with Keytruda, a widely used immune-based cancer drug, aimed at helping the immune system better attack tumors. https://tinyurl.com/mpz2fh94
• ISRG +5%; reported Q1 revenue and EPS beat of ~6% and ~18%, respectively, delivered robust Y/y growth of 23% and 38% on sales and EPS, respectively and procedure volumes grew 17% Y/y driven by strong dV5 utilization
• MAS +10%; beat Q1 estimate, helped by improving demand for its small-ticket building materials as Q1 sales $1.92B topped the $1.84B estimate and EPS $1.04 above $0.88 consensus while reaffirmed its 2026 adjusted profit forecast of $4.10 to $4.30 per share.
• MSTR +9%; as Cryptocurrency-linked stocks rally alongside Bitcoin and risk assets more broadly.
• TFX +9%; shares rose after Bloomberg reported Private equity firms CVC Capital Partners and GTCR have submitted a joint bid to take the medical device maker private.
• TWLO +4%; was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Bank America and raised tgt to $190 from $110 saying thinks Twilio will prove to be one of the key infrastructure layers for AI-driven voice and messaging uses cases.

• DRVN -2%; as provided preliminary unaudited results for Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, which missed expectations modestly and also received an expected notification of deficiency from Nasdaq related to the delayed filing of its annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025.
• PRU -2%; downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Barclays and lower tgt to $91 from $110 driven by a combination of factors which include the risk of higher costs and the potential for more persistent financial impacts stemming from regulatory discipline at Prudential of Japan (also downgraded at Jefferies to Hold).
• SON -13%; shares fell as Q1 EPS $1.20 was in-line with consensus $1.20 and revs $1.67B miss the est. $1.71B and guides FY26 adjusted EPS at the low end of $5.80-$6.20, vs. consensus $5.94; reaffirms FY26 revenue $7.25B-$7.75B, vs. consensus $7.46B; still sees FY cash flows from operating activities $700M-$800M.
• TH -7%; shares slid as 7M share offering priced at $14.00 each for gross proceeds of $98M.
• UAL 3%; Q1 adj EPS $1.19 vs est $1.07 on revs $14.6B vs est $14.37B, capacity +3.4%; plans 5-point capacity reduction for rest of year; sees Q3/Q4 capacity flat to +2%; guides Q2 adj EPS $1.00-2.00.
• VRT -2%; shares slipped on guidance as Q2 sales seen $3.25B-$3.45, mid the midpoint below the $3.38B estimate and Q2 adj EPS $1.37-1.43 vs. est. $1.42 following better Q1 results; expects FY2026 net sales $13.50-$14B, and organic sales growth 29%-31%.