Mid-Morning Look: April 27, 2026

Mid-Morning Look

Monday, April 27, 2026

U.S. stocks off to a lackluster start to the week ahead of several very big catalysts the next three days. FOMC meeting results due Wednesday, in what may be Jerome Powell’s last meeting as head of the U.S. central bank, along with eight other central bank policy meetings this week including the BoJ, ECB, BoE and BCB. Earnings results expected from a whopping 40% of the S&P 500 (SPX), including five of the largest tech companies in the world AAPL, AMZN, GOOGL, META, and MSFT (four of them on Wednesday alone); lots of inflation data this week as well (PCE) and then off course markets await some sort of resolution in the Middle East where peace talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled this weekend. Iran submitted a fresh proposal to the U.S. via Pakistani mediators, focusing on a staged resolution to the ongoing conflict. The central pillar of this new framework involves the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a formal cessation of hostilities, while controversially deferring sensitive nuclear negotiations to a later date.

In stock news, tech has been the main driver of April gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Comp, especially semiconductor strength remaining off the charts, with the Philly semi index (SOX) on track for a 19^th consecutive day of gains, and on track for a near 40% jump this month alone (after rising 10% last week and +50% YTD). @Bluekurtic said on X, “semiconductors are now at one of the most overbought levels in history. $SOX RSI is over 85 and has only occurred in 1995, 2011, and now. Overbought alone isn’t a sell signal, but parabolic moves like this tend to get undercut.” Two of the Mag 7 made the new highs list on Friday (AMZN, NVDA and GOOGL today). Of the 139 companies in the S&P 500 that reported results as of Friday, 81.3% surpassed earnings expectations, compared with the prior four-quarter average of 78.1%, according to data from LSEG.

• In Oil industry: Goldman Sachs raised its oil forecasts, seeing Brent at ~$90 and WTI at ~$83 in Q4, citing reduced Middle East supply and prolonged disruption from the Iran war. Prices have already jumped ~40% since the conflict began, with risks skewed higher due to shortages and tight product markets. In a worst case scenario, Goldman sees Brent topping $100 if Gulf exports recover more slowly. SHEL entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ARC Resources Ltd., an energy company focused on the Montney shale basin in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada in deal valued at about $13.6B; ARC’s shareholders will receive CAD 8.20 in cash and 0.40247 ordinary shares of Shell for each ARC share.
• In FinTech: shares of PYPL, XYZ, GPN, AFRM, FIS, FISV were active on reports Elon Musk is hoping to turn X into an “everything app,” a goal that is being advanced with the release of a new financial services tool pledged to launch this month Bloomberg reported. X Money, a banking and payments platform built inside social media X, is set to make its early public access debut imminently. https://tinyurl.com/4e85nshp
• In Social media: SNAP was upgraded to Buy, and PINS downgraded to Neutral, while RDDT remains Sell rated at Redburn saying the Internet sector is awash with ‘fallen stars’ – once-hyped platforms that promised to become the next big thing, but ultimately fell short. Redburn said it discovers the start of such a transition hiding in plain sight at Snap (upgrade to Buy), more of the same at Pinterest (downgrade to Neutral) and worry Reddit’s (Sell) Star still has room to fall.
• In Software: MSFT shares slip after OpenAI amends deal as revs share only though 2030, loses exclusivity and adds caps; in enterprise software, ADBE was downgrade to Neutral from Outperform at Mizuho and tgt cut to $270 from $315 as the firm notes intense competition in the prosumer/SMB segments, which includes tools such as Canva, which can threaten ADBE’s long-term terminal value. Mizuho upgraded CRWD in security software to Outperform (tgt to $520 from $490) saying they have grown more constructive on fundamentals in recent months as channel checks have become more favorable and indicate very healthy demand across its platform.

• MANE +47%; announced VDPHL01, an oral extended release minoxidil formulation, met all primary and all key secondary endpoints. VDPHL01 treatment demonstrated by a mean increase in non-vellus target area hair count.
• OGN +16%; shares jumped after Sun Pharmaceutical said it will buy the U.S. drugmaker in an all-cash deal valued at about $11.75B including debt, for the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian pharmaceutical company
• ORKA +25%; after saying its experimental injectable psoriasis treatment, ORKA-001, showed complete skin clearance in 63.5% of patients at 16 weeks, meeting main goal in mid-stage clinical trial; also said that monoclonal antibody ORKA-001 was well-tolerated with safety profile similar to placebo.
• QCOM +1%; after an analyst says OpenAI is working with Qualcomm and MediaTek to develop smartphone processors, with Luxshare as the exclusive system Co-design and manufacturing partner, according to TF International Securities (HK) analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. https://tinyurl.com/yrfykkwp  
• RMAX +22%; shares rose after entering into a sales agreement with real estate tech platform The Real Brokerage (REAX) in a transaction that implies an enterprise value of $880M, which includes debt; RMAX holders could choose between 5.15 shares of the combined company or $13.80 in cash for each share they own.
• VZ +3%; reported Q1 EPS $1.28 above consensus $1.21 on revs $34.4B vs. est. $34.85B; raises FY26 adjusted EPS view to $4.95-$4.99 from $4.90-$4.95; says total retail postpaid phone net additions are now expected to be in the top half of the 750K-1.0M range, which is about 2-3x the 2025 reported result.
• XOMA +10%; to be acquired by LGND for $39.00 per share in cash, in equity deal valued at $739M, further accelerating profit growth and strengthening ligand’s position as a leading Biopharma Royalty aggregator.

• CMPX -62%; said its drug for advanced biliary cancer delayed tumor progression but failed to prolong survival compared to chemotherapy in a clinical trial.
• CPB -1%; was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Bernstein and cut tgt to $21 from $27 saying its upgrade thesis has not played out which centers on underperformance in Soup, ongoing challenges in the Cape Cod and Kettle potato chip brands, & middling performance in Pepperidge Farm.
• DPZ -9%; shares fell on results as Q1 EPS $4.13 missed est $4.27 and revs $1.15B vs est. $1.16B; Q1 U.S. same store sales growth 0.9% vs EST of growth of 2.72%; – Q1 international same store sales decline (excluding FX) 0.4% vs EST of growth of 0.66%; approves $1B share repurchase program; did not provide guidance.
• MSFT -1%; will no longer pay revenue to OpenAI and said its partnership with the leading artificial intelligence firm will not be exclusive going forward
• POET -48%; shares tumble after announced the cancellation of all purchase orders received by the company from MRVL’s Celestial AI, including the ones for initial production units first disclosed by the company in a press release on April 25, 2023. Marvell provided written notice of the cancellation to the company on April 23.
• TTD -3%; on reports tipped to become the largest advertising company in the industry in 2026, META is quietly laying the groundwork for a move into CTV advertising, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions. https://tinyurl.com/3xt6cky8