Cloudflare, Inc.

Сильный индекс, значительно упал. Оптимистичный взгляд на свои позиции резко сменился на неуверенность.

Strong index, significantly down. An optimistic view of his position suddenly changed to uncertainty.

Средний индекс, без изменений. Медведи в растерянности.

Medium index, flat. The bears are confused.

Слабый индекс, значительно упал. Нейтральный рынок.

Weak index, significantly down. Neutral market.

Слабый индекс, значительно вырос. Нейтральный рынок.

Weak index, significantly up. Neutral market.

Средний индекс, незначительно вырос. Отток средств из лонгов снизился, но остается значительным.

Medium index, slightly up. The outflow of funds from longs has decreased, but remains significant.

Слабый индекс, незначительно упал. Приток средств в шорты остается положительным.

Weak index, slightly down. The inflow of funds into shorts remains positive.

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) closed down by -1.09% on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed down by -0.34%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed down -2.50%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) fell -1.14%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ26) fell -2.51%.
Stock indexes sold off sharply on Friday, with the S&P 500 falling to a 2-week low and the Nasdaq 100 dropping to a 1-month low. Selling in chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks led the market lower on Friday, driven by concerns about whether companies will see returns on their huge investments in the AI infrastructure buildout. Also, CoreWeave sank more than -11% to weigh on cloud infrastructure stocks as concerns about the company’s credit risk linger.
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Stock losses accelerated Friday afternoon as crude oil prices soared more than 3% to a 1-month high, raising inflation expectations and fueling fears the Fed will keep raising interest rates to contain inflation.
Higher bond yields undercut stocks after Fed Chair Warsh made no remarks on monetary policy or his outlook for the US economy late Thursday evening at the IMF annual meeting in Bangkok. The 10-year T-note yield rose +1 bp to 5.09%.
Friday’s US economic news was mixed for stocks. The Sep import price index ex-petroleum rose +0.8% m/m, stronger than expectations of +0.6% m/m, the largest increase in 5 months and a sign of price pressures. However, Sep manufacturing production rose +0.3% m/m, right on expectations.
Stocks have support from the prospect of solid quarterly earnings results that began this week. Goldman Sachs on Monday raised its three-month view on global equity markets to overweight from neutral, saying. “Earnings growth remains supportive for equities and the recent valuation de-rating has improved asymmetry into the third-quarter earnings season.” According to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence, Q3 S&P 500 earnings are expected to climb by +25% from a year earlier, up from a July estimate of 22%. As of Friday, 40 of the S&P 500 companies have reported results, with 78% beating estimates.
Nov WTI crude oil prices (CLX26) surged more than +3% on Friday to a 1-month high. Crude prices rallied on Friday amid a weaker dollar and concerns that escalating Middle East hostilities could disrupt regional energy supplies. Prices race to their highs Friday afternoon after US lawmakers introduced a bill to block President Trump’s deal with Russia to release several hundred million barrels of diesel fuel.
Markets are discounting a 17% chance of a +25 bp Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 27-28.
Overseas stock markets settled higher on Friday. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed up +0.58%. China's Shanghai Composite closed up +0.24%. Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average closed up +1.39%.
Interest Rates
December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ6) closed down -2.5 ticks on Friday. The 10-year T-note yield rose +2.7 bp to 5.085%. Dec T-notes were under pressure Friday after Fed Chair Warsh's lack of guidance at the annual IMF meeting in Bangkok weighed on T-notes. Also, Friday’s +3% surge in WTI crude oil to a 1-month high raised inflation expectations and weighed on T-notes. Friday’s stock plunge sparked safe-haven buying of government debt and limited T-note losses.
European government bond yields were mixed on Friday. The 10-year German bund yield rose +1.3 bp to 3.426%. The 10-year UK gilt yield fell -0.2 bp to 5.373%.
ECB Governing Council member and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said. "The ECB has raised interest rates twice, and if the situation remains as it is, we don't rule out the possibility that we may have to take further action."
Markets are discounting a 10% chance of a +25 bp ECB rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on October 29.
US Stock Movers
Chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks continued their week-long slide on Friday, weighing on the broader market. Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX) closed down more than -7%, and Western Digital (WDC), SanDisk (SNDK), and ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) closed down more than -6%. Also, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron Technology (MU), Intel (INTC), and Marvell Technology (MRVL) closed down more than -5%, and Lam Research (LRCX), KLA Corp (KLAC), Applied Materials (AMAT), and Broadcom (AVGO) closed down more than -4%. In addition,
CoreWeave (CRWV) closed down more than -11% to weigh on cloud infrastructure stocks as debt concerns linger after swaps priced in more than a 50% chance the company will default on its debt within five years. Also, Nebius Group NV (NBIS) closed down more than -12% to lead losers in the Nasdaq 100, and Applied Digital (APLD) closed down more than -11%. In addition, Lumentum Holdings (LITE) closed down more than -5%, and Oracle (ORCL) and Arista Networks (ANET) closed down more than -4%.
The Magnificent Seven stocks, excluding Apple, fell on Friday and weighed on the overall market. Meta Platforms (META) closed down more than -3%, and Alphabet (GOOGL) closed down more than -2% to lead losers in the Dow Jones Industrials. Also, Tesla (TSLA) closed down more than -2%, and Amazon.com (AMZN), Microsoft (MSFT), and Nvidia (NVDA) closed down more than -1%. Apple (AAPL) bucked the trend and closed up +0.43%.
Cybersecurity stocks retreated on Friday. Okta (OKTA) closed down more than -10%, and SentinelOne (S), Fortinet (FTNT), Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed down more than -7%. Also, Cloudflare (NET) closed down more than -6%, Zscaler (ZS) closed down more than -5%, and Gen Digital (GEN) closed down more than -2%.
Energy producers and service providers rallied on Friday after WTI crude oil rose more than +3% to a 1-month high. APA Corp (APA) closed up more than +4%, and Diamondback Energy (FANG) closed up more than +4% to lead gainers in the Nasdaq 100. Also, ConocoPhillips (COP) and Devon Energy (DVN) closed up more than +3%, and Chevron (CVX) closed up more than +2% to lead gainers in the Dow Jones industrials. In addition, Baker Hughes (BKR), ExxonMobil Holdings (XOM), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), and SLB Ltd (SLB) closed up more than +2%, and Halliburton (HAL) and Phillips 66 (PSX) closed up more than +1%.
Defense contractors rose on Friday as the companies are set to benefit from increased defense spending. Northrop Grumman (NOC) closed up more than +4%, and Lockheed Martin (LMT), RTX Corp (RTX), and L3Harris Technologies (LHX) closed up more than +3%. Also, General Dynamics (GD) closed up more than +2%, and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) closed up more than +1%.
Defensive food producers moved higher on Friday amid the slump in the broader market. Kraft Heinz Co (KHC), McCormick & Co (MKC), J M Smucker (SJM), Hershey Co (HSY), Hormel Foods (HRL), and Mondelez International (MDLZ) closed up more than +1%.
Omeros (OMER) closed down more than -14% after the European Medicines Agency issued a negative opinion on the company’s application for its narsoplimab therapy.
Earnings Reports (10/19/2026)
AGNC Investment Corp (AGNC), BOK Financial Corp (BOKF), Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (CLF), Crown Holdings Inc (CCK), Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), FNB Corp/PA (FNB), RLI Corp (RLI), Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD), W R Berkley Corp (WRB), Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL), Wintrust Financial Corp (WTFC), Zions Bancorp NA (ZION).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

Stock Indexes Finish Sharply Lower as Tech Stocks Plunge

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) closed down by -1.11% on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed down by -0.09%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed down -2.02%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) fell -1.16%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ26) fell -2.10%.
Stock indexes sold off sharply on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 falling to a 1.5-week low and the Nasdaq 100 dropping to a 3.5-week low. Inflation woes dampened market sentiment and sparked stock liquidation on Wednesday after US September consumer prices rose more than expected, reinforcing speculation that the Fed will keep interest rates higher for longer amid sticky price pressures. The chance of a 25 bp Fed rate hike at this month’s FOMC meeting rose to 37% from 22% before the CPI report. Also, the rout in chipmakers continued Wednesday, weighing on the overall market.
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Wednesday’s broader market slump sparked defensive buying of health care and pharmaceutical stocks, limiting losses in the Dow Jones industrials.
US Sep CPI rose +3.7% y/y, stronger than expectations of +3.6% y/y. Sep core CPI rose +2.6% y/y, stronger than expectations of 2.5% y/y.
The Fed Beige Book was hawkish, noting that a majority of the twelve Fed districts in the six weeks through October 5 reported economic growth, and half saw robust or intensifying price pressures.
Stocks and bonds garnered some support Wednesday on comments from Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, who signaled she favors keeping Fed policy steady at this month's FOMC meeting when she said, "We have some time to wait and see how financial conditions and the economy evolve before we decide that we need to take any more action" on interest rates.
US MBA mortgage applications fell -2.7% in the week ended October 9, with the purchase mortgage sub-index down -4.0% and the refinancing mortgage sub-index down -0.4%. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose +1 bp to a 2.75-year high of 7.50% from 7.49% the prior week.
China's trade news was better than expected, supporting global growth prospects. China's Sep exports rose +36.3% y/y, stronger than expectations of +25.7% y/y and the most in 7 months. Sep imports rose +31.0% y/y, stronger than expectations of +25.0% y/y.
Stocks have support from the prospect of solid quarterly earnings results starting this week. Goldman Sachs on Monday raised its three-month view on global equity markets to overweight from neutral, saying. “Earnings growth remains supportive for equities and the recent valuation de-rating has improved asymmetry into the third-quarter earnings season.” According to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence, Q3 S&P 500 earnings are expected to climb by +25% from a year earlier, up from a July estimate of 22%.
Nov WTI crude oil prices (CLX26) closed up more than +1% on Wednesday as Yemen's Houthi rebels launched multiple drone and missile attacks across Saudi Arabia, including energy infrastructure. Also, Iranian attacks on shipping attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz have increased in recent weeks, threatening a rebound in energy supplies from the Middle East.
Markets are discounting a 37% chance of a +25 bp Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 27-28.
Overseas stock markets settled mixed on Wednesday. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed up +0.38%. China's Shanghai Composite closed down -0.89%. Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average closed down -0.05%.
Interest Rates
December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ6) closed up by +4.5 ticks on Wednesday. The 10-year T-note yield fell -2.5 bp to 5.183%. T-note prices recovered from early losses on Wednesday and settled higher as a slump in equity markets fueled short-covering in T-notes. Also, dovish comments on Wednesday from Fed Vice Chair Bowman were bullish for T-notes when said she sees no urgent need for the Fed to raise interest rates.
T-notes initially retreated on Wednesday on the stronger-than-expected US Sep CPI report, which boosted the chance of a Fed rate hike later this month to 37% from 22% before the report. Also, Wednesday’s +1% increase in WTI crude oil has raised inflation expectations and is bearish for T-notes. In addition, the Fed Beige Book was negative for T-notes, noting intensifying price pressures in more than half of the Fed’s districts.
European government bond yields moved lower on Wednesday. The 10-year German bund yield fell -0.3 bp to 3.466%. The 10-year UK gilt yield fell -2.3 bp to 5.424%.
The German Sep wholesale price index rose +8.7% y/y from +6.8% y/y in Aug, the strongest pace of increase in nearly 3.5 years.
Markets are discounting a 12% chance of a +25 bp ECB rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on October 29.
US Stock Movers
Chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks sold off Wednesday, weighing on the overall market. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell to a 3.5-week low and closed down more than -4%. CoreWeave closed down more than -15% to lead losers in the Nasdaq 100, and Lumentum Holdings (LITE) closed down more than -8%. Also, Marvell Technology (MRVL) closed down more than -7%, and ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) closed down more than -6%. In addition, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and SanDisk (SNDK) closed down more than -5%, and Lam Research (LRCX), Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX), Microchip Technology (MCHP), Intel (INTC), and Western Digital (WDC) closed down more than -4%.
The Magnificent Seven technology stocks fell on Wednesday, weighing on the broader market. Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META) closed down more than -3%, and Tesla (TSLA) closed down more than -2%. Also, Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Microsoft (MSFT) closed down more than -1%. Bucking the trend, Apple (AAPL) closed up +0.50%.
Cybersecurity stocks weakened on Wednesday, weighing on the overall market. Cloudflare (NET) and Okta (OKTA) closed down more than -6%, and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed down more than -5%. Also, Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) and SentinelOne (S) closed down more than -4%, and Fortinet (FTNT) and Zscaler (ZS) closed down more than -3%.
Cryptocurrency-exposed stocks fell on Wednesday after Bitcoin (^BTCUSD) fell more than -1%. Iren Ltd (IREN) closed down more than -12%, and MARA Holdings (MARA) and Riot Platforms (RIOT) closed down more than -9%. Also, Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) and Robinhood Markets (HOOD) closed down more than -8%, and Circle Internet Group (CRCL), BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR), and Strategy (MSTR) closed down more than -5%. On addition, Coinbase Global (COIN) and Bullish (BLSH) closed down more than -4%.
Health insurance stocks moved higher on Wednesday as a defensive play amid the broader market rout. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) closed up more than +4% to lead gainers in the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrials. Also, CVS Health Corp (CVS), Cardinal Health (CAH), and United Health Services (UHS) closed up more than +3%, and HCA Healthcare (HCA) and the Cigna Group (CI) closed up more than +2%. In addition, Centene (CNC) and Humana (HUM) closed up more than +1%.
Defensive pharmaceutical stocks rallied on Wednesday amid the broader market slump. Amgen (AMGN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Merck & Co (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) closed up more than +3%, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) closed up more than +2%.
Dell Technologies (DELL) closed down more than -11% to lead losers in the S&P 500 , Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) closed down more than -8%, and NetApp (NTAP) closed down more than -6% after Barclays downgraded the stocks to equal weight from overweight.
Bank of America (BAC) closed down more than -4% after reporting Q3 equities trading revenue ex-DVA of $2.51 billion, weaker than the consensus of $2.63 billion.
State Street (STT) closed down more than -3% after reporting Q3 revenue of $4.00 billion, weaker than the consensus of $4.04 billion.
Progressive (PGR) closed down more than -3% after reporting Q3 net premiums written of $22.30 billion, below the consensus of $22.50 billion.
Liquidia (LQDA) closed up more than +27% after reaching a global settlement resolving all pending litigation with United Therapeutics.
Earnings Reports (10/15/2026)
Alcoa Corp (AA), Bank of New York Mellon Corp/The (BNY), Charles Schwab Corp/The (SCHW), First Horizon Corp (FHN), Interactive Brokers Group Inc (IBKR), JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (JBHT), Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc (MRSH), PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC), Prologis Inc (PLD), US Bancorp (USB).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

Stocks Sharply Lower on Inflation Woes and Slumping Chipmakers

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) closed up by +0.66% on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed up by +0.18%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed up +0.87%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) rose +0.67%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ26) rose +0.88%.
Stock indexes settled higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 climbing to a 1.5-month high and the Nasdaq 100 climbing to a new record high. Strength in the Magnificent Seven technology stocks on Monday supported gains in the broader market. Also, M&A activity was supportive of stocks after Schneider Electric agreed to buy PTC Inc. for $22.6 billion, and C.H. Robinson Worldwide agreed to purchase RXO for $5.8 billion. In addition, Monday’s -1% decline in WTI crude oil lowered inflation expectations and improved market sentiment, boosting stocks.
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Limiting stock gains on Monday were signs of price pressures in the US services sector that boosted bond yields and are hawkish for Fed policy. The 10-year T-note yield rose to a 24-yer high of 5.35% and finished up +4 bp at 5.31% after the Sep ISM services prices paid sub-index rose more than expected to a 4-year high.
The US Sep ISM services index fell -0.5 to 54.9, slightly weaker than expectations of 55.0. The Sep ISM services prices paid sub-index rose +1.4 to a 4-year high of 74.0, stronger than expectations of 73.3.
Nov WTI crude oil prices (CLX26) fell more than -1% on Monday and were under pressure after Saudi Aramco lowered the price of its Arab Light crude to Asian buyers by $5 a barrel below a regional benchmark for November delivery, a wider cut than expectations of a $5 a barrel increase. Crude prices also fell after Saudi Arabia said crude supplies through its East-West pipeline had risen to 80% of capacity as of Saturday.
Markets are discounting a 24% chance of a +25 bp Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 27-28.
Overseas stock markets settled higher on Monday. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed up +0.06%. China's Shanghai Composite did not trade, with markets in China closed for the week-long Golden Week holidays. Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average rallied to a 3-month high and closed up +2.40%.
Interest Rates
December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ6) closed down -4.5 ticks. The 10-year T-note yield rose +4.4 bp to 5.315%. The 10-year T-note yield climbed to a new 24-year high of 5.347% on Monday as signs of price pressures in the US services sector weighed on T-notes. The Sep ISM services prices paid sub-index rose more than expected to a 4-year high. Also, higher inflation expectations were bearish for T-notes after the 10-year breakeven inflation rate rose to a 2.5-week high of 2.380% on Monday. In addition, supply pressures are weighing on T-notes as the Treasury will auction $119 billion in T-notes and T-bonds this week, beginning with Tuesday’s $58 billion auction of 3-year T-notes. Monday’s -1% decline in WTI crude oil prices was supportive for T-notes.
European government bond yields moved higher on Monday. The 10-year German bund yield rose +3.1 bp to 3.493%. The 10-year UK gilt yield is up +5.2 bp to 5.418%.
Eurozone Aug PPI rose +8.2% y/y, stronger than expectations of +7.6% y/y and the largest increase in 3.5 years.
The Eurozone Oct Sentix investor confidence index fell by -2.4 to 2.7, weaker than expectations of 4.2.
ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane said a measured ECB response is appropriate to control inflation as policymakers assess how a second wave of energy shocks affects the economy.
The UK Sep S&P services PMI was revised upward by +0.4 to 52.1 from the previously reported 51.7.
Markets are discounting an 13% chance of a +25 bp ECB rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on October 29.
US Stock Movers
The Magnificent Seven technology stocks were mostly higher on Monday, a positive factor for the overall market. Tesla (TSLA) closed up more than +2%, and Nvidia (NVDA) closed up more than +2% to lead gainers in the Dow Jones industrials. Also, Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) closed up more than +1%, and Alphabet (GOOGL) closed up +0.86%. Conversely, Apple (AAPL) closed down -0.24%, and Amazon.com (AMZN) closed down -0.05%.
Software stocks moved higher on Monday, a positive factor for the overall market. Autodesk (ADSK) and Atlassian Corp (TEAM) closed up more than +4%, and ServiceNow (NOW), Intuit (INTU), and Workday (WDAY) closed up more than +1%.
Strength in cybersecurity stocks on Monday was another supportive factor for the broader market. Okta (OKTA) and Cloudflare (NET) closed up more than +3%, and Zscaler (ZS) closed up more than +2%. Also, Fortinet (FTNT), SentinelOne (S), and Gen Digital (GEN) closed up more than +1%, and Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) closed up +0.97% and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed up +0.86%.
PTC Inc (PTC) closed up more than +33% to lead gainers in the S&P 500 after Schneider Electric agreed to buy the company for $22.6 billion, or about $205 per share in an all-cash deal.
RXO Inc (RXO) closed up more than +22% after C.H. Robinson Worldwide agreed to buy the company for $5.8 billion, or about $30.25 per share.
Cerebras Systems (CBRS) closed up more than +9% after OpenAI CEO Altman said the company is “a close partner” of OpenAI.
Vylor Inc. (VYLR) closed up more than +9% after Mizuho Securities initiated coverage on the stock with a recommendation of overweight and a price target of $84.
Harley-Davidson (HOG) closed up more than +6% after Citigroup upgraded the stock to buy from neutral with a price target of $33.
C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) closed down more than -10% to lead losers in the S&P 500 after agreeing to purchase RXO for $5.8 billion.
Insmed (INSM) closed down more than -6% after announcing that CFO Bonstein will step down, effective October 30.
Lennar (LEN) closed down more than -6% after a report from Hunterbrook Media said that “Millrose Properties bought an estimated $200 million of Lennar homes in about a month and is renting them out for what appears to be a loss.”
Group 1 Automotive (GPI) closed down more than -3% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight with a price target of $232.
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) closed down more than -3% after Leerink Partners downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform.
Earnings Reports (10/6/2026)
Apogee Enterprises Inc (APOG), Boost Run Inc (BRUN), Constellation Brands Inc (STZ), Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (LW), Neogen Corp (NEOG), Penguin Solutions Inc (PENG), RPM International Inc (RPM), Worthington Steel Inc (WS).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
More news from Barchart

Stocks Settle Higher as Big Tech Rallies

Looking at options trading activity among components of the Russell 3000 index, there is noteworthy activity today in Onterris Inc (Symbol: ONT), where a total volume of 5,437 contracts has been traded thus far today, a contract volume which is representative of approximately 543,700 underlying shares (given that every 1 contract represents 100 underlying shares). That number works out to 75.4% of ONT's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 721,270 shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $12.50 strike call option expiring December 17, 2027, with 2,501 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 250,100 underlying shares of ONT. Below is a chart showing ONT's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $12.50 strike highlighted in orange:
CloudFlare Inc (Symbol: NET) saw options trading volume of 22,573 contracts, representing approximately 2.3 million underlying shares or approximately 72.5% of NET's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 3.1 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $400 strike call option expiring October 16, 2026, with 2,979 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 297,900 underlying shares of NET. Below is a chart showing NET's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $400 strike highlighted in orange:
And Sagimet Biosciences Inc (Symbol: SGMT) options are showing a volume of 10,431 contracts thus far today. That number of contracts represents approximately 1.0 million underlying shares, working out to a sizeable 72.4% of SGMT's average daily trading volume over the past month, of 1.4 million shares. Especially high volume was seen for the $10 strike put option expiring October 16, 2026, with 5,010 contracts trading so far today, representing approximately 501,000 underlying shares of SGMT. Below is a chart showing SGMT's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $10 strike highlighted in orange:
For the various different available expirations for ONT options, NET options, or SGMT options, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
Further ONT Research:

Notable Monday Option Activity: ONT, NET, SGMT

Key Points
Wall Street and retail investors have been debating Palantir's valuation since the company went public.
Palantir is often benchmarked against other SaaS businesses, but I think this analysis is short-sighted.
Palantir sells a much more unique piece of software relative to other data tools, making its valuation harder to judge.
I first bumped into Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) about 10 years ago. At the time, I was working as an investment analyst at a business development company (BDC). While riding the Metro home after work one day, I noticed a person sitting across from me was wearing a Palantir beanie.
Given most of the deals I worked on were focused on technology start-ups, I had heard Palantir's name in passing, but I didn't really know the business. When I got home, I Googled "what does Palantir do" and instantly became curious -- tracking the company's funding rounds, investor roster, and waited anxiously for its public debut.
Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »
Over the last five years, I've covered the data analytics darling through its meme-stock phase, the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, and the never-ending debate over whether Palantir stock is a bubble or a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The honest answer starts with a simple point: the usual scorecards are a misleading way to judge this company. Let me explain why.
Traditional valuation methods don't fully capture Palantir
If you benchmark Palantir against or a basket of software-as-a-service (Saas) using the price-to-sales (P/S) ratio, it will look expensive every single time. Using price-to-earnings (P/E) multiples are even more useless, as many of the SaaS "peers" below are not yet generating consistent profitability.
Since Palantir's market cap looks enormous relative to its current revenue, Wall Street loves to treat that disparity as the end of the conversation. This comparison is flawed, though. While the companies shown above are good businesses, all of them sell relatively well-understood products: CRMs, data warehouses, observability, and cybersecurity. The products in this stack are quickly becoming commoditized, meaning customers can switch vendors, stitch different solutions together, or wait for a cheaper alternative. Palantir does not compete in that type of market.
Palantir's core product is called an ontology. Think of this as a living map of how an organization actually works: the customer details, vendor relationships, and product decisions that sit inside of spreadsheets. Once that map exists, Palantir's software suites -- Gotham and Foundry -- form the basis of its Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), turning messy operational data into real-time actionable intelligence. A chatbot bolted onto a data warehouse cannot replicate this at scale.
Palantir spent two decades building this intimate data layer for intelligence and defense agencies who cannot afford to be drowned in sloppy data. Software developers simply can't recreate 20 years of models, workflow logic, and classified deployments by shipping a nicer dashboard. That is what gives Palantir a first-mover advantage when selling AI-driven solutions to the U.S. government, its allies, and an increasing number of Fortune 500 companies.
What Palantir's earnings actually show
Palantir's financial trajectory is finally starting to look like one of a platform business, not a consulting shop. During the second quarter of 2026, revenue rose 93% year over year to $1.94 billion. U.S. commercial revenue jumped 149% to $764 million, while U.S. government revenue increased 90% to $809 million. Meanwhile, operating income was $912 million and adjusted free cash flow was $1.2 billion, or a 63% margin. The company ended the quarter with $9.4 billion in cash and Treasuries and no meaningful debt.
One of the lesser-tracked, albeit critical, metrics with Palantir is net dollar retention (NRR). This measures how much sales the company retains net of churn. At the end of the second quarter, NRR hit 157% -- underscoring that not only are customers renewing, but they are expanding their original contracts for higher amounts. In other words, Palantir is far outselling any churn it experiences.
In addition, U.S. commercial remaining deal value (RDV) climbed to $6.24 billion -- up 124% year over year. Given this level of growth, it's not surprising that management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to about $8.2 billion, implying 82% growth. This is the opposite of a one-off AI success story.
Palantir's long-term tailwinds are specific. Sovereign AI is quickly becoming a real budget line for governments and enterprises that do not want their operational data training a frontier model developed by an outside lab. The company is also partnering its ontology platform with Nvidia's open models, as well as being deployed in cloud environments hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure. Inside the Pentagon, Palantir is embedded through Gotham, the Maven Smart System (MSS), as well as the Army's TITAN program. NATO has even deployed Maven as an alliancewide decision layer. Those are sticky platform deals, not one-year software licenses or pilot programs.
Is Palantir stock overvalued?
By conventional standards, Palantir stock is not cheap. A growth stock this richly valued will get punished if growth even resembles a hiccup. But saying Palantir is overvalued relative to its SaaS peers is not entirely accurate, as the company is so differentiated it doesn't really have an apples-to-apples competitor.
With Palantir, you aren't buying another CRM. Enterprises are buying an operating system that bridges raw data and real-world decisions in critical environments. Five years of covering Palantir has made understanding the business and its mission much more clear.
As the ontology keeps compounding and customers keep expanding, Palantir should become less of a crowded momentum trade and more of a generational buy hiding behind what will first appear to be an uncomfortable valuation screen. In my eyes, Palantir is a great buy for investors with a long-term time horizon and for those looking to complement their core AI stocks.
Should you buy stock in Palantir Technologies right now?
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Adam Spatacco has positions in Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Datadog, Microsoft, MongoDB, Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, and Snowflake. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

I've Covered Palantir for 5 Years. Here's How to Know if the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stock Is Overvalued.

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) closed down by -0.77% on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed down by -0.67%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed down -1.08%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) fell -0.76%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ26) fell -1.07%.
Stock indexes settled lower on Monday amid a surge in bond yields. Stocks fell as bond yields rose amid concerns that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed for the foreseeable future, keeping oil prices elevated and raising inflation expectations, which could prompt the Fed to keep tightening monetary policy. The 10-year T-note yield soared to a 19-year high of 5.27% on Monday. The jump in bond yields weighed on chipmakers and AI stocks, which weighed on the overall market.
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Crude prices initially rose more than +4% on Monday as hopes faded for an imminent breakthrough to end the war in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz after President Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposals to end the war. However, stock indexes recovered from their worst levels when crude prices gave up nearly all of their gains when CNN reported that President Trump is willing to give Iran sanctions relief in return for concrete progress on the nuclear issue.
Hawkish comments from Fed Governor Lisa Cook signaled she may favor additional Fed rate hikes, saying the recent Fed rate hike was meant to address too-high inflation and that the US labor market seems well positioned to handle higher interest rates.
On the positive side for stocks, the US and China detailed a plan to cut tariffs on about $30 billion of imports from each country. China's Commerce Ministry said Monday that the reductions will take effect once both sides complete procedures required under their domestic laws. Also, Monday’s US economic news supported stocks after the Sep Dallas Fed manufacturing survey fell -1.8 to 9.8, a smaller decline than expectations of 7.8.
Nov WTI crude oil prices (CLX26) settled slightly higher on Monday as hopes faded for an imminent breakthrough in peace talks to end the Iran war. President Trump on Saturday rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the war, and Iran said it will not soften any demands it has made to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Wall Street Journal reported that US negotiators are pressing Iran to make concessions on its nuclear program to revive the peace talks and placate President Trump on an issue he has made a top priority. The newspaper also reported that Mr. Trump expects to resume the bombing campaign against Iran after the US midterm elections on November 3. Crude prices also rose after Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen launched drone and missile attacks against Saudi Arabia over the weekend.
Markets are discounting a 70% chance of a +25 bp Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 27-28.
Overseas stock markets settled lower on Monday. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed down -0.02%. China's Shanghai Composite fell to a 1.75-month low and closed down -1.67%. Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average fell from a 1.25-month high and closed down -0.73%.
Interest Rates
December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ6) closed down -12 ticks on Monday. The 10-year T-note yield rose +6.9 bp to 5.230%. T-note prices tumbled to a 19-year nearest-futures low on Monday, and the 10-year T-note yield rose to a new 19-year high of 5.272%. T-notes were pressured on Monday after President Trump rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal, which could keep oil prices higher for longer as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and could persuade the Fed to keep raising interest rates to contain inflation. Hawkish comments on Monday from Fed Governor Cook also undercut T-notes as she signaled she may favor additional Fed rate increases, saying the US labor market seems well positioned to handle higher interest rates. T-notes recovered from their worst level after crude prices gave up most of an early sharp rally.
European government bond yields moved higher on Monday. The 10-year German bund yield climbed to a 17-year high of 3.654% and finished up +4.2 bp to 3.643%. The 10-year UK gilt yield rose to a 19-year high of 5.437% and finished up +5.6 bp to 5.422%.
Comments from ECB President Christine Lagarde were dovish for ECB policy when she said, “While growth has been resilient, since the last ECB meeting, long-term interest rates have risen notably, which will slow growth and reduce pass-through by more than projected in our September exercise.”
Markets are discounting a 36% chance of a +25 bp ECB rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on October 29.
US Stock Movers
Chipmakers and AI stocks retreated on Monday as T-note yields soared. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) closed down more than -1%. ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) closed down more than -8% to lead losers in the Nasdaq 100, and Qualcomm (QCOM) closed down more than -7%. Also, Intel (INTC) closed down more than -5%, and SanDisk (SNDK), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Marvell Technology (MRVL) closed down more than -3%. In addition, Micron Technology (MU) closed down more than -2%.
Mining stocks fell sharply on Monday as gold and silver prices tumbled to 1.75-month lows. Anglogold Ashanti (AU), Coeur Mining (CDE), and Hecla Mining (HL) closed down more than -6%, and Newmont Corp (NEM) and Barrick Mining (B) closed down more than -4%.
Software stocks were under pressure on Monday and weighed on the broader market. Atlassian Corp (TEAM) closed down more than -4%, and ServiceNow (NOW) and Oracle (ORCL) closed down more than -3%. Salesforce (CRM) and Intuit (INTU) also fell more than 2%, while Autodesk (ADSK), Microsoft (MSFT), Adobe Systems (ADBE), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and Thomson Reuters (TRI) fell more than -1%.
Cybersecurity stocks rallied on Monday and limited losses in the broader market. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed up more than +4% to lead gainers in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100. Also, Okta (OKTA) and Zscaler (ZS) closed up more than +3%, and Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) closed up more than +2%. In addition, Cloudflare (NET), Fortinet (FTNT), and SentinelOne (S) closed up more than +1%.
Roblox (RBLX) closed down more than -9% after Jeffries downgraded the stock to underperform from hold, with a price target of $38.
Bloom Energy (BE) closed down more than -8% to lead losers in the S&P 500 after Oracle sent a New Mexico data center developer a notice citing force majeure, in an attempt to put off payments if the data center gets derailed.
Boeing (BA) closed down more than -6% to lead losers in the Dow Jones Industrials after the FAA said it is holding off on certification of the company’s new 737 Max 10 jets due to a new software issue, just as the company was in the final stages of winning approval to begin deliveries to airlines.
UiPath (PATH) closed down more than -2% after D.A. Davidson downgraded the stock to underperform from neutral, with a price target of $10.
Snowflake (SNOW) closed down more than -2% after announcing it intends to offer $3.5 billion of convertible senior notes due in 2029 and 2031.
Kodiak Sciences (KOD) closed up more than +178% after saying a Phase-3 study of Zenkuda and tabirafusp-ted met key endpoints in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration.
Netease ADRs (NTES) closed up more than +4% after Morgan Stanley named it a top pick among peers, expecting the company’s new Ananta game to become a blockbuster launch and a core growth driver next year.
Nvidia (NVDA) closed up more than +1% after boosting its share buyback program by $150 billion.
Earnings Reports (9/29/2026)
AAR Corp (AIR), CarMax Inc (KMX), Carnival Corp Ltd (CCL), Concentrix Corp (CNXC), Critical Metals Corp (CRML), Uranium Energy Corp (UEC).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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Stocks Settle Lower on Rising Bond Yields

Key Points
MongoDB CEO CJ Desai decided to leave the company to join Meta's new enterprise venture.
Meta announced the Meta Enterprise Platform today, seemingly taking aim at the enterprise software sector.
MongoDB will also host an investor day tomorrow.
Shares of new-age database company MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) sank as much as 26.9% on Monday, before recovering to a 18.5% decline on the day.
Today, MongoDB's CEO, Chirantan "CJ" Desai, announced that he has left MongoDB to head the new Meta Enterprise Platform, which Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) also announced today.
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It's pretty shocking to see a CEO who was just one year into his tenure leave for a large Magnificent Seven company where he won't be the CEO. Therefore, it's no surprise to see MongoDB falling in the news. But is the sell-off overdone?
Desai departs, and Meta aims for the enterprise
Today, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new enterprise venture in a news release, saying that the new platform will:
... use our strengths that few other companies have: advanced models, leading agents, large-scale infrastructure, and years of working closely with many businesses. Initially, we will focus on bringing our full technology stack, including the Muse agent, Meta Business Agent, Muse API, Muse Code, and more to businesses and developers to help them grow.
It's unclear exactly which products Meta Enterprise will build or augment around Muse, the personal agent that Meta launched on Sept. 8. Meta's advertising empire serves many small businesses, which use its social media platforms to reach customers in highly targeted ways. It appears Meta may be looking to expand into building AI-powered business software for its advertisers, away from its traditional consumer focus.
In a statement, Desai said, "Our goal is to make Meta the place enterprises come to scale their businesses. I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to working with our customers along this journey."
Fortunately for MongoDB, its ex-CEO, Dev Ittycheria, who served as CEO for 11 years between 2014 and 2025, has been an active Board member since his retirement last year. So, MongoDB will still be run by an experienced hand until the Board finds an appropriate successor.
Will Meta compete with MongoDB?
It's somewhat unclear what additional products Meta Enterprise will develop, and whether Meta will develop a competing database. MongoDB is a database software company, but Desai isn't necessarily an expert solely on databases. He also spent years working for Cloudflare and ServiceNow, whose portfolios span multiple enterprise software and infrastructure offerings. Therefore, Meta Enterprise may become a greater threat to small-business software companies. Of note, many SaaS companies are also down today on the news.
MongoDB will actually hold an Investor Day tomorrow. Interested investors should tune in to learn more about the path forward and how MongoDB aims to both capitalize on the opportunities and mitigate the threats posed by the AI era.
Should you buy stock in MongoDB right now?
Before you buy stock in MongoDB, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and MongoDB wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $383,680!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,382,954!*
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*Stock Advisor returns as of September 28, 2026.
Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have positions in Meta Platforms and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cloudflare, Meta Platforms, MongoDB, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Founded in 1993 in Alexandria, VA., by brothers David and Tom Gardner, The Motley Fool is a multimedia financial-services company dedicated to building the world's greatest investment community. Reaching millions of people each month through its website, books, newspaper column, radio show, television appearances, and subscription newsletter services, The Motley Fool champions shareholder values and advocates tirelessly for the individual investor. The company's name was taken from Shakespeare, whose wise fools both instructed and amused, and could speak the truth to the king -- without getting their heads lopped off.

Why MongoDB Sank Today

Cloudflare NET is seeing growing interest in its Zero Trust and SASE products as enterprises look to secure the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) agents. During the second-quarter 2026earnings call management said the biggest reason large companies are reaching out is that they know they need to adopt AI but want to do so securely. As businesses deploy more AI agents, they will need security controls that can protect these agents, along with their human users. This is creating a new opportunity for Cloudflare’s security business.
Cloudflare believes its approach to securing AI agents can help its Zero Trust and SASE platforms gain market share. The company said many traditional Zero Trust vendors continue to focus mainly on human users, while Cloudflare is building its security model around the growing number of AI agents that enterprises will use. In one example, a large U.K. government agency was evaluating a first-generation Zero Trust provider but reconsidered the project after discussing its plans for AI agents with Cloudflare. The agency canceled its existing request for proposal and is now reevaluating the project with an agents-first approach.
The shift toward AI agents could also strengthen demand for Cloudflare’s broader security platform. Management said the company’s SASE and Zero Trust platforms have gained share significantly over the past six months, helped by its developer platform and its focus on AI. Cloudflare’s developer platform gives it a direct connection to companies building and deploying AI agents, creating opportunities for the company to bring security services into these workloads as they scale.
The opportunity comes as AI-driven traffic is expanding rapidly across Cloudflare’s network. More than 50% of the traffic on the network was nonhuman in the second quarter, while more than 80% of major AI companies are already Cloudflare customers. As enterprises deploy more AI agents, the need to secure their identities, access and activity could increase demand for Zero Trust and SASE solutions.
Cloudflare Faces Tough Competition
Zscaler ZS and Palo Alto Networks PANW are also seeing higher demand for solutions that help enterprises secure AI applications, models and autonomous agents.
Zscaler is expanding its platform to secure AI agents and enterprise AI use. Its Zero Trust Exchange for agents and Endpoint AI Security are designed to enforce AI policies and protect agent activity. The company also plans to launch Agentic SecOps, which uses AI agents to detect, investigate and respond to threats at machine speed. Zscaler ended fiscal 2026 with 950-plus Zero Trust Everywhere customers compared with more than 350 at the end of fiscal 2025.
Palo Alto Networks is taking a similar approach with Prisma AIRS, which is focused on securing AI applications and agents. Prisma AIRS crossed $100 million in ARR within four quarters of general availability and had more than 800 customers by the end of fiscal 2026. Further, agentic traffic on PANW’s SASE platform increased ninefold over the past nine months, while SASE bookings grew 40% in fiscal 2026.
NET’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Cloudflare have jumped 77% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Internet – Software industry’s return of 9.2%.
NET YTD Price Return Performance
From a valuation standpoint, NET trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 35.43, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 4.44. The Zacks Value Score of F suggests that NET stock is overvalued.
NET Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NET’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.26 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating a 35.5% increase from the previous year.
Cloudflare currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
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Can AI Security Demand Boost Cloudflare's Zero Trust & SASE Growth?

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) closed up by +0.51% on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) closed up by +0.93%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) closed up +0.42%. December E-mini S&P futures (ESZ26) rose +0.47%, and December E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQZ26) rose +0.39%.
Stock indexes settled higher on Friday amid a slide in crude oil prices. WTI crude oil tumbled more than -2% on Friday on hopes for diplomacy to end the US-Iran war that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Also, strength in chipmakers and AI stocks on Friday supported stocks amid optimism over AI and demand for AI infrastructure.
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Friday’s US economic news was better than expected and supportive for stocks after Aug nondefense ex-aircraft capital goods new orders, a proxy for capital spending, rose +1.6% m/m, stronger than expectations of +0.6% m/m. July was also revised upward to +0.6% m/m from the previously reported unchanged m/m. In addition, the University of Michigan US Sep consumer sentiment index was unexpectedly revised upward by +0.3 to 48.1, stronger than expectations of a downward revision to 47.5.
Gains in stock indexes were limited on Friday after the 10-year T-note yield climbed to a new 19-year high of 5.23% on fears the Fed will continue to raise interest rates. New York Fed President John Williams said Friday that the Fed needs to return inflation to target, and it can't ignore supply shocks if they have a persistent effect on prices.
Nov WTI crude oil prices (CLX26) fell more than -2% on Friday after Iran proposed a 7-day plan to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Under the conditions Iran has set for the agreement, all hostilities would end during the seven days, including in Lebanon; the US would release Iran’s frozen assets (estimated at $12 billion), waive sanctions on Iranian oil, and lift the naval blockade on Iran. Then, on the last day, the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said that after the seven days, comprehensive negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program would immediately begin.
Markets are discounting a 64% chance of a +25 bp Fed rate hike at the next FOMC meeting on October 27-28.
Overseas stock markets settled higher on Friday. The Euro Stoxx 50 closed up +0.48%. China's Shanghai Composite did not trade Friday, with markets in China closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Japan's Nikkei-225 Stock Average rose to a 2.5-week high and closed up +1.30%.
Interest Rates
December 10-year T-notes (ZNZ6) settled unchanged on Friday. The 10-year T-note yield fell -1.2 bp to 5.165%. Dec T-notes recovered from early losses on Friday and moved higher after WTI crude oil fell more than -2%, which eased inflation expectations and sparked some short covering.
T-notes initially moved lower on Friday, and the 10-year T-note yield rose to a new 19-year high of 5.225%. T-notes came under pressure on hawkish comments from New York Fed President John Williams, who stressed that the Fed needs to return inflation to target. T-notes were also undercut by better-than-expected US economic news, including Aug nondefense ex-aircraft capital goods new orders and the University of Michigan Sep US consumer sentiment index.
European government bond yields were mixed on Friday. The 10-year German bund yield rose to a 17-year high of 3.632% and finished up +0.2 bp to 3.601%. The 10-year UK gilt yield fell from a 1.5-week high of 5.408% and finished down -1.5 bp to 5.366%.
The German Oct GfK consumer confidence index fell -3.8 to a 5-month low of -30.6, weaker than expectations of -27.2.
Markets are discounting a 42% chance of a +25 bp ECB rate hike at the ECB’s next meeting on October 29.
US Stock Movers
Chipmakers and AI stocks rallied on Friday, supporting the overall market. The iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) closed up more than +1%. Microchip Technology (MCHP) closed up more than +5% to lead gainers in the Nasdaq 100, and ON Semiconductor (ON) closed up more than +5%. Also, NXP Semiconductors NV (NXPI) and Qualcomm (QCOM) closed up more than +3%, and Analog Devices (ADI), Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research (LRCX), and Texas Instruments (TXN) closed up more than +2%. In addition, ARM Holdings Plc (ARM), SanDisk (SNDK), ASML Holding NV (ASML), Western Digital (WDC), Marvell Technology (MRVL), and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX) closed up more than +1%.
Cybersecurity stocks were under pressure on Friday, led by a -10% decline in Zscaler (ZS) after announcing Ross Tackett as the new chief revenue officer, effective October 1. Also, Gen Digital (GEN) closed down more than -6% to lead losers in the S&P 500, and SentinelOne (S) closed down more than -6%. In addition, Okta (OKTA) closed down more than -5%, and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) closed down more than -3% to lead losers in the Nasdaq 100. Finally, Fortinet (FTNT), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), and Cloudflare (NET) closed down more than -2%.
Atlas Energy Solutions (AESI) closed up more than +13% after announcing a purchase agreement with Wyoming Machinery Company for $340.5 million of Balance of Plant equipment for a power generation project.
People Inc. (PPLI) closed up more than +11% after the Wall Street Journal reported that MGM Resorts International is discussing making a bid for the company.
Humana (HUM) closed up more than +4% after Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight with a price target of $515.
Akamai Technologies (AKAM) closed up more than +3% after agreeing to a seven-year $11.6 billion deal to provide computing power to Anthropic.
Twilio (TWLO) closed down more than -7% after HSBC downgraded the stock to reduce from hold with a price target of $211.
Otis Worldwide (OTIS) closed down more than -1% after Wells Fargo & Co initiated coverage on the stock with a recommendation of underweight.
Comcast Corp (CMCSA) closed down -1% after KeyBanc Capital Markets downgraded the stock to underweight from sector weight with a price target of $18.
Earnings Reports (9/28/2026)
IDT Corp (IDT), Jefferies Financial Group Inc (JEF), Liberty Live Holdings Inc (LLYVA), ReposiTrak Inc (TRAK), SR Bancorp Inc (SRBK), Vail Resorts Inc (MTN).
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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Stocks Settle Higher as Crude Prices Fall on US-Iran Deal Hopes

Cloudflare NET is using its unified platform strategy to offer security, networking and developer services through a single platform as enterprises look to reduce the number of tools they use. In the second quarter of 2026, a Global 2000 European technology company signed a three-year, $11 million contract for Cloudflare’s Application Services and Zero Trust products, including its developer platform for future AI workloads. The customer replaced five legacy point solutions and could eliminate up to seven more as part of its longer-term plan.
Another customer win highlights the value of Cloudflare’s unified platform approach. A Fortune 100 technology company signed a three-year, $5.2 million contract for Cloudflare’s full SASE portfolio. The customer is replacing legacy virtual private networks and virtual desktops and plans to move its global workforce onto a single Zero Trust platform. Cloudflare said its faster network performance and single-pane management helped it win the deal against two first-generation Zero Trust vendors.
Cloudflare is also using its developer platform to expand relationships across its product portfolio. A technology company in Asia-Pacific expanded from an $8.7 million Application Services contract to a $4 million Workers deal in just one year. The customer now uses Cloudflare for Application Security, Zero Trust and its developer platform. These customer expansions show how the company’s unified offering can lead customers from one product to another and increase usage of its platform.
The platform strategy is being supported by strong customer growth. Cloudflare ended the second quarter with 4,698 customers generating more than $100,000 in annual revenues, up 27% year over year and accounted for 73% of total revenue. As more enterprises consolidate legacy tools onto Cloudflare, the company could have more opportunities to expand within existing accounts and increase the value of its customer relationships.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cloudflare’s 2026 and 2027 revenues indicates year-over-year growth of 32.5% and 28.6%, respectively.
Cloudflare Faces Tough Competition
Competitors like Palo Alto Networks PANW and Zscaler ZS are also gaining ground through platform expansion and AI innovation.
Palo Alto Networks is benefiting from stronger enterprise platform adoption. The company added about 220 net new platformizations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, while platformized customers had net revenue retention above 120%. PANW also closed several large enterprise deals, including a $126 million agreement with a global telecom company, a $72 million deal with an IT service provider and a $53 million transaction with a global payments platform.
Zscaler ended fiscal 2026 with 4,182 customers generating more than $100,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR), up 20% year over year. The company also had 785 customers with more than $1 million in ARR, up 18%. Its Z-Flex offering is helping customers expand their spending, with Z-Flex generating more than $770 million in total contract value in the fourth quarter, up more than 60% sequentially.
NET’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of Cloudflare have jumped 82% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Internet – Software industry’s return of 9.1%.
NET YTD Price Return Performance
From a valuation standpoint, NET trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 36.50, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 4.42. The Zacks Value Score of F suggests that NET stock is overvalued.
NET Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NET’s 2026 earnings is pegged at $1.26 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating a 35.5% increase from the previous year.
Cloudflare currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This innovative software-as-a-service firm upped its user base +22% year over year. That rate is increasing and margins are expanding as AI efficiencies take effect. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners, but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like D-Wave Quantum, which shot up +680.1%.
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