Analyst Color

C3.ai: Restructuring Seems Largely In Rearview Mirror, Founder Returns As CEO

Priya Nigam — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 19:41:56 +0000

Shares of C3.ai Inc (NYSE:AI) were trading slightly higher on Thursday, even after the company reported upbeat fiscal fourth-quarter results on Wednesday.

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives reiterated an Outperform rating and price target of $15.
DA Davidson analyst Lucky Schreiner maintained an Underperform rating and price target of $7.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Wedbush: C3.ai reported its fourth-quarter top-line and bottom-line ahead of expectations, Ives said in a note. The company's restructuring is now "largely behind it and the cost base set up to deliver operating leverage from here," he wrote.

The analyst noted the highlights of the results:

Revenue of $51.6 million, above consensus of $50.4 million
The company signing 28 agreements during the quarter including 9 new Initial Production Deployments (IPDs)
Non-GAAP operating loss of $54.4 million, better ...

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Wall Street May Be Mispricing Medtronic, Analyst Says

Vandana Singh — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:53:22 +0000

On Wednesday, Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT) reported fourth-quarter revenue that exceeded Wall Street expectations, supported by strong growth in its Cardiovascular and Diabetes businesses.

Earnings Beat Expectations

Adjusted earnings came in at $1.55 per share, slightly above analysts’ estimates of $1.54 per share.

Revenue increased 9.9% year over year to $9.81 billion, topping the consensus estimate of $9.64 billion. Organic revenue growth was 6.6%.

Cardiovascular revenue rose 13.8% year over year to $3.80 billion, or 10.1% organically, driven by high-teens growth in Cardiac Rhythm & Heart Failure and modest gains in Structural Heart & Aortic and Coronary & Peripheral Vascular.

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BTIG Upgrades Medtronic

BTIG upgraded Medtronic from Neutral to Buy, with a price forecast ...

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Broadcom Boasts Record Q2, But It Wasn't Good Enough For Wall Street

Priya Nigam — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 18:01:05 +0000

Broadcom Inc’s (NASDAQ:AVGO) $22 billion quarter still fell short of AI hype.

That’s the reality of today’s big tech companies, where shares can tank even when fiscal results are upbeat. Here’s what analysts are saying:

Benchmark analyst Cody Acree maintained a Buy rating, and lifted the price target from $485 to $545.
DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria reiterated a Neutral rating, while raising the price target from $375 to $400.
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst John Vinh reaffirmed an Overweight rating, while taking the price target higher from $500 to $575.
JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur maintained an Overweight rating, while raising the price target from $500 to $580.
Rosenblatt Securities analyst Kevin Cassidy reiterated a Buy rating and price target of $500.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst C.J. Muse maintained an Overweight rating and price target of $525.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Benchmark: Broadcom's shares shed about 13% Wednesday after-hours despite the company reporting record quarterly results. Acree mentioned four reasons for the massive sell-off:

Although AI semiconductor guidance for the fiscal third quarter, at $16.0 billion, represented more than 200% year-on-year growth, it missed consensus of $17.2 billion.
Gross margin in the fiscal third quarter will contract by around 300 basis points (bps) sequentially as custom accelerators become a larger part of the mix.
The fiscal 2026 AI semiconductor outlook of $56 billion missed Street expectations of $57.5 billion.
The fiscal 2027 AI semiconductor framework remained at more than $100 billion, rather than an upward revision.

"We expect a further contributor to the stock’s weakness was management’s public acknowledgment that ...

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CrowdStrike: Uniquely Positioned For 'Mythos Moment,' Analysts Raise Price Targets On Cybersecurity As 'A Strategic Enabler Of AI Deployment'

Priya Nigam — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:25:06 +0000

Shares of AI-powered cybersecurity innovator CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) rallied on Thursday, after the company on Wednesday reported upbeat first-quarter results.

• CrowdStrike Holdings shares are retreating from recent levels. Why are CRWD shares down?

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives maintained an Outperform rating, while raising the price target from $700 to $720.
Benchmark analyst Yi Fu Lee reiterated a Buy rating, while lifting the price target from $700 to $780.
Needham analyst Mike Cikos reaffirmed a Buy rating, while taking the price target higher from $475 to $780.
Rosenblatt Securities analyst Catharine Trebnick maintained a Buy rating, while raising the price target from $640 to $825.
DA Davidson analyst Rudy Kessinger reiterated a Buy rating, while lifting the price target from $455 to $765.
Scotiabank analyst Patrick Colville reaffirmed a Sector Outperform rating, while taking the price target higher from $475 to $805.
Citizens JMP Securities analyst Rustam Kanga maintained a Market Outperform rating, while raising the price target from $550 to $780.
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Jonathan Ruykhaver reiterated an Overweight rating, while lifting the price target from $700 to $725.
BTIG analyst Gray Powell reaffirmed a Buy rating and price target of $764.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Wedbush: CrowdStrike reported its first quarter results for fiscal 2027 with marginal beats across the board, Ives said in a note. Total ARR (annual recurring revenues) rose 24% year-on-year to $5.51 billion, coming above the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion, he added.

The company's NNARR (net new annual recurring revenues) grew 32% year-on-year to $255.8 million, with AI products continuing to gain traction, the analyst stated. Management raised its fiscal 2027 guidance slightly, "as the company continues to see an expansive pipeline for its cyber-AI product portfolio, which remains a significant driver of its bookings pipeline," he further wrote.

Benchmark: CrowdStrike delivered a record start, with ARR, revenues, operating margin and free cash flows "comfortably" exceeding consensus estimates, Lee said.

More important than the "clean" beat-and-raise quarter was ...

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Why Is UnitedHealth Stock Gaining Thursday?

Vandana Singh — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:11:03 +0000

Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) stock is surging on Thursday. Over the last six months, the stock has gained almost 20%.

Bank of America Securities (BofA) on Thursday upgraded UnitedHealth from Neutral to Buy and raised the price forecast from $420 to $450.

The stock came under pressure in January as investors reacted to a proposed near-flat Medicare Advantage rate update from federal regulators and digested UnitedHealth’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings and fiscal 2026 outlook.

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Medicare Advantage Rate Changes Shift Investor Sentiment

In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed a net average payment increase of just 0.09% for Medicare Advantage plans, well below industry expectations of 4% to 6%. The proposal was expected to generate only about $700 million in additional payments for insurers.

Investor sentiment improved sharply in April after regulators finalized the ...

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CrowdStrike To Surge Nearly 25%? Here Are 10 Notable Analyst Calls From Thursday

Avi Kapoor — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:06:26 +0000

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page.

Mizuho raised the price target for CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) from $630 to $700 while maintaining an Outperform rating. CrowdStrike Holdings shares closed at $747.61 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
Susquehanna raised the price target for CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) from $475 to $800 while maintaining a Positive rating. CrowdStrike Holdings shares closed at $747.61 on Wednesday. See how other analysts view this stock.
Gordon Haskett lowered the price target for Ollie’s Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:OLLI) from $100 to $90 and downgraded the ...

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What Is Going On With SanDisk Stock On Thursday?

Anusuya Lahiri — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:52:23 +0000

SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ:SNDK) stock fell on Thursday as investors weighed a broader reset in AI hardware expectations against Goldman Sachs' positive view on memory supply tightness.

New York-based Goldman Sachs maintained its Buy rating on SanDisk, saying AI-driven demand could keep memory markets undersupplied through at least 2028.

The firm said tighter DRAM and NAND supply, stronger pricing power, and more long-term customer contracts could support SanDisk and other major memory producers over the next several years.

Technical Analysis

Even with Thursday's pullback, SanDisk is still extended relative to its trend gauges: it's trading 17.8% above the 20-day SMA ($1525.23) and 57.5% above the 50-day SMA ($1141.11), a kind of spacing that often invites sharper dips when sentiment cools.

RSI is the cleaner momentum lens here: at 74.17, it's in overbought territory, signaling the move has gotten stretched and can be more vulnerable to profit-taking than to "bad company-specific news."

From ...

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Analyst Picks NVIDIA Over Every Other AI Chip Stock Right Now

Anusuya Lahiri — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:45:14 +0000

The AI semiconductor trade is evolving beyond NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA). As investors look for the next phase of AI infrastructure growth, Wall Street is highlighting Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Marvell Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) as major winners in custom AI chips, even as KeyBanc maintains that NVIDIA remains the industry’s best-positioned AI chipmaker.

KeyBanc’s Vinh Still Favors NVIDIA

KeyBanc Capital Markets senior research analyst John Vinh told CNBC on Thursday that NVIDIA remains his favorite AI chip name despite valuation questions and a broader pullback in semiconductor stocks.

Vinh called NVIDIA “hands down” the best-in-class AI chip player in the sector.

He said no major merchant silicon competitor is likely to gain meaningful traction against NVIDIA anytime soon, and he said he likes NVIDIA’s risk-reward at current levels.

Vinh Sees Broadcom Pullback As Near-Term Reset

Vinh said Broadcom’s selloff makes sense ...

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Ulta Beauty Sales Jump On Strong Demand For Higher-End Beauty Brands

Priya Nigam — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:43:09 +0000

Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) were trading lower on Wednesday, despite the company on Tuesday reporting upbeat first-quarter results.

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

DA Davidson analyst Michael Baker maintained a Buy rating, while slashing the price target from $650 to $585.
Guggenheim Securities analyst Steven Forbes reiterated a Neutral rating on the stock.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

DA Davidson: Ulta Beauty reported beats on comps, gross margins, and earnings, with several drivers "moving in the right direction," Baker said in a note. He added that the positives in the quarter included:

Comps of 5.3% beat consensus of 4.6%.
Comps were driven by both ticket and traffic.
Two-year comps accelerated to 8.2%, from 7.3% in the previous quarter and was the best in two years.
Gross margins expanded by 100 basis points (bps), topping the estimate of a 10-bps improvement.
Gross margins were helped by "better shrink, inventory sell through, ...

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Gold Price Sits At Critical Technical Support: History Says Buy The Breakdown

Piero Cingari — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:35:08 +0000

Gold prices are testing one of the most closely watched levels in technical analysis: the 200-day moving average.

After a blistering rally that carried bullion to record highs at $5,600 earlier this year, the metal has spent recent weeks consolidating and is now hovering directly above its long-term trend line.

For many traders, a break below the 200-day moving average is viewed as a bearish signal. Recent history suggests the opposite may be true for gold.

Gold’s Previous 200-Day Average Breakdowns Became Buying Opportunities

Spot gold – tracked by SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE:GLD) – changed hands near $4,500 per ounce on Wednesday, up roughly 1.5% on the day, after a multi-week pullback dragged it back down toward its rising 200-day average near $4,397.

The metal sits about 20% off the early-February peak above $5,600.

Data compiled from the last 10 occasions when gold fell below its 200-day moving average show that weakness has historically been followed by strong longer-term gains.

Across the full set of the last 10 episodes, forward returns strengthened the longer investors held: the average one-month change was essentially flat (−0.15%), but six months out, the average gain was 3.5% (70% positive), and one year out, the average was 8.4% with ...

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Dollar General's Q1 Beat Driven By Cost Control As CEO Exit Looms

Priya Nigam — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:12:34 +0000

Shares of Dollar General Corp (NYSE:DG) are trading slightly lower on Wednesday, after the company reported its first-quarter results on Tuesday.

Here are some key analyst takeaways:

Loop Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba maintained a Hold rating, while raising the price target from $110 to $115.
Guggenheim Securities analyst John Heinbockel reiterated a Buy rating on the stock.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Loop Capital Markets: Dollar General's performance was particularly impressive, given that it faced adverse weather, rising gas prices, and reduced benefits from SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly called food stamps), Chukumba said in a note. He added that the positives in the quarter included:

Net sales growth of 3.4% to $10.8 billion.
Same-store sales growth of 2.0%, driven by 1.4% increase in customer traffic and 0.5% rise in average transaction.
Comps rising in all three months of the quarter, with March being the strongest ...

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This HC Wainwright & Co. Analyst Begins Coverage On A Bullish Note; Here Are Top 2 Initiations For Thursday

Avi Kapoor — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:31:08 +0000

Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades, downgrades and initiations, please see our analyst ratings page.

HC Wainwright & Co. analyst Robert Burns initiated coverage on Radiopharm Theranostics Ltd (NASDAQ:RADX) with a Buy rating and announced a price target of $16. Radiopharm Theranostics shares closed at $4.49 ...

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Bank of America's June Seasonal Playbook Says Sell Stocks, Buy Greenback

Piero Cingari — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:13:00 +0000

June has historically been a modest month for stocks. But when it arrives during the second year of a U.S. presidential cycle, Bank of America says investors should brace for a much more defensive market backdrop.

In a note shared with clients this week, technical strategist Paul Ciana found that June in Year 2 of the presidential cycle — the same setup investors face in 2026 under President Donald Trump‘s second term — has historically favored the U.S. dollar, flatter Treasury curves, stronger oil prices and weaker precious metals, while equities struggled.

“June in year 2 of the US Presidential Cycle carried a defensive tone,” Ciana said.

History Suggests A Tough June For Stocks In Second Year Of Presidential Term

The S&P 500 – as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) – has historically gained 0.82% in June, but in the second year of a presidential cycle, the benchmark index has fallen an average 1.33%, finishing higher only 42% of the time.

The Nasdaq 100 — tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust ...

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Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts Give Their Take On 3 Communication Services Stocks Delivering High-Dividend Yields

Avi Kapoor — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:54:17 +0000

During times of turbulence and uncertainty in the markets, many investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. These are often companies that have high free cash flows and reward shareholders with a high dividend payout.

Benzinga readers can review the latest analyst takes on their favorite stocks by visiting Analyst Stock Ratings page. Traders can sort through Benzinga's extensive database of analyst ratings, including by analyst accuracy.

Below are the ratings of the most accurate analysts for three high-yielding stocks in the energy sector.

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ)

Dividend Yield: 6.01%

JP Morgan analyst Sebastiano Petti maintained a Neutral rating on the stock, while raising the price target from $49 to $52 on April 30, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 57%.

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne reiterated an Equal-Weight rating while increasing the price target from $49 to $50 on April 28, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 73%.

Wells Fargo analyst Eric Luebchow reaffirmed an Equal-Weight rating while raising the price target from $44 to $46 on April 28, 2026. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 67%.

Recent News: on ...

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Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq Futures Fall As House Challenges Trump's Military Authority— Broadcom, CrowdStrike In Focus (UPDATED)

Rishabh Mishra — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:50:41 +0000

(Editor’s note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs and the headline were updated in the story.)

U.S. stock futures declined on Thursday after a lower close on Wednesday, as the Nasdaq 100, Dow Jones and S&P 500 fell.

Weekly initial jobless claims jumped by 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ending May 30. Meanwhile, the government downwardly revised its reading on first-quarter nonfarm labor productivity to a marginal 0.3% annualized growth rate—down from the previously reported 0.8%—while unit labor costs rose at a 1.8% clip.

In a 215-208 vote, the Republican-controlled House passed a war powers resolution requiring President Donald Trump to obtain congressional authorization before continuing military action or deploying troops against Iran. Notably, four Republicans joined Democrats to pass the measure, marking a rare bipartisan challenge to the president’s military authority.

Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.49%, and the two-year bond was at 4.07%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 96.2% likelihood of the Federal Reserve leaving the current interest rates unchanged during June’s meeting.

Index	Performance (+/-)
Dow Jones	0.29%
S&P 500	-0.37%
Nasdaq 100	-0.85%
Russell 2000	0.16%

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, were lower in premarket on Thursday. The SPY was down 0.33% at $751.73, while the QQQ declined by 1.15% to $735.65.

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Stocks In Focus

CrowdStrike Holdings

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD) was 9.98% in premarket on Thursday, despite beating estimates as it announced a 4-for-1 stock split.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that CRWD maintains a strong price trend in the short, long, and medium terms.

Broadcom

Broadcom Inc.

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