Inflation data showed that the consumer price index rose 0.3% month-over-month in February, accelerating from a 0.2% increase in January and matching economists’ expectations.

The oil and gas sector, meanwhile, remained highly volatile as the ongoing U.S.–Iran conflict kept the Strait of Hormuz at the center of market attention. Brent crude settled above $100 per barrel on Thursday, marking its first close at that level in roughly three and a half years.

For the week, the S&P (SP500) lost -1.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) dipped -1.3%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell -2.0%.

Here’s what caught investor attention this week:

Oracle (ORCL) jumped after the company reported strong quarterly results, including 44% year-over-year growth in total cloud revenue and 84% growth in its cloud infrastructure segment. The surge was driven largely by demand for AI computing capacity and large infrastructure contracts tied to training and running AI models.

Investor Bill Ackman filed to list his hedge fund firm Pershing Square (PSHZF) on the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction will involve a dual listing structure where Pershing Square’s common shares and the shares of its closed-end fund, Pershing Square USA (PSUS) will both trade on the NYSE.

UiPath (PATH) plunged on Thursday despite beating estimates with its Q4 results. Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.30 topped estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 13.5% Y/Y to $481.1M, exceeding forecasts by $16.3M. For Q1 FY2027, UiPath expects revenue of $395M–$400M (vs. $393.36M consensus), ARR of $1.894B–$1.899B, and non-GAAP operating income of about $80M.

Hims & Hers (HIMS) saw its stock surge about 41% after the company announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk (NVO), the maker of blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. As part of the deal, Novo Nordisk dropped its lawsuit against HIMS and agreed to allow its medications to be sold through HIMS’ telehealth platform, easing legal risks and opening a new growth channel for the company.

Adobe (ADBE) shares slipped after the company reported its first quarter fiscal 2026 financial results and announced that CEO Shantanu Narayen plans to step down from the position he’s held for 18 years. For the quarter ended February 27, Adobe reported adjusted earnings per share of $6.06 versus the consensus estimate of $5.87. Revenue for the first quarter increased 12% year over year to $6.4B, which was more than the $6.28B consensus.

Nebius (NBIS) shares gained after Nvidia (NVDA) announced a $2B investment and a strategic partnership to develop next-generation hyperscale AI cloud infrastructure. The Dutch AI infrastructure provider said the collaboration will support the deployment of more than 5 gigawatts of Nvidia systems by 2030.

Micron Technology (MU) shares jumped nearly 17% over the week amid bullish views from brokerages ahead of its second quarter results. Citi maintained its Buy rating on Micron Technology (MU) and increased the price target on the stock to $430 from $385, citing surging memory prices and AI demand. Wedbush Securities also reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $500 from $320, citing stronger-than-expected pricing. Micron is slated to report its second quarter results on March 18.

Centene (CNC) fell ~21% over the week after the managed care firm’s CEO, Sarah London, presented at the Barclays Healthcare Conference, flagging continuing headwinds in its operations in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. London stated that consistent with the company’s prior expectation of a high-teens to mid-30% drop, CNC expects the ACA membership decline to be “at the higher end of that and possibly higher than the top end of that” by the end of the year.

NIO (NIO) reported its first operating profit and strong revenue growth in Q4, posting a non-GAAP operating profit of RMB1.25B and total revenue of about RMB87.5B, driven by higher deliveries and a stronger mix of newer models.

Fertilizer stocks, Mosaic (MOS), Nutrien (NTR) and CF Industries (CF), rose as the Middle East war continues to disrupt fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. More than a third of global fertilizer trade moves through the waterway, and disruptions are hitting during the spring planting season.

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The deal, pending court approval, resolves

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As Q4 earnings season draws to a close, investors are shifting focus to the updated quant ratings following the latest wave of corporate results. These scores offer a snapshot of how companies rank across key factors, including valuation, growth, profitability, momentum, and revisions.

Below is an overview of large-cap consumer discretionary companies with market capitalizations between $2B and $10B, highlighting those with the highest and lowest quant ratings. The comparison underscores which stocks strengthened their fundamentals and which ones lagged.

Among the highest SA quant-rated companies, all having a Strong Buy ratings are:

• Victoria’s Secret & Co. (VSCO), Quant Rating: 4.81, Strong Buy.
• Aritzia (ATZAF), Quant Rating: 4.70, Strong Buy.
• LCI Industries (LCII), Quant Rating: 4.67, Strong Buy.
• Perdoceo Education (PRDO), Quant Rating: 4.65, Strong Buy.
• PHINIA (PHIN), Quant Rating: 4.64, Strong Buy.

Among the lowest SA quant-rated companies, all having a Strong Sell ratings are:

• Duolingo (DUOL), Quant Rating: 1.04, Strong Sell.
• Lucid Group (LCID), Quant Rating: 1.06, Strong Sell.
• Metaplanet (MTPLF), Quant Rating: 1.11, Strong Sell.
• Pandora (PNDRY), Quant Rating: 1.22, Strong Sell.
• RH (RH), Quant Rating: 1.28, Strong Sell.

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Below is an overview of large-cap consumer discretionary companies with market capitalizations above $10B, highlighting those with the highest and lowest quant ratings. The comparison underscores which stocks strengthened their fundamentals and which ones lagged.

Top quant-rated stocks:

• General Motors (GM), Quant Rating: 4.83, Strong Buy.
• Ford Motor (F), Quant Rating: 4.81, Strong Buy.
• Amazon (AMZN), Quant Rating: 4.74, Strong Buy.
• Industria de Diseño Textil (IDEXY), Quant Rating: 4.69, Strong Buy.
• Bridgestone (BRDCY), Quant Rating: 4.57, Strong Buy.

Bottom quant-rated stocks:

• Flutter Entertainment (FLUT), Quant Rating: 1.20, Strong Sell.
• Sea Limited (SE), Quant Rating: 1.72, Sell.
• adidas (ADDYY), Quant Rating: 1.83, Sell.
• Accor (ACCYY), Quant Rating: 1.98, Sell.
• Genuine Parts Company (GPC), Quant Rating: 2.60, Hold.

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• Bank of America’s (BAC) President, International Bernard Mensah, sold 94,000 shares at $46.94 per share for a total value of $4.41M, leaving him with 170,184 shares.
• Visa (V) Director Lloyd Carney disposed of 650 shares at $309.62 per share, generating $201,253. Carney retains 2,679 shares following the sale.
• At Altria (MO), Chief HR Officer and CCO Charles Whitaker sold 27,908 shares at $67.57 per share for $1.89M, bringing his holdings down to 181,886 shares.
• Costco’s (COST) Executive Vice President Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares at $1,003.02 per share in a transaction valued at $732,205, leaving her with 6,121 shares.
• ConocoPhillips (COP) Director Timothy Leach sold 40,000 shares at $118.79 per share for proceeds of $4.75M, reducing his stake to 411,211 shares.
• American Tower (AMT) Director Rajesh Kalathur purchased 2,671 shares at $185.30 per share in a transaction valued at $494,936, bringing his total holdings to 7,372 shares.
• Expand Energy’s (EXE) interim president and CEO, Michael Wichterich, acquired 2,000 shares at $107.50 per share for a total worth of $215,000, increasing his stake to 83,498 shares.
• C3.ai (AI) director Jim Snabe bought 25,000 shares at $9 per share, amounting to $225,000. The transaction has lifted his total holdings to 423,000.
• Coupang (CPNG) director Neil Mehta purchased a stake worth $136.56M. He bought a total of 7.35M shares in the price range of $18.4 to $18.64 in three separate transactions. Mehta owns a total of 55.39M shares following the purchase.

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In an X post, the billionaire investor wrote that the project named Terafab “launches in 7 days,” signaling the beginning of a massive undertaking that could cost billions of dollars but could ease supply constraints for the company and help it face potential geopolitical risks.

In January, Musk suggested that Tesla’s (TSLA) existing chip suppliers, Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), Micron Technology (MU), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), cannot supply the EV maker at the levels it needs.

“In order to remove the probable constraint in three or four years, we are going to have to build a Tesla TeraFab.” Musk said during the company’s earnings call, adding, “A very big fab that includes logic, memory, and packaging, domestically.”

“That’s going to be very important to ensure we are protected against geopolitical risks,” he said. “I think people maybe are underweighting some of the geopolitical risks that are going to be a major factor in a few years.”

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Oracle upgraded after Q3 results

J.P. Morgan upgraded Oracle (ORCL) to Overweight from Neutral, following the company’s third-quarter results.

The brokerage noted that the severe selloff improves risk-reward against a backdrop of thick investor pessimism. However, the firm lowered PT on the stock to $210 from $230.

Analysts led by Mark Murphy said that they upgraded the shares due to several reasons. They said the material selloff in Oracle’s shares, down 55% since mid-September (versus +1% for the S&P 500 and 0% for the NASDAQ), de-risks valuation.

Murphy and his team noted that the upgrade was also based on incremental proof points supporting the ability to accelerate top line rapidly and converge on growth territory while still growing operating income in the double-digits.

Morgan Stanley adds CrowdStrike to its Top Pick

Morgan Stanley upgraded CrowdStrike (CRWD) to Overweight from Equal-weight and added the cybersecurity company to its Top Pick.

“Upgrading CRWD as durable platform winner from favorable AI positioning, growing uptake of emerging modules and improving endpoint trends. Valuation expensive, but view 20%+ topline growth potential, improving margin/FCF profile and defensible moat as ample justification,” said analyst Meta Marshall, and raised PT on the stock to $510 from $487.

The analysts see CrowdStrike as best able to outperform in coming years, as the platform is most able to gain share, along with Palo Alto Networks (PANW).

Occidental Petroleum gets two analyst upgrades

Wells Fargo upgraded Occidental Petroleum (OXY) to Overweight from Underweight with a $69 price target, up from $47, while Piper Sandler raised the stock to Overweight from Neutral with a $66 PT, up from $54.

Wells Fargo’s Sam Margolin double upgraded Occidental, saying the stock’s peer-leading oil sensitivity is “both an opportunity and a risk,” but stronger Permian Basin productivity and improved capital intensity now support a more constructive setup.

Piper Sandler’s Mark Lear views Occidental as one of the best operators in the Delaware Basin that continues to deliver among the best operating performance in the basin despite some degradation in FY 2025, and noted the company’s FY 2026 guidance was much more capital efficient than initial soft guidance.

Micron in focus ahead of quarterly results

Citi increased price target on Micron (MU) to $430 from $385 ahead of the company’s quarterly results, citing surging memory prices and AI demand.

“We raise our Feb-Q/Apr-Q estimates above the Street driven by better YTD [year-to-date] memory prices. Citi global memory analyst Peter Lee expects DRAM ASPs [average selling prices] to increase 171% Y/Y in 2026 on strong data center demand and NAND ASPs +127% Y/Y on robust eSSD demand. Moreover, media reports (etnews, 4 March 2026) indicate Samsung increasing the DRAM prices 100% Q/Q in 1Q,” said analysts led by Atif Malik.

Wedbush Securities also reiterated its Outperform rating and raised PT to $500 from $320, citing stronger-than-expected pricing.

Nvidia (NVDA) was in focus as Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and $300 price target on the semiconductor giant ahead of its annual GTC event, set for next week.

Jefferies analysts led by Laurence Alexander raised earnings estimates for several fertilizer producers and upgraded Nutrien (NTR) to Buy, citing a sharp rise in benchmark prices following geopolitical disruptions to production and shipping routes. The brokerage raised its price target by 30% to $96 from $74.

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Below is a snapshot of small-cap consumer staples stocks with market capitalizations between $30M and $2B, highlighting those with the highest and lowest quant ratings after earnings.

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For the week, the S&P (SP500) lost 1.60%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) dipped 1.26%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell 1.98%.

The financial sector recorded losses for the third consecutive week, with State Street Financial Sel Sec SPDR ETF (XLF) sliding 3.32% to close at $48.89.

Financials has emerged as the worst-performing group in the S&P 500 sectors so far in 2026 as investors rotate away from the sector amid heightened market volatility. XLF has pulled back by ~11% year-to-date.

The weekly performance was shaped by escalating geopolitical tensions, sector rotation into defensives, and technical deterioration.

Among the megacap stocks, large diversified banks extended losses from the prior week.

Wells Fargo (WFC) (-7.86% W/W to $74.10), HSBC Holdings (HSBC) (-6.97% W/W to $78.19), and Goldman Sachs Group (GS) (-4.77% W/W to $782.21) topped the list.

Wells Fargo shares fell for seven straight sessions even as the Fed board confirmed the termination of a 2018 consent order, the only remaining consent order against the San Francisco-based bank.

Banks are said to be ramping up their Middle East security measures amid the Iran conflict.

Mastercard (MA) followed, losing 4.66% to close the week at $497.99. This week, the payments company launched a new crypto program to create a forum for dialogue and collaboration among crypto-native companies.

For the largecap stocks, Blue Owl Capital (OWL) was the biggest decliner, having lost 11.53% W/W to $8.75. Private credit concerns resurfaced after a series of recent credit issues and fund restrictions put the fast-growing sector under fresh scrutiny, pressuring shares of several publicly traded alternative asset managers and lenders.

Seeking Alpha created a list of firms with private credit exposure along with their Quant ratings and year-to-date performance, which can be accessed here.

Meanwhile, crypto stocks were the surprise winners in the category, shrugging off the Middle East concerns impacting broader markets.

IREN (IREN) (+13.30% W/W to $41.58) and Circle Internet Group (CRCL) (+13.22% W/W to $115.38) led the gainers.

The crypto sell-off could be entering its final phase, Bloomberg News reported, citing Brett Munster of Blockforce Capital.

The majority of the drawdown appears to be behind us, and the asymmetry is shifting, Munster reportedly said, adding that a potential turnaround could come about mid-year.

The gains came alongside hopes of a more crypto-friendly regulation in the U.S. On March 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced an MoU and coordination for “providing a fit-for-purpose regulatory framework for crypto assets and other emerging technologies”, among other things.

Furthermore, crypto stocks, MARA Holdings (MARA) (+16.35% W/W to $9.32) and Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) (+15.06% W/W to $35.07), led the midcap gainers during the week. Meanwhile, PJT Partners (PJT) (-10.23% W/W to $129.20) and Credit Acceptance (CACC) (-10.06% W/W to $447.79) led the midcap losers.

CACC declined 9.35% on Friday amid a high short interest of 18.35% of the total float (as of February 27). Meanwhile, UBS reduced its price target on PJT Partners to $151 from $180 during the week.

Among smallcap stocks, CION Investment (CION) stood out as a notable decliner, losing 17.61% to $6.55. The company posted a Q4 beat in top- and bottom-line results, but saw its earnings stay unchanged year-over-year and revenue decrease from the prior-year quarter.

Esquire Financial (ESQ) was a significant gainer in the category, adding 10.73% from the prior week to $109.99. This week, Esquire announced the acquisition of Signature Bancorporation in an all-stock transaction, with the aggregate deal value coming to ~$348.4M. Raymond James double upgraded the stock to Strong Buy from Market Perform after the announcement.

Greenlight Capital Re (GLRE) was another winner in the category. The stock benefitted from its Q4 financial results.

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With the addition of Amgen (AMGN) and GSK (GSK), a total of 54 prescription drugs from six pharma companies will be available on the site.

TrumpRx launched last month with Eli Lilly (LLY), Pfizer (PFE), Novo Nordisk (NVO), and AstraZeneca (AZN) agreeing to sell their products on the site for cash-paying customers as part of President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) drug pricing policy.

“GSK and Amgen connecting with TrumpRx.gov to offer prescription drugs directly to consumers at most-favored-nations pricing marks another milestone for President Trump’s affordability push,” said White House spokesman Kush Desai.

On TrumpRx, Amgen (AMGN) plans to offer Amjevita, an off-patent version of AbbVie’s (ABBV) arthritis therapy Humira, at $299 compared to its current U.S. list price of $1,484.

The California-based pharma giant will also offer a roughly 60% discount for its migraine therapy, Aimovig, and the cholesterol drug Repatha on the website.

Meanwhile, Incruse, a treatment from GSK (GSK) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, will be on sale at $159 with a 55% discount. The British drugmaker’s other prescription medicines, Arnuity, Relenza, and Anoro, will be available at discounts ranging from 10% to 51% on TrumpRx, according to the report.

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