^{_{Welcome to the TraderTV Live Morning Research Note. Here's what's making major moves in the market today.}}

0815 - ADP employment change for December: Expected 50k; Prior -32k
1000 - JOLTS job openings for November: Expected 7.6M; Prior 7.67M
1000 - ISM services PMI for December: Expected 52.2; Prior 52.6
1000 - Factory orders m/m for October: Expected -1.2%; Prior 0.2%
1610 - Fed’s Bowman speaks

Warner Bros Discovery Inc (WBD)

-0.77%

The company’s board unanimously concluded that Paramount Skydance’s amended tender offer is not in the best interests of the company or its shareholders. The board also determined the proposal does not qualify as a “Superior Proposal” under WBD’s merger agreement with Netflix. In an interview with CNBC following the announcement, Warner Bros board chair Samuel Di Piazza said that the company is “not in dialog” with Paramount Skydance and that they would have to provide a “compelling” offer for WBD to consider.

Strategy (MSTR)

+4.18%

Trading sharply higher premarket after MSCI decided to keep cryptocurrency-heavy treasury firms in its Global Investable Market Indexes. The index provider said further research is needed to distinguish investment-oriented crypto holdings from operational uses before making any changes.

GameStop Corp (GME)

+2.33%

Trading higher premarket after unveiling a proposed compensation plan for CEO Ryan Cohen, valued at $3.54 billion. The plan includes 171.5 million stock options at a $20.66 strike price that vest only if aggressive performance targets are met, including market capitalization rising from $20B to $100B and cumulative EBITDA of $2B to $10B across nine tranches. Cohen receives no salary, cash bonus, or time-based equity, recused himself from the board decision and upcoming vote. Shareholders will vote on the plan in March or April 2026.

Meta Platforms Inc (META)

-0.40%

On watch after the Financial Times reports China’s commerce ministry is reviewing Meta’s $2B acquisition of AI assistant Manus for potential technology export control violations. The probe is reportedly examining whether relocating Manus staff and technology to Singapore required an export license.

AST SpaceMobile Inc (ASTS)

-7.21%

Scotiabank downgraded the stock from Sector Perform to Sector Underperform with a $45.60 price target. The analyst argued that AST SpaceMobile’s ~$98 share price and ~$37B market cap are disconnected from fundamentals given a lack of retail customers, heavy capex, slow adoption, and meaningful cash flow unlikely before 2028–2029. While acknowledging the company’s disruptive technology, Scotiabank sees intense competitive pressure from Starlink’s scale and execution and believes a fair valuation sits closer to $45–$55 per share.

Micron and Sandisk

-1.15%

Both of these high-bandwidth memory (HBM) plays are pulling back after rallying on Tuesday, with Micron closing more than 10% higher and Sandisk gaining 28%. On Wednesday morning, UBS reiterated its buy rating on Micron and raised its price target to $400 from $300, citing strong AI-driven demand for memory as a catalyst for a durable upcycle. Meanwhile, Jefferies issued a cautious note on Sandisk amid concerns that aggressive YMTC capacity ramping and cuts to client SSD specifications could pressure the NAND market.

MU, SNDK

Mobileye Global Inc (MBLY)

+11.90%

Gapping up after announcing a definitive agreement to acquire humanoid robotics startup Mentee Robotics for $900 million, paid with about $612 million in cash and up to 26.2 million shares. The deal expands Mobileye beyond autonomous driving into Physical AI and humanoid robotics, leveraging strong autonomy momentum and a growing $24.5 billion automotive revenue pipeline over the next eight years. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2026.

Alphabet Inc (GOOGL)

-0.43%

On watch following an analyst note from JPMorgan on the company’s TPU offerings. The analyst noted that says stronger demand is driving another upward revision to Google TPU expectations, now modeling 3.7M units in 2026 and 5.0M in 2027; this lifts Broadcom’s CoWoS allocation to 230k/350k wafers and MediaTek’s to 18k/55k wafers over the same period. They expect TPU v7 (Ironwood) and v8 (AX from Broadcom, X from MediaTek) to dominate volumes, all handled by TSMC’s CoWoS-S, with OSAT qualification efforts ongoing but unlikely to contribute meaningfully before 2027.

Oil Stocks

+0.54%

On watch following reports that the CEOs of oil companies are set to meet at the White House on Thursday to discuss the situation in Venezuela, with US President Trump indicating that the Venezuela will be turning 30 million-50 million oil barrels to the US. Separately, the Financial Times reported that Chevron is partnering with Quantum Energy Partners to bid for Lukoil’s international assets valued around $22 billion, with plans to split the assets if a deal is reached.

CVX, XOM, COP, DVN, OXY

Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

+0.14%

The Korea Economic Daily quoted Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon as saying that his company is discussing contract manufacturing of 2nm chips with Samsung Electronics. Amon reportedly indicated that Qualcomm is engaging multiple foundries, with design work already completed and commercialization targeted in the near future.

Applied Digital Corp (APLD)

+1.45%

Trading higher premarket after Freedom Capital initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and a $36 price target, highlighting strong growth prospects. The firm expects APLD’s Polaris Forge 1 and 2 projects, totaling 700 MW of contracted power, to drive adjusted EBITDA margins above 60% within two years and deliver levered IRRs in the mid-20% range. Applied Digital is scheduled to report earnings after the bell on Wednesday, January 7.

Ventyx Biosciences Inc (VTYX)

+59.07%

Gapping up after the Wall Street Journal reported that Eli Lilly is in talks to acquire the company for more than $1 billion. Ventyx has a market capitalization of $717.15 million and a float of 64 million shares, approximately 9.5% of which are sold short.