My top 10 things to watch Friday, May 15 1. We’re headed for a sharply lower open. Weakness in tech names has Nasdaq 100 futures off more than 1.5%. U.S. oil benchmark WTI crude is up 3% to $104 a barrel. Market interest rates are surging, too, with the 10-year Treasury yield topping 4.56%. The 30-year topped 5.1%, the highest in roughly a year. Low bond yields have been oxygen for the stock rally. 2. Applied Materials posted a fantastic quarter, with beats on the top and bottom lines. Can’t boost its output of machines and tools to build semiconductor chips any more than it has, so supplies stay tight. Citi raised its price target to $550 from $520. Despite strong results, AMAT is down 2%, along with those of several other semiconductor companies. The iShares Semiconductor ETF is on pace to break a six-week win streak. 3. Loop Capital initiated coverage of Vertiv , a data center cooling and power supplier, with a buy rating and $500 price target. That implies over 30% upside from yesterday’s close. I’ve loved Vertiv for years . But I don’t love that analysts called AI infrastructure spending a “super cycle.” That phrase always gives me pause, even though I’m a big believer in the theme. 4. The order book of companies like HVAC player Trane Technologies is why I’m a believer. CEO Dave Regnery joined me on “Mad Money” last night, saying its order rates have been “off the chart.” Regnery recalls when $6 billion was considered a record backlog for Trane. It was $10.7 billion at the end of Q1. 5. RBC Capital says it’s time to buy Texas Roadhouse , raising the restaurant chain to a buy from hold. The firm sees potential for beef prices to decline, which would improve margins. This used to be a great stock, but it couldn’t escape stubbornly high beef inflation. We bailed from our position at a nice profit in February. We just didn’t have much conviction that beef prices would flip from a headwind to a tailwind in the coming year, given low cattle supplies. 6. Deutsche Bank says buy BWX Technologies , going to buy from hold, citing an improving backdrop for nuclear energy. BWX gets most of its sales from the Navy by designing, engineering, and manufacturing nuclear components, reactors, and fuel for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and subs. It had a good quarter early this month, but was poorly received. We added the speculative name to our Bullpen in April as we seek out new ideas for the portfolio. It is the only commercial manufacturer of heavy nuclear components in North America. 7. C.H. Robinson was added to the analyst focus list at JPMorgan. The firm said yesterday’s Supreme Court decision, which increases freight brokers’ liability exposure, will benefit larger players like C.H. Robinson over time. Trucking stocks like Old Dominion Freight Line and J.B. Hunt have been heating up in recent months, but C.H. Robinson has lagged them. 8. Morgan Stanley downgraded Viking Holdings to a hold from buy. The firm says its thesis on the cruise company has played out, with the company trading at a rich valuation relative to its peers. Goldman Sachs stays overweight, citing its stronger-than-expected results on Thursday, plus a $4B cash balance, which could support future capital returns and EPS/free cash flow per share growth. 9. Figma price target dropped to $30 from $35 at Piper Sandler — but here’s the problem: The PT was so high it had to be cut even though they loved the quarter. The firm noted the company, which helps product managers and software engineers design digital products, reported an impressive Q1, with revenue growth of 46%. Shares are soaring nearly 9% in the premarket. 10. JPMorgan upped its price target on Dell Technologies to $280 from $205 and kept its buy rating. The IT hardware analysts like Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise the most into earnings, adding that memory concerns have cooled. Dell, a close partner of Club name Nvidia , has been my favorite of the server makers. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
