- Chip Rally Surges 60% As Retail Traders Rush Back In
May 11, 2026
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Retail traders are moving back into chip stocks just as the rally is beginning to look increasingly stretched. According to positioning data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), individual investors raised purchases of technology shares to the highest level in a year last week, with AI-linked memory chipmakers and hardware companies attracting some of the strongest inflows. Hardware companies recorded their second-largest inflow on record. The timing could matter for investors because the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, or SOX, has climbed about 60% over the past six weeks, making valuation measures look increasingly extended and possibly leaving late buyers exposed if momentum turns.
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The rally has been driven by renewed confidence in the AI infrastructure trade, especially after semiconductor and memory chip earnings supported the view that demand remains strong. Dave Mazza, chief executive officer at Roundhill Financial Inc., said the earnings season validated the AI infrastructure trade, but also warned that the market is becoming increasingly priced for perfection. The momentum has helped lift the Nasdaq 100 Index 25% in six weeks, while retail traders have been crowding into semiconductor and hardware names including Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK), Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU), and Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC). Chris Verrone, head of technical and macro strategy at Strategas Securities LLC, said semiconductors are becoming unusually stretched, with some cases looking as extreme as 1999, and noted that positions should be protected and monitored carefully.
The concern is not that chip stocks cannot rise further, but that the advance has become narrow and increasingly dependent on momentum. In the broader S&P 500 Index, the share of stocks trading above their 200-day moving average has fallen to 53% from 58% the prior week, while 97% of stocks in the SOX Index are above that long-term trend measure. Cameron Dawson, chief investment officer at Newedge Wealth, said semiconductors are the most extended versus their long-term trend since early 2000, while Macro Risk Advisors' John Kolovos noted that the SOX Index is sitting 57% above its 200-day moving average, a level reached only two other times since 1990, in 1995 and 2000. Both prior periods came before stock-market declines, with the 2000 episode preceding the dot-com crash. Still, Barclays Plc strategist Alexander Altmann said shorting the VanEck Semiconductor ETF at this stage could be premature, suggesting the trade may not yet show enough broad euphoria to say it has fully run its course.
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- Amazon Taps Swiss Debt Market As $725 Billion AI Spending Wave Builds
May 11, 2026
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) is preparing to issue Swiss franc bonds for the first time, marking another step by Big Tech hyperscalers to broaden their funding base as artificial intelligence spending continues to rise. The company has mandated BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) for a six-part Swiss franc bond sale with maturities ranging from three to 25 years, according to a person familiar with the matter. The move could give Amazon access to a market where demand for high-grade US corporate issuers remains steady, while also allowing the company to tap multiple investor groups across different parts of the maturity curve.
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Amazon said the proceeds would be used for general business purposes, including supporting investment and capital expenditure, as well as repaying upcoming debt maturities. The potential Swiss franc debut comes after a wave of large European bond issuance from technology companies seeking to diversify beyond dollar debt while raising capital linked to AI infrastructure investment. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Google's parent company, raised about 3 billion Swiss francs, or $3.9 billion, in February, the largest corporate borrowing ever in that market, while Amazon's debut euro bond in March set the same record for that currency.
The broader investment backdrop remains significant for investors. Amazon, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Alphabet are planning to invest as much as $725 billion this year in AI data center equipment and other capital expenditure, a bigger total than previously expected. Apostolos Bantis, managing director of fixed income at Union Bancaire Privee Ubp SA, said the Swiss market continues to offer steady demand for high-grade names and a strong bid for familiar US corporate issuers. Bantis also noted that issuing several maturities at once can help borrowers reach different investor pockets, raise more money, and keep concessions tight while the window remains open.
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- Kospi's 86% Rally Gets JPMorgan's 10,000 Bull Case
May 11, 2026
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) has raised its target for South Korean equities for the second time in less than a month, reflecting growing confidence around the semiconductor cycle, corporate governance reforms and industrial-sector growth. The Wall Street bank lifted its base-case Kospi target to 9,000 and its bull-case target to 10,000, compared with the 7,000 and 8,500 levels it set in late April. That bull-case target implies a 27.8% upside from Monday's close, underscoring how quickly the investor narrative around Korean equities has shifted as AI-driven earnings growth continues to support the market.
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The Kospi surged 4.3% on Monday to a record 7,822.24, extending its year-to-date gain to around 86% and reinforcing its position as one of the world's strongest-performing equity benchmarks. JPMorgan's upgrade follows Goldman Sachs (GS), which last week raised its Kospi target to 9,000, citing Asia's strongest earnings momentum. JPMorgan strategists including Mixo Das said near-term technicals may look stretched again, but the market's key fundamentals remain on track for now, including memory-cycle conditions, governance reforms and thematic growth. In these unusual conditions, the strategists said it remains appropriate to stay positioned for further upside rather than preemptively anticipate the end of the cycle.
Still, the rally is showing possible overheating risks. The Kospi has remained in overbought territory every session this month based on its 14-day relative strength index, while market breadth looked narrow on Monday, with only about 120 stocks in the 835-member benchmark rising. Standard Chartered's global chief investment officer Steve Brice said there is heightened risk of a correction in the coming weeks, describing the trade as crowded, though he also said the longer-term outlook for the market's AI-exposed technology sector remains positive and that he would be inclined to buy the dip if shares fall. Domestic retail investors have added nearly 6 trillion won, or $4 billion, of Kospi shares this month, while foreign investors have sold more than 7 trillion won on a net basis, and JPMorgan strategists added that the next two years may mark a sustained upcycle for memory chips, with memory-chip stocks accounting for 50% of the Korean benchmark and driving about 70% of this year's gains.
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- Fabrinet to Present at J.P. Morgan Conference
May 11, 2026
Fabrinet
BANGKOK, May 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fabrinet (NYSE: FN), a leading provider of advanced optical packaging and precision optical, electro-mechanical and electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers of complex products, today announced that its management will present at the J.P. Morgan 2026 Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference in Boston, MA.
The Fabrinet presentation is scheduled for Monday, May 18, 2026 at 11:05 a.m. EDT (8:05 a.m. PDT). A live webcast, as well as a replay, will be accessible at https://investor.fabrinet.com/.
About Fabrinet
Fabrinet is a leading provider of advanced optical packaging and precision optical, electro-mechanical, and electronic manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers of complex products, such as optical communication components, modules and subsystems, automotive components, medical devices, industrial lasers and sensors. Fabrinet offers a broad range of advanced optical and electro-mechanical capabilities across the entire manufacturing process, including process design and engineering, supply chain management, manufacturing, advanced packaging, integration, final assembly and testing. Fabrinet focuses on production of high complexity products in any mix and any volume. Fabrinet maintains engineering and manufacturing resources and facilities in Thailand, the United States of America, the People’s Republic of China and Israel. For more information visit: https://fabrinet.com/.
SOURCE: Fabrinet
Investor Contact:
Garo Toomajanian
ir@fabrinet.com
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- Chewy Announces Participation in the J.P. Morgan 2026 Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference
May 11, 2026
PLANTATION, Fla., May 11, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chewy, Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) ("Chewy"), a trusted destination for pet parents and partners everywhere, announced today that Sumit Singh, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the J.P. Morgan Technology, Media & Communications Conference on May 19, 2026 at 10:45 AM ET.
A live audio webcast can be accessed on the company’s investor relations website at https://investor.chewy.com and a replay will be accessible for 90 days following the event.
About Chewy
Our mission is to be the most trusted and convenient destination for pet parents and partners everywhere. We believe that we are the preeminent online source for pet products, supplies and prescriptions as a result of our broad selection of high-quality products and services, which we offer at competitive prices and deliver with an exceptional level of care and a personal touch to build brand loyalty and drive repeat purchasing. We seek to continually develop innovative ways for our customers to engage with us, as our websites and mobile applications allow our pet parents to manage their pets’ health, wellness, and merchandise needs, while enabling them to conveniently shop for our products. We partner with approximately 4,000 of the best and most trusted brands in the pet industry, and we create and offer our own private brands. Through our websites and mobile applications, we offer our customers approximately 190,000 products and services offerings, to bring what we believe is a high-bar, customer-centric experience to our customers.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260511184254/en/
Contacts
Investor Contact:
ir@chewy.com
Media Contact:
Diane Pelkey
dpelkey@chewy.com
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- Yelp to Participate in the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference
May 11, 2026
SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), the company that connects people with great local businesses, today announced that management will present at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on May 18, 2026 at 2:50 p.m. Eastern Time.
The live and archived webcasts of the presentation will be available on the company’s investor relations website at www.yelp-ir.com. The archived webcast will remain available for 30 days after the conclusion of the live presentation.
About Yelp
Yelp Inc. (yelp.com) is a community-driven platform that connects people with great local businesses. Millions rely on Yelp to inform their spending decisions and get things done. By combining authentic human content with AI technologies, including Yelp Assistant, Yelp helps people move seamlessly from discovery to taking action, whether it’s requesting quotes from service pros, making reservations, ordering food, scheduling appointments, or connecting with the right businesses for their needs. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in 2004.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260511278382/en/
Contacts
Yelp Inc.
Kate Krieger
Investor Relations
ir@yelp.com
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- Verizon’s Worldwide Hybrid Bond Sale Drive Hits $12 Billion
May 11, 2026
(Bloomberg) -- Verizon Communications Inc. is selling $4 billion of hybrid bonds in the US dollar investment-grade debt market for the first time after issuing the equivalent of $8 billion of them in other currencies over the last six months.
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The company is marketing two $2 billion tranches of notes, with maturities of 30 years and 32 years, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The longest tenor is set to yield 6.2% compared with initial price talk of about 6.625%, the person said, asking not to be identified disclosing private details.
Proceeds from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include repayment of outstanding debt, the person added. The telecommunications firm on Monday announced a cash tender offer to repurchase a series of notes maturing between 2027 and 2033.
Verizon’s junior subordinated bonds — which get paid after senior debt in a default — are partly treated as equity by credit rating firms due to features such as long maturities and the ability to defer interest payments for as long as 10 years, reducing its impact on leverage metrics.
For investors, the deal offers an opportunity to lock in higher rates at a time when spreads on more conventional high-grade bonds are tight.
Verizon has sold roughly $8 billion equivalent of junior subordinated bonds denominated in euros, sterling and Australian dollars over the past six months, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence note.
The new offering is being run by BNP Paribas SA, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., Banco Santander SA and Wells Fargo & Co.
Verizon is seeking to reduce its leverage following its acquisition of Frontier Communications Parent Inc. It has paid down about half of the deal’s debt since the transaction closed earlier this year and expects to repay “substantially all of” the remainder by the end of 2026, Chief Financial Officer Tony Skiadas said in a conference call with analysts last month.
“Verizon is clearly leaning into junior subordinated notes as a permanent and growing part of its capital structure,” analysts at CreditSights said, with the shift “driven by the company’s desire to maintain its current ~BBB+ credit rating while adopting a more shareholder-friendly financial policy under the new Dan Schulman regime.”
Story Continues
The bond offering comes as about 12 firms look to raise fresh capital in the US high-grade primary market on Monday, with many moving forward ahead of Tuesday’s inflation data, according to an informal poll of syndicate underwriters.
Borrowing costs remain enticing for potential issuers, with the average spread on high-grade corporate bonds just six basis points above a multi-decade low. Dealers expect about $50 billion in new bond sales this week as most companies exit their earnings blackout periods.
Issuer Profile
Debt distribution: VZ US Equity DDIS
Capital structure: VZ US Equity CAST
Related securities: VZ US Equity RELS
Ratings history: VZ US Equity CRPR
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation
(Adds launch details in first two paragraphs, CreditSights quote in ninth paragraph.)
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- JPMorgan Chase-led bank group reins in credit line to troubled KKR private credit fund as losses mount
May 11, 2026
A JPMorgan Chase-led group of banks cut their exposure to a private credit fund co-managed by KKR days before the asset manager announced it was spending $300 million to prop up the troubled vehicle.
The fund, FS KKR Capital Corp., said Monday in a release that KKR will inject $150 million into the fund as equity and spend another $150 million to buy shares from investors who want to exit.
Those moves, labeled "Strategic Value Enhancement Actions" by the fund, came after the JPMorgan-led group on May 8 slashed its credit line by $648 million, or about 14%, to $4.05 billion. Some lenders may have exited entirely rather than extend their commitments, according to the filing.
The fund, co-run by KKR and the alternative asset manager Future Standard and often referred to by its ticker, FSK, has become one of the most visible fault lines in the private credit story. Its shares have plunged by nearly half over the past year and trade at a deep discount to the fund's net asset value.
In March, Moody's downgraded FSK's ratings to junk amid mounting stress in the portfolio. Since then, loans to software maker Medallia and dental services firm Affordable Care have stopped paying interest, executives said Monday.
FSK said that it had losses of $2 per share in the first quarter, or about $560 million in total losses given the roughly 280 million share count, as the fund's net asset value fell about 10%.
"We are disappointed by our recent performance," FSK President Daniel Pietrzak told analysts Monday.
The firm's read of the situation and KKR's actions to prop up the fund "support our view of a disconnect in the trading price of FSK versus its intrinsic value," Pietrzak added.
FSK loans that are no longer generating income jumped to 8.1% by the end of the first quarter from 5.5% at yearend, the fund said.
Further to fall?
Besides cutting its credit line, the JPMorgan-led group also raised interest rates on the remaining facility and gave the fund more room to absorb losses without triggering a default.
The latter move, lowering the minimum shareholders' equity floor from $5.05 billion to $3.75 billion, gives FSK more breathing room. But it also indicates that lenders believe the firm's assets have further to fall.
During the Monday call, FSK executives warned that "individual names could deteriorate further" despite the company's efforts to stabilize troubled portfolio companies.
"We are disappointed by our recent performance," Pietrzak told analysts.
The FSK credit facility was funded by a syndicate of banks led by JPMorgan as administrative agent, a role that typically includes coordinating lender communications and amendment negotiations. ING Capital served as collateral agent, while the other participating lenders were not named in the filing.
JPMorgan, the largest U.S. bank by assets, has made broader moves to insulate itself from private credit turmoil, in part by marking down the value of private credit loans held as collateral on its own books, CNBC reported in March. Many of those marked-down loans are to software companies facing possible disruption from artificial intelligence.
Executives also said Monday that FSK would sharply reduce new investments, focus on supporting existing portfolio companies and work toward a smaller, less leveraged balance sheet while repurchasing shares.
Besides the $300 million that KKR is spending to support FSK, the fund's board also authorized a separate $300 million share repurchase program, and KKR agreed to waive half its incentive fees for four quarters.
FSK, which lends to private, middle-market U.S. companies, became the second-largest publicly traded business development company, or BDC, when it was formed through a merger of two predecessor funds in 2018.
The fund's largest single category of loans is for software and related services, which made up 16.4% of exposure at yearend.
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- Brent at $100+: JPMorgan signals persistent energy market tightness for 2026
May 11, 2026
Investing.com - JPMorgan expects Brent crude to remain in the low-$100s for much of 2026, even if the Strait of Hormuz reopens in June, as accelerating inventory draws and logistical bottlenecks keep the oil market tight, the bank said in a note.
The bank's revised framework assumes that the pace of oil inventory depletion will ultimately force the Strait to reopen, with its base case anchored on a June 1 reopening following a credible announcement confirmed by both sides, per Reuters.
Prices are unlikely to normalize quickly, as OECD commercial inventories approach operational stress levels, JPMorgan said. The seasonal lift in summer demand, combined with the large commercial stock draws seen in March and April, and likely again in May, should push OECD inventories toward operational stress levels by August, even if the Strait reopens in June.
Earlier, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned that the ongoing energy supply shock is the largest the world has ever experienced, and continued disruption of the Strait of Hormuz could delay oil market normalisation into 2027.
"The longer the supply disruptions continue, even for another few more weeks, it is going to take a much longer time for the oil market to rebalance and stabilize," he told analysts on a call to discuss the company's first-quarter results.
The bottleneck would likely shift from the Strait itself to tanker availability, refinery ramp-ups and wider logistical constraints, keeping the market tight well into the second half of 2026, the bank said.
JPMorgan now expects Brent to average $96 per barrel in 2026, with quarterly averages of $103 in the second quarter, $104 in the third quarter and $98 in the fourth quarter.
Looking into 2027, JPMorgan expects producers in the Gulf to maximize output after the Strait reopens in an effort to recoup lost revenues. High prices are also expected to encourage other producers to run at capacity, pushing the market into meaningful oversupply from September 2026.
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- JPMorgan Hikes IREN Price Target to $46 but Stays Underweight on Circular NVIDIA Deal Concerns
May 11, 2026
Quick Read
JPMorgan raised its price target on IREN (IREN) stock to $46 from $39 while keeping an Underweight rating, citing concerns that the $3.4B five-year NVIDIA (NVDA) contract features circular economics and undefined GPU access guarantees despite IREN’s 720% one-year stock surge and forward P/E of 63x. IREN’s transformation into an AI cloud provider depends on securing NVIDIA’s advanced chips in volume to meet its 150,000 GPU deployment target, but the partnership contract reportedly doesn’t lock in those allocations, creating structural risk to the company’s $3.7B revenue guidance. The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 stocks and Iren wasn't one of them. Get them here FREE.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) raised its price target on Iren (NASDAQ:IREN) stock to $46 from $39 while keeping an Underweight rating. The unusual combination, a price target raise paired with a bearish stance, reflects the firm's skepticism about the structure of Iren's blockbuster NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) partnership.
For prudent IREN stock investors, the call is a reminder that bullish narratives and durable economics aren't always the same thing. The split signal — higher target, unchanged caution — captures the tension between Iren's growth optionality and the structural questions hanging over its NVIDIA deal.
Ticker Company Firm Action Old Rating New Rating Old Target New Target IREN Iren JPMorgan Price target raised Underweight Underweight $39 $46
The Analyst's Case
JPMorgan acknowledged that IREN continues to progress in its transition to a full neocloud provider, but cautioned: "While the NVIDIA contract and strategic partnership bolster Iren's clout as a neocloud provider, the circular nature and the undefined access to GPUs from NVIDIA tempers our view of the deal." The firm's wording highlights a tension between strategic validation and the underlying economics of the partnership.
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The "circular" critique refers to a structure where NVIDIA commits capital to a customer that turns around and spends those dollars on NVIDIA hardware. The economic value can appear amplified because the same dollars effectively flow in both directions. JPMorgan's second concern, undefined GPU access, is arguably bigger: IREN's gigawatt-scale buildout depends on receiving NVIDIA's most advanced chips in volume, and the contract reportedly doesn't lock in those allocations.
Story Continues
Company Snapshot
IREN is a vertically integrated data-center operator pivoting from Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) mining to AI cloud services, with a market capitalization of roughly $20.3 billion. The NVIDIA deal includes a $3.4 billion five-year AI cloud contract and a $2.1 billion NVIDIA share purchase option, alongside a broader 5-gigawatt strategic partnership.
IREN's latest results were uneven. Q3 FY2026 revenue came in at $144.8 million, missing consensus by 34%, with AI Cloud Services revenue nearly doubling sequentially to $33.6 million.
Why the Move Matters Now
IREN stock has rallied hard, climbing 47% over the past month and 720% over the past year. JPMorgan's $46 target sits well below the analyst consensus of $71.15, underscoring real divergence on valuation.
For context on how richly IREN trades, see this AI infrastructure outlook. IREN's forward P/E ratio sits at 63x, with a beta of 4.18, signaling extreme volatility around every data point.
What It Means for Your Portfolio
The bull case is straightforward: the NVIDIA tie-up validates IREN as a top-tier neocloud peer alongside CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV), with management targeting $3.7 billion in annualized revenue by year-end and 150,000 GPUs deployed. If execution holds, that ramp would reset the multiple debate entirely.
The bear case is JPMorgan's, in plain English. Circular economics can overstate the underlying demand, unguaranteed GPU access could throttle the buildout, and IREN still carries $3.7 billion in convertible note obligations against negative free cash flow.
Prudent investors weighing IREN stock should size positions for that volatility and watch for whether Q4 FY2026 results show contracted ARR converting into recognized revenue. Until then, JPMorgan's split signal, higher target, unchanged caution, is itself the story.
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