Price Action

Starknet's STRK token extended its rally Sunday, rising about 16% as a burst of speculative trading added momentum to the blockchain network's push to attract Bitcoin holders. STRK climbed from roughly $0.044 to $0.057 in the past 24 hours, after jumping about 26% Saturday, and by 12:08 p.m. ET Sunday CoinGecko showed more than $240 million in 24-hour volume and a market capitalization of about $427 million. The token has gained more than 35% in the past week and more than doubled in the past month. The rally accelerated Saturday after a crypto trader using the name Pumponomics posted a bullish STRK thesis on X at about 10:33 a.m. ET, saying he had accumulated about $740,000 of the token during the week, and on-chain data showed a wallet receiving about 17.44 million STRK from Coinbase Prime minutes before the post. Futures trading also surged, with volume rising about 213% to $187.7 million and open interest climbing about 20% to $74.2 million Saturday. The speculative activity followed an Oct. 2 announcement from Starknet that it would cover bridge fees for the first 100 Bitcoin moved onto its network through strkBTC, a Bitcoin-backed token that lets holders use their Bitcoin in applications on Starknet, with staking through Endur paying rewards in STRK at an annual percentage yield of about 3%. A further potential catalyst is approaching Monday, when Starknet v0.14.4 is scheduled for mainnet deployment Oct. 5, pending governance approval.

Alignment Healthcare announced that its Alignment Health Plan will add Hoag, a large Orange County health system, to its network for Medicare members starting January 1, 2027. The agreement comes as Alignment Healthcare's share price sits under pressure, with the stock down 41.36% on a 30 day share price return basis and 60.73% year to date, while the 3 year total shareholder return remains positive at 8.47% and the 1 year total shareholder return has declined 52.23%. Analysts following the company see a wide gap between their narrative fair value of about $22.23 and the last close at $7.94, with 14 investors viewing Alignment Healthcare as 64% undervalued. On simple P/E math the stock screens as expensive, trading at about 40.5x earnings versus 24.3x for the wider US Healthcare industry and roughly 34.5x for peers, even though the fair ratio is estimated at 43x. The bull case rests on a technology-enabled care model, administrative automation and expansion into existing counties and new states, but it depends on stable Medicare Advantage funding and clean accounting, and any adverse regulatory or legal outcome could quickly challenge those assumptions.

Nvidia's board authorized an additional $150B for its existing share-repurchase program, bringing the remaining authorization to $235B, which the company said was the largest increase to a share-repurchase authorization in history. Micron Technology reported fiscal fourth-quarter results and guidance that topped Wall Street's expectations by a wide margin, earning an adjusted $33.42 per share as revenue soared 379.1% year-over-year to $54.23B, versus analyst expectations of $31.72 per share on $51.49B in revenue. Accenture shares rose after its Q4 beat expectations and it forecast upbeat fiscal 2027 revenue growth, reporting GAAP earnings of $3.29 per share, revenue up 6.3% year over year to $18.7B, and new bookings of $22.2B. MongoDB shares fell after CEO Chirantan Desai stepped down effective immediately to become the newly created Chief Enterprise Platform Officer at Meta, with the board appointing Dev Ittycheria as interim president and CEO. Summit Therapeutics shares surged after AstraZeneca announced a $2B equity investment in the U.S. biotech and a clinical collaboration to develop new cancer treatments, purchasing convertible preferred shares at a conversion price equivalent to $18.36 per common share, a 10% premium to Summit's five-day volume-weighted average price. For the week, the Dow fell 1.26%, the S&P 500 lost 0.27%, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.45%.

Aya Gold & Silver reported fresh high-grade drill results from its Boumadine project in Morocco, confirming continuous mineralization along several zones and keeping resource expansion in focus. The update comes as the company's shares have returned 1.04% over one day, 36.97% over 90 days, and 129.83% on a one-year total shareholder return basis. Aya closed at CA$38.68, while the most followed analyst narrative pegs fair value at about CA$50.23, implying the stock is 23% undervalued. The Zgounder mine ramp-up is now largely complete, with processing capacity exceeding nameplate and plant recoveries reaching roughly 92%, which the company expects to drive higher silver production and lower unit costs. Aya remains tightly tied to Moroccan assets and silver prices, so regulatory shifts or weaker metal demand could challenge the upside case.

Minerals 260 Limited reported full-year results for the period ended June 30, 2026, recording net income of A$83.48 million versus a net loss of A$11.52 million a year earlier, a swing that translated into positive basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations. The company's share price has been on the slide but might be dropping deeper into value territory, with the stock down 8.0% after the profitability turnaround. Two fair value estimates from the Simply Wall St Community span roughly A$0.41 to A$1.35 per share, highlighting how far apart individual views can be. The result does not resolve questions about how sustainable these earnings are given the high level of non-cash income, or how much future dilution or capital will be required to turn exploration and development assets, particularly Bullabulling and the broader WA portfolio, into cash-generating operations.

CanSino surged to the daily limit up on the last trading day before the National Day holiday, with its share price breaking through the previous consolidation range and reaching a new stage high since April 2023, while its H shares also moved higher in tandem. On October 1, CanSino issued a stock movement announcement stating that the company had noted recent market developments regarding mRNA technology, as well as the release or planned disclosure of overseas clinical stage data for mRNA cancer vaccines. CanSino made clear that the mRNA platform is one of the technology platforms in its portfolio, and that the company is developing preventive mRNA vaccines and therapeutic biologics, as well as related delivery systems. In the therapeutic area, it is advancing research and development of mRNA vaccines for indications including glioblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, and cervical cancer, as well as the development of In Vivo CAR-related therapies, all of which are currently in early stages. In August this year, Merck and Moderna jointly announced that their personalized messenger RNA cancer vaccine met its primary endpoint in a Phase III trial, making it the first therapeutic vaccine proven effective in a large-scale Phase III clinical trial globally. On August 25, CanSino's official WeChat account announced that its subsidiary CanSino Shanghai Biologics had formally signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Depush Hangzhou Biotechnology for the joint development of personalized therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccines. The two parties will jointly advance the research, development, and commercialization of personalized therapeutic mRNA cancer vaccines, with a global focus on gastrointestinal solid tumors and rare tumor treatment areas. It should be noted that CanSino's entire mRNA product line has not yet moved beyond the early research and development stage, and innovative drug development carries multiple uncertainties including technical failure, clinical results falling short of expectations, and approval delays, while competition in the domestic mRNA vaccine sector is also becoming increasingly intense.

Onsemi announced a new agreement to acquire Synaptics for $123 a share in cash, revising the all-stock deal disclosed in June after an unsolicited competing proposal. Advanced Micro Devices said it would acquire World Labs, an AI model and research lab, in an all-stock transaction valued at nearly $8.2 billion. Hormel Foods agreed to acquire Brakebush Brothers, a value-added chicken provider, from the Brakebush family for approximately $1.055B, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Lynas Rare Earths agreed to acquire Australian peer Meteoric Resources in an all-stock deal valued at A$968M, or $672M. Mattel soared 19% after a report that the toymaker has recently received takeover interest from Authentic Brands, while Walgreens private-equity owner Sycamore is near a deal to sell the U.K. pharmacy chain Boots for close to $9 billion, including debt.

IonQ jumped roughly 12% in premarket trading on September 23 after testing the industry's first real-time quantum error decoder, then extended gains on news that its Superion quantum processor would be integrated into NVIDIA's Accelerated Quantum Research Center, with Rigetti Computing trading up in sympathy. IonQ's second-quarter revenue came in at $80 million, up 287% year-over-year, and management boosted its 2026 projection to $280-290 million, with combined revenue after closing the SkyWater foundry purchase potentially reaching $460 million for the year. The company held roughly $2 billion in pro-forma cash, cash equivalents and investments following the SkyWater acquisition, dwarfing Rigetti's approximately $540 million. IonQ's market capitalization is around $17.48 billion against combined 2026 revenue guidance of $450 million to $460 million, putting its forward price-to-sales multiple in the 39x range, while Rigetti trades at a trailing price-to-sales ratio of 391.65x. Since September 2024, insiders at IonQ, Rigetti, D-Wave, and Quantum Computing Inc. have collectively sold around $895.1 million more stock than they bought, and short interest stands at 10.15% of IonQ's shares versus 19.07% for Rigetti.

Bitcoin exchange reserves have dropped to their lowest level since 2023, a decline driven by the asset's recent sharp price rally. After a brief recovery, Bitcoin reclaimed its previous high around $87,000, and that move has fueled demand for the asset. The shrinking reserve balance points to investors pulling coins off exchanges, a shift that tightens the supply available for trading.

Aris Mining has cleared a key permitting hurdle for its Soto Norte gold copper project in Colombia by completing its Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and beginning formal community engagement ahead of an environmental licence application. The milestone follows earlier approvals on the mine plan and clarifications to Colombian regulatory protections. The company's shares have returned 15.19% year to date and posted a very large 3 year total shareholder return, though the 30 day share price return has eased 8.37%. Analysts see a narrative fair value of CA$41.53 against a last close of CA$24.95, with the gap linked to project build out and operating scale. The ongoing expansion at the Segovia operations, with the new second ball mill increasing processing capacity by 50% and a targeted production ramp up to 300,000 ounces in 2026, is described as a driver of sustained revenue growth and structurally higher operating margins.

Tesla reported global vehicle deliveries of 486,532 units in the third quarter, down from 497,099 units in the same period a year earlier but still above the average analyst estimate of 463,761 units, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tesla shares closed Friday, October 2, up 4.65% after the company said in a statement the same day that the delivery figures reflected the strength of its core business amid a challenging electric vehicle market. The better-than-expected deliveries are a positive for Tesla after the company faced declining vehicle sales in recent periods, while its share price has remained weak. The company faces intense competition in China, a key market, as well as sluggish demand in the United States. Meanwhile, Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, is steering the company toward future businesses including artificial intelligence, driverless cars and humanoid robots. Last year's third-quarter deliveries set a record of 497,099 units as customers rushed to buy vehicles before the U.S. federal electric vehicle incentives expired, causing this year's third-quarter deliveries to fall year on year. Still, Wall Street expects Tesla to post a slight increase in sales this year after two consecutive years of declines.

ON Semiconductor said it will acquire Synaptics in an all-cash transaction at $123 per share, replacing its original offer of 1.350 ON Semiconductor shares for each Synaptics share held. The revised deal values Synaptics at $5.7 billion, down from the original $7 billion, and represents a nearly 16 percent premium over Synaptics' closing price on Thursday. Synaptics shares surged 14.08 percent on Friday to close at $121.10, extending their winning streak to a fourth straight session and bringing the week's gain to 17.9 percent. Synaptics President and CEO Rahul Patel said the all-cash structure provides value certainty at a meaningful premium, and ON Semiconductor will finance the transaction with cash on hand and committed financing from Morgan Stanley. The deal is expected to close in the middle of next year, subject to approval by Synaptics shareholders, with Synaptics' board joining ON Semiconductor's board. The acquisition followed Synaptics' fourth-quarter results, in which net losses widened by 9,419 percent to $447.4 million from $4.7 million a year earlier, dragged by a $425.3 million non-cash charge tied to a valuation allowance against US deferred tax assets, while revenue rose 8.9 percent to $308 million.

SM Energy has drawn fresh attention after reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analyst expectations, at a time when many investors already view the stock as trading at a discount to peers. The past year has been strong for SM Energy, with an 84.21% year to date share price return and a 42.04% total shareholder return, even though the 30 day share price return declined 7.97%, hinting that momentum has cooled slightly after a sharp 31.25% 90 day share price rise. The most widely followed narrative frames the stock as 18% undervalued, with SM Energy closing at $35.24 against a narrative fair value of $43.18, backed by a story built around efficiency and capital discipline. The company has increased both net proved reserves and net production by over 60% since 2020 while improving production margins and keeping share count flat, and continued completion and well cost efficiencies in its Uinta and Midland Basin assets are driving lower per-unit costs. The bullish story could weaken if Uinta Basin bottlenecks squeeze realized pricing or if high, ongoing shale spending limits future free cash flow.

InnovestX Securities Company Limited assessed its investment strategy for the fourth quarter of 2026, saying financial markets still face volatility from oil prices, inflation, interest rate direction and elevated bond yields, forcing investors to place greater weight on asset selection and investment timing. Sutthichai Kumworachai, Head of Investment Strategy & Research at InnovestX, said the firm raised its target for the Thai stock index in 2026 from 1,600 points to 1,700 points, after expecting market earnings per share in 2026 to grow about 22% and second-quarter economic data to be stronger than expected. He recommended a fourth-quarter strategy focused on stock selection rather than buying the whole market, viewing levels below 1,550 points as an accumulation point for fundamentally strong stocks such as AMATA, CENTEL, CRC, KTB and PR9. For fixed income, he recommended focusing on 3-5 year maturities to capture still-attractive carry yield and reduce risk from interest rate volatility, with an overweight to developed-market bonds. On gold, the firm maintained a positive medium- to long-term view, estimating a 12-month price target of 5,300 US dollars per ounce on demand for diversification and capital flowing back into gold ETFs. The Thai stock market from the start of 2026 through the close on October 1, 2026 saw the SET Index at 1,563.91 points, up about 24.15% from 1,259.67 points at the end of 2025. Domestic retail investors were the largest net buyers at 58,807.49 million baht, while domestic institutional investors were the largest net sellers at about 86,397.26 million baht. From late September through early October 2026, foreign investors sold Thai shares for eight consecutive trading sessions totaling more than 34,162 million baht. Data from the Thai Bond Market Association showed that in September 2026 foreign investors were net sellers of Thai bonds worth 22,003 million baht, bringing the cumulative year-to-date net foreign selling of Thai bonds to 9,426 million baht.

Super Micro has started shipping server racks built for NVIDIA's next-generation Vera Rubin AI architecture, sending its shares up 4.3% in the afternoon session. The start of shipments reinforces the server solutions provider's role in the AI infrastructure supply chain, as Vera Rubin-ready racks house and interconnect the high-density systems data centers need for advanced AI workloads. The stock was trading at $43.69, up 4.4% from the previous close. Super Micro is up 41.1% since the beginning of the year, but at $43.69 per share it remains 25.6% below its 52-week high of $58.68 from October 2025. The company's shares are extremely volatile, having logged 69 moves greater than 5% over the last year.

Shares of electronic components distributor Avnet jumped 5.2% in the afternoon session after demand rose for electronic components used in AI infrastructure and global data-center buildouts, according to TipRanks. Record trading levels reflected the AI and data-center cycle pulling through distributors, while sentiment also got a lift from normalizing supply chains in industrial and automotive end markets that broadened the demand backdrop beyond AI alone. After the initial pop, the shares cooled down to $107.15, up 4.8% from the previous close. Avnet is up 117% since the beginning of the year and, at $107.15 per share, has set a new 52-week high. The stock's biggest recent move came 8 months ago, when it gained 11.6% on strong fourth-quarter results for its quarter ended December 2025, posting revenue of $6.32 billion, up 11.6% year on year and 4.9% above consensus, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.05 versus $0.87 a year earlier and 10.2% above forecasts, alongside next-quarter revenue guidance of $6.35 billion at the midpoint, 7.9% above analyst expectations.

NetApp shares jumped 6% in the afternoon session after the data storage company unveiled a new AI factory architecture at its Insight conference, according to TipRanks. The company also launched Keystone Sovereign for regulated markets and expanded its partnerships with Oracle and Supermicro. The combined package of AI factory architecture, sovereign cloud storage, and larger OEM ties sparked optimism among investors and analysts, who lifted their price targets on the back of the AI storage narrative. NetApp is up 113% since the beginning of the year and, at $226.50 per share, has set a new 52-week high. The stock has been volatile, with 12 moves greater than 5% over the last year, and its biggest recent move came four months ago, when it gained 26.4% after reporting first-quarter 2026 results that beat expectations, with revenue up 12.5% year-over-year to $1.95 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.43.

Tesla reported third-quarter 2026 vehicle deliveries of 486,532, roughly 5.5% above the FactSet analyst consensus estimate of 461,000, sending shares up 5.2% in the afternoon session. The total comprised 478,237 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles and 8,295 other models, though it marked a 2.1% decline from the 497,099 vehicles delivered in the third quarter of 2025. Tesla manufactured 464,391 vehicles during the quarter and deployed 13.7 GWh of energy storage products. After the initial pop, the stock cooled to $371.21, up 4.7% from the previous close, and remains 15.3% lower since the start of the year and 24.2% below its 52-week high of $489.88 from December 2025.

Star Bulk Carriers closed at $30.75, up 1.05% and ahead of the S&P 500's 0.73% gain. The shipping company is expected to report EPS of $1.33 for its upcoming quarter, up 375% from the prior-year quarter, on revenue of $395.63 million, a 49.94% increase. For the full fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $4.53 per share and revenue of $1.44 billion, changes of +367.01% and +38.29% respectively. Over the last 30 days the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate rose 1.39%, and Star Bulk Carriers currently carries a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy). The stock trades at a Forward P/E of 6.72 versus its industry's 9.66, with a PEG ratio of 0.12 against the Transportation - Shipping industry average of 0.6.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares climbed just over 7% on Friday to close at $69.33, up $4.75 from the prior session's close, setting a new 52-week high. The advance followed a networking investor event at which the company unveiled a $1.2 billion AMD Helios AI rack order from Vultr. HPE also raised its longer-term networking outlook and increased its expected annual Juniper-related synergies at the event. The stock traded in a range of $66.00 to $70.29 on volume of approximately 28.97 million shares.