JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur expects most of the Semiconductor companies he covers to report December quarter numbers in-line with his and consensus expectations. The stocks should start to discount improving fundamentals in the first half of 2019 and should be accumulated on any further pullbacks, Sur tells investors in a research note. While the analyst anticipates another round of consensus estimate cuts in the January earnings season, he believes further share downside is limited since many of his stocks are down 25% from the peak in March/June of last year. In large cap stocks, Sur's top pick is Broadcom (AVGO) and he also favors Nvidia (NVDA), Intel (INTC), Maxim Integrated (MXIM) and Micron Technology (MU). The analyst's small cap top picks include Inphi (IPHI) and Mellanox (MLNX). In Semi Capital Equipment, Sur favors Lam Research (LRCX).

Wednesday's total option volume of 42.3 million contracts resulted in net open interest growth of 4.78 million calls and 3.88 million puts. Tesla (TSLA), Meta Platforms (Facebook) (META), Ford (F) and NVIDIA (NVDA) saw the greatest growth. Top five new positions opened include 42k Tesla (TSLA) Aug-24 185 calls, 35k Taiwan Semi (TSM) Aug-24 110 calls, 30k Capri Holdings (CPRI) May-24 35 calls, 29k Ford (F) 4/26 weekly 13.5 calls and 26k Tesla (TSLA) 5/3 weekly 75 puts.

BofA analyst Vivek Arya raised the firm's price target on Lam Research to $1,000 from $970 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. Lam "delivered a solid beat and raise" with growth expected to accelerate into the second half of the calendar year, says the firm, which adds that it is "beginning to see the green shoots of NAND recovery."

TD Cowen raised the firm's price target on Lam Research to $1,000 from $975 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm said NAND recovery is off to a good start with two consecutive quarters of 25-30% sequential growth and other vectors are also showing growth.

Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini lowered the firm's price target on Lam Research to $850 from $880 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm said they posted a good print and guidance as its report and commentary were inline with Susquehanna's preview.

Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. HIGHER AFTER EARNINGSImpinj (PI) up... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Notable companies reporting after the market close, with earnings consensus, include Meta Plataforms (META), consensus $4.32... IBM (IBM), consensus $1.60... ServiceNow (NOW), consensus $3.14... Lam Research (LRCX), consensus $7.30... Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), consensus $11.68... O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), consensus $9.26... Ford Motor (F), consensus 42c... United Rentals (URI), consensus $8.32... Align Technology (ALGN), consensus $1.97... Molina Healthcare (MOH), consensus $5.59... Teradyne (TER), consensus 33c... Universa Health Services (UHS), consensus $3.16... Western Union (WU), consensus 41c.

Microsoft (MSFT) is scheduled to report results of the third quarter of its fiscal year 2024 after the market close on Thursday, April 25, with a conference call scheduled for 5:30 pm ET. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here