The market climbed Thursday as softer producer inflation reinforced the risk-on mood and semiconductor strength carried the S&P 500 above 7,800 for the first time.

Workday’s reported Silver Lake talks transformed one potential buyout into a broad software re-rating, while SanDisk’s 2030 targets strengthened the case for sustained AI memory demand. Cisco and Cerebras tanked after their respective reports last night. Crude fell -2.5%.

Stocktwits traders chased UiPath’s software rebound and debated whether Applied Materials’ post-earnings drop reflected excessive expectations or a valuation finally meeting gravity.

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Applied Materials, the chip-factory equipment supplier, beat quarterly estimates Thursday and forecast stronger-than-expected results as AI spending lifted demand for memory and advanced manufacturing tools. Shares still fell after hours because a stock that had more than doubled this year needed more than another clean beat.

The RIP: $AMAT ( ▼ 2.48% ) -4.2% after hours to $512. Adjusted EPS reached $3.50 vs. $3.39 expected, while revenue increased 24.8% to $9.12B vs. $8.99B. Semiconductor Systems revenue reached $7.04B, and adjusted gross margin was 50.4%.

Chip-equipment holders received a fourth-quarter midpoint of $10.25B in revenue and $4.02 adjusted EPS, both above expectations, plus management’s call for another strong growth year in 2027. @Huck18 identified the complication: even after the beat, Applied Materials still carried a richer earnings valuation than Nvidia, Alphabet, Lam Research, and KLA.

The Community Read: The $AMAT room is bullish after the beat, inspect the valuation fight ->

Silver Lake’s reported talks to acquire Workday ignited Thursday’s software rebound into a takeover treasure hunt. The HR and finance software provider logged its best day ever, while investors chased other discounted names carrying the same AI-disruption scars. Silver Lake partnered with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund to buy out EA for %55B last year.

The RIP: $WDAY ( ▲ 17.78% ) +17.8%, $FIG ( ▲ 10.95% ) +10.9%, $PATH +9.3%, $TTD +7.9%, $ADBE +4.5%, and $CRM +4.2%. Workday closed at $206.45 after climbing as much as 30% intraday, with 15.4M shares traded at 4.1x recent pace.

Workday was the ignition, but the basket was the message. Silver Lake’s interest suggested private equity still sees durable value in subscription software even as investors debate whether AI agents will hollow out seat-based products. UiPath and Figma supplied the strongest read-through, while Adobe and Salesforce confirmed the move reached mature software platforms, not just smaller speculative names.

For software holders, the next test is whether Thursday started a lasting re-rating or merely inspired a one-day game of “guess the next buyout.” Workday’s Aug. 27 earnings remain the first operating checkpoint, and @Andu337 argued the preliminary talks and missing offer price left the spike vulnerable to profit-taking. Reuters reported the talks are ongoing, covering the past couple of months. Confirmation requires firm deal terms for Workday or improving growth and AI monetization across the broader group.

The Community Read: The $WDAY room is bullish, inspect the buyout math powering software ->

NeOnc Technologies announced positive topline results from the Phase 2a portion of its NEO100-01 study in recurrent or progressive IDH1-mutant high-grade glioma.

The study met its primary endpoint, with six-month progression-free survival of 48.9% versus a pre-specified 20% benchmark for standard of care (p=0.0047). Median overall survival reached 26.09 months, while five of 24 patients remain on treatment. No major toxicities were reported across the cohort.

NEO100 is self-administered intranasally and designed to reach the brain directly while bypassing the blood-brain barrier. NeOnc plans to request a Type B meeting with the FDA to align on a potential registrational development path.

_{*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.}

_{This newsletter was produced on behalf of NeOnc Technologies Holdings, Inc. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at neonc.com or review its public filings. This advertisement may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations. Actual results may differ materially due to factors inherent in clinical development, regulatory processes, market conditions, and other risks. NeOnc undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.}

SanDisk, the NAND flash storage maker, used Thursday’s investor day to forecast durable AI-driven growth through fiscal 2030. Management paired mid-to-high-teens revenue growth with unusually rich margin and cash-return targets, sending shares sharply higher.

The RIP: $SNDK ( ▲ 13.67% ) +13.7% to $1,528.11 on 21.7M shares. Fiscal 2028 to 2030 targets include roughly 80% adjusted gross margin, 75% adjusted operating margin, 50% adjusted free-cash-flow margin, and 100% of excess cash returned after investment.

“Our confidence in the sustainability of the model comes from our multi-year NBMs that are based on intimate relationships with our customers and grounded in innovation and collaboration,” CFO Luis Visoso said in a statement reported by MarketWatch.

Memory investors care because eight multiyear customer agreements already cover about half of SanDisk’s fiscal 2027 output and two-thirds in fiscal 2028, challenging the idea that current pricing is purely cyclical. @randomaccount3 sees $1,700+ after any profit-taking, but the measurable test is whether those contracts preserve roughly 80% gross margins as supply and pricing normalize.

The Community Read: The $SNDK room is bullish on 2030 targets, test the margin math ->

6.1K WATCHERS · 75% BULLISH · NORMAL ACTIVITY

TSS said quarterly revenue fell 20% to $35.1M as lower-margin procurement sales dropped 45%, overshadowing 46% growth in systems integration and a 12% adjusted EBITDA gain. The bullish room must decide whether the selloff mispriced a better business mix or exposed how much growth still depends on one major customer.

6.9K WATCHERS · 65% BULLISH · NORMAL ACTIVITY

Fundrise Innovation Fund surged before previously restricted shares become eligible to trade Friday, one month earlier than originally planned. With the fund still trading above its underlying asset value, the community is split over whether exposure to SpaceX and Anthropic can absorb incoming supply without another premium reset.

10K WATCHERS · 78% BULLISH · NORMAL ACTIVITY

Candel climbed without a fresh company release as traders returned to its planned fourth-quarter biologics license application for prostate cancer therapy CAN-2409. The next argument is whether manufacturing readiness has sufficiently reduced filing risk or whether partnership and buyout hopes are getting ahead of the FDA process.

Blu Dot used Roku Ads Manager to drive incredible results for its furniture sales event. Its strategy hinged on custom audiences and retargeting, where intent was strongest.

“Roku has been a top performer,” said Blu Dot’s Claire Folkestad. “We have seen…CPMs lower than any other CTV partner we've worked with.”

Learn More

*3rd Party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Stocktwits. See disclosure here.

📈 Bill Ackman Takes Another Swing At NFLX After Colossal 2022 Loss: 'Netflix Has Effectively Won The Streaming Wars'

🤑 Michael Burry Adds To NBIS, MU, ORCL Shorts — Says Nebius Is ‘What The Top Of A Boom Looks Like’

😨 Sailor went overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln this month as conditions on the ship prompt lawmakers’ demand for answers

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💰 Anthropic CFO Krishna Rao is leading early IPO meetings with investors and has not discussed valuation, sources say

Macro: Retail sales (8:30 AM ET), Business inventories (10:00 AM ET), University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (preliminary) (10:00 AM ET). 📊
Pre-Market Earnings: $DVLT Datavault AI Inc., $OTLK Outlook Therapeutics Inc, $NRXP NRX Pharmaceuticals Inc, $PAVM PAVmed Inc, $DTST Data Storage Corp, +4 more. ☀️
After-Market Earnings: $SUNE SUNation Energy Inc, $CTXR Citius Pharmaceuticals Inc, $NUAI New Era Energy & Digital Inc., $NAKA Nakamoto Inc., $ASPI ASP Isotopes Inc, +6 more. 🌙

P.S. You can listen to all of these earnings calls on Stocktwits.

Want to see some change? Email me, Kevin Travers with feedback, and follow me on Stocktwits. Refer a friend for this quarter’s edition of The RIP Forecast 😎

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