My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Dec. 4 1. Stocks were little changed ahead of this morning’s open following bad news/good news for the job market. Layoff announcements for the year topped 1.1 million, the most since 2020, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas . Initial jobless claims, however, retreated and came in lower than expected, according to the Labor Department. 2. Salesforce rose modestly this morning after the enterprise software maker posted a huge earnings beat and raised guidance. Still, the company missed slightly on sales. Is Agentforce’s gain big enough to offset the slowdown in the rest of the Salesforce operation? Are we at an inflection point? Do we have to act before the inflection point? The core business actually held up well. We like Salesforce’s Informatica acquisition, which contributed to management’s guidance raise. 3. Snowflake stock sank nearly 9% after the company’s guidance for operating margins came in weaker than expected, implying that the just-reported great operating margins aren’t sustainable. Plus, the cloud data analytics firm is ramping up spending. Given how solid Snowflake’s sales are, I get that, but others don’t. 4. Barclays raised its price target on Club name TJX to $172 from $168 after analysts met with management. The holiday season for the Marshalls parent is off to a great start as its off-price “moat continues to drive global share gains.” Analysts held their buy rating on the stock, as we did as well after last month’s beat-and-raise quarter . 5. Dollar Tree beat on quarterly earnings-per-share and revenue. The bargain retailer also raised its full-year EPS guidance range, which at the low-end exceeded estimates. Lots of positive analyst calls, including Citi, which raised its Dollar Tree price target to $132 from $124. This store has entered the realm of the $100,000 consumer. 6. Five Below is the new loved “dollar” store and has been so for the last few quarters. The company blew away estimates with its latest quarterly EPS. Revenue also beat. Like Dollar Tree, Five Below raised its full-year earnings guidance range, with the low-end crushing estimates. 7. Barclays takes its GE Vernova price target to $720 from $710, and keeps its buy rating. Analysts cited a neutral view on the sector into 2026 and argued that expectations for end markets beyond data centers and aerospace are now low. Club name GE Vernova is a good stock to own for exposure to natural gas, nuclear, and wind power. We’ll be watching the company’s investor day on Dec. 9. 8. GE Aerospace was initiated with a positive rating from Susquehanna and a $350 price target. The group has struggled. But the analysts did point out that GE engines power three out of every four commercial engine flights globally, with a high-margin services business driving profitability. 9. Citi lowered its Oracle price target to $375 from $415. I think it’s odd to still have a PT so high. Oracle shares, which have struggled since all-time highs back in September, were stable this morning. The stock popped 3.3% yesterday to $207. It looks like the analysts waited for a big up day to make their call. Citi still expects strong bookings. Oracle reports earnings next week. 10. JPMorgan put out a big homebuilders note, raising its price targets on D.R. Horton ($136 from $130; kept sell) and KB Home ($71 from $67; kept hold). The analysts upgraded Toll Brothers (buy to hold; PT to $161 from $138). The analysts, however, remained cautious on the group as a whole. They also downgraded Lennar (sell from hold; PT to $115 from $118). The Lennar call seems a bit extreme to me. 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.
