Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the stock market Thursday
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CNBC Finance
4 min read
My top 10 things to watch Thursday, Feb. 5 1. S & P futures tumbled this morning on weakness in Big Tech. Bitcoin fell below $70,000 for the first time since November 2024 as the crypto sell-off intensified. Precious metals selling resumed, with silver prices tanking 10% this morning. Oil prices sank 2.5% on fears of escalation between the U.S. and Iran. Safe-haven bond buying sent yields lower. 2. More evidence of a shaky job market: Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said its monthly look at planned layoffs at American companies came in at its highest January total since the global financial crisis. Hiring intentions reached their lowest levels since the same period. The data this morning followed yesterday's tepid private-sector job growth report from ADP. The government's January employment report, which was supposed to be out tomorrow morning, was delayed due to this week's brief government shutdown. 3. Tons of Alphabet price target hikes from Wall Street analysts after the Google-parent reported an incredible quarter. An unappreciated boon to Alphabet is the cash tax benefits from the Trump-supported One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Management guided to massive 2026 spending to keep up with the business and the competitive AI landscape. Shares were little changed last night after the print, but were falling more than 5% this morning as the broader market's rotation out of tech continued. 4. Sony posted quarterly earnings that beat expectations despite rising memory costs. The PlayStation, one of the company's flagship products, relies on memory chips, which have been in short supply due to unprecedented AI demand. This could hurt the Japanese entertainment giant down the line. I say buy gaming developer Take-Two Interactive Software instead 5. Bank of America downgraded Qualcomm stock to a hold from buy, and lowered its price target to $155 from $215 following quarterly earnings . Analysts pointed to the chipmaker's share losses and "weak" handset market. Instead, data centers are getting all the DRAM chips. I'm not sure when this will get better. Shares are down over 11% premarket. 6. Boston Scientific stock on Wednesday sank 17.5%, its biggest single-day decline in 25 years, after quarterly earnings disappointed investors. Shares were stable this morning. Citi lowered its price target to $102 from $130, but kept a buy rating on shares. There is too much competition in the pulsed field ablation market, with entries from Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic . I like both of those. J & J is in the Investing Club's Bullpen , a list of stocks that could be added to the portfolio under the right circumstances. 7. BMO Capital hiked Club holding Eli Lilly 's price target to $1,300 from $1,200, and kept a buy rating on the stock. Analysts expect sales in the incretin category to keep rising through the year despite pricing pressures. Lilly reported a great quarter yesterday on GLP-1 strength, and the stock soared more than 10%. Shares were giving back about half that gain this morning. 8. Bristol Myers stock gained around 2% in early trading after posting a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report with upbeat guidance this morning. The drugmaker could be performing better if its schizophrenia treatment, Cobenfy, was covered by insurance. The Club previously had a position in Bristol Myers because of the growth prospects we saw from Cobenfy. 9. Old Dominion was downgraded to a sell from hold rating at Baird. Analysts cited the truckload shipping company's post-earnings valuation for the call. Still, Baird raised their price target to $204 from $166, forecasting a "healthy" freight environment. I don't get this downgrade. The group is already up so much that it's crazy. 10. Citi added Club holding Boeing to the firm's "upside 30-day catalyst watch" list. Analysts, who maintained a buy, said that the aircraft maker's deliveries have "dramatically improved" starting on Jan. 28. I like Boeing, but I don't think this step change is in the stock. 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.
