My top 10 things to watch Friday, Aug. 15 — Today’s newsletter was written by Zev Fima, the Investing Club’s portfolio analyst. 1. DA Davidson upgraded Club name Salesforce to a hold-equivalent rating from underperform while keeping its price target of $225 a share. Activist investor Starboard increased itss stake in the company by 47%, the firm noted, and “another round of activist involvement may help the company correct course.” 2. Bank of America downgraded Target to an underperform sell rating, citing longer-term sales and margin risks. Its price target was cut to $93 from $105. Target, which has had a rough few years, is among the retailers set to report earnings next week. We’ll also hear from Club stocks TJX Companies and Home Depot . 3. Retail sales in July rose 0.5% from the prior month, as expected, according to the Census Bureau’s advanced report. That’s a good sign for the consumer. The S & P 500 is headed for a positive open and it’s second weekly gain in a row. Consumer sentiment data out at 10 a.m. ET is something to watch. 4. The Dow, meanwhile, is set to open more than 250 points higher, and a 10% pop in shares of UnitedHealth Group is a big reason why. The stock is getting a classic “Buffett bounce,” after Berkshire Hathaway revealed in a securities filing it took a $1.6 billion stake in the embattled health insurer during the second quarter. 5. Shares of American steelmaker Nucor are also up on news of Berkshire taking a position in the second quarter. The same goes for the homebuilders Lennar and DR Horton , as well as billboard operator Lamar Advertising . Warren Buffett is set to hand over the Berkshire CEO role to Greg Abel at year-end. 6. Raymond James upped its price target on Ulta Beauty to $580 from $500 and reiterated its buy-equivalent outperform rating. Analysts argued that “unleashed” turnaround initiatives are starting to take hold at the cosmetics retailer. 7. Analysts at both Evercore ISI and Mizuho raised their price targets on Dell Technologies to $160 from $150. Both cited strong AI server demand. Nvidia’s upcoming Rubin chip in 2026 is expected to be a tailwind to Dell in the back half of next year, Mizuho said. 8. Applied Materials is getting crushed after the semiconductor equipment company issued weak guidance for the current quarter. CEO Gary Dickerson cited the difficult macroeconomic environment and uncertainty relating to U.S. policy. While BofA downgraded the stock to neutral, analysts believe the issues are more company-specific and not a great read-through to Lam Research or KLA Corp . 9. Mizuho raised its price target on Oracle to $300 from $245 and reiterated its outperform buy rating. AI is driving demand for the company’s “differentiated” cloud architecture, analysts said, and its analyst day in October could prove to be another positive catalyst for shares. 10. Morgan Stanley believes Club stock Apple could finally be turning the corner, and the firm also now sees iPhone builds in the September quarter being flat year over year at 54 million, up from its previous estimate of 50 million. After a monster 13% rally last week, Apple shares have added another 1.5% so far this week. 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.
