AstraZeneca, Corning, and Others Featured in CNBC's 'Final Trades'
Final Trades on CNBC: Jim Lebenthal highlighted AstraZeneca PLC as his final trade, following the positive results from the Phase 3 trial of baxdrostat, which showed significant reductions in blood pressure.
Other Notable Picks: Stephen Weiss chose iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, citing a recovery in Bitcoin prices, while Liz Young Thomas selected Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF, and Joe Terranova picked Corning Incorporated, which received an upgrade from UBS.
Stock Performance: AstraZeneca shares rose 2.4% to $82.11, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF increased by 1.3%, Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF saw a slight rise of 0.2%, and Corning shares gained 1.3% to $69.34.
Market Insights: The article also mentions Wall Street analysts providing insights on financial stocks with high dividend yields, indicating ongoing interest in investment opportunities.
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- Market Overview: Wall Street kicked off Q3 with mixed results after a strong first half in 2026, as the S&P 500 remained flat while the Dow reached a record close during a holiday-shortened week, indicating market sensitivity to economic data.
- Tech Stock Volatility: The Nasdaq faced back-to-back losses with semiconductor stocks dropping 6.3% on Wednesday and 5.4% on Thursday, reflecting investor caution despite an overall weekly market uptick.
- AI Boosts Cybersecurity Stocks: Cybersecurity stocks surged due to the AI boom, with Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike gaining 14.5% and 10.7% respectively, showcasing increased investor confidence in cybersecurity investments.
- Meta's Cloud Business Outlook: Meta Platforms announced plans to launch a cloud infrastructure business, leading to an over 8% jump in shares on Wednesday, indicating the company is addressing investor concerns about its capital expenditures by seeking new revenue streams through AI computing power sales.
- PayPal Options Volume: PayPal Holdings Inc has seen an options trading volume of 73,520 contracts today, representing approximately 7.4 million shares, which is about 41% of its average daily trading volume of 17.9 million shares over the past month, indicating strong market interest in its future performance.
- High Call Option Activity: Notably, the $50 strike call option expiring on July 17, 2026, has traded 5,581 contracts today, equating to approximately 558,100 underlying shares, suggesting an increased bullish sentiment among investors regarding PayPal's stock price.
- GE Vernova Options Activity: GE Vernova Inc has recorded an options trading volume of 13,221 contracts, representing around 1.3 million shares, which is approximately 40.2% of its average daily trading volume of 3.3 million shares over the past month, reflecting a positive outlook from the market.
- Put Option Trading Surge: The $1100 strike put option expiring on August 21, 2026, has seen a trading volume of 939 contracts today, representing about 93,900 underlying shares, indicating that investors are wary of potential downside risks for GE Vernova in the near future.
- Market Pullback: Stocks closed lower to end the holiday-shortened trading week, although the S&P 500 rebounded by about 1.5% after last week's decline, indicating short-term market volatility.
- Employment Data Impact: A soft June jobs report eased concerns about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in the coming months, potentially providing some confidence to investors, yet the overall market remains affected by AI trade volatility.
- Portfolio Performance: This week, stocks in the portfolio such as Corning, Arm Holdings, and Intel faced pressure due to changing market sentiment, while software companies like Salesforce and Microsoft saw gains, both up nearly 5% for the week.
- Economic Data Preview: Next week will feature several important economic updates, including service sector activity reports and mortgage applications, which investors should monitor for their potential impact on the market.
- Healthcare Stocks Surge: Following the CMS proposal to increase payment rates by 2.4% for hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, shares of Universal Health Services rose 7% and HCA Healthcare increased by 5%, reflecting market optimism towards the healthcare sector.
- Rivian's Delivery Outlook Raised: Rivian Automotive raised its 2026 delivery outlook from 62,000-67,000 to 65,000-70,000, resulting in an 8% stock price increase, indicating strong market confidence in its future growth potential.
- Blue Owl Capital Redemption Pressure Eases: Blue Owl Capital's stock jumped over 4% as a shareholder letter revealed that redemption requests for its private credit funds decreased to $4.7 billion in Q2 from $5.4 billion in Q1, suggesting improved market confidence in its liquidity.
- National Beverage's Special Cash Dividend: National Beverage Corp. announced a special cash dividend of $3.25 per share, leading to a 13% stock price increase, which not only enhances investor returns but may also attract more attention from potential investors.
- Market Rotation Opportunity: Investors are rotating from this year's winners to laggards at the start of the new quarter, with Cramer noting this as a buying opportunity during pullbacks in strong stocks, particularly in AI infrastructure.
- Strong Semiconductor Demand: Cramer reiterated his bullish stance on Micron, Corning, AMD, Applied Materials, and Lam Research, emphasizing that despite recent selling pressure, demand for semiconductors and data center equipment remains robust, indicating long-term growth potential for these companies.
- Meta's Cloud Computing Business: Meta rebounded after a sluggish start to the year due to plans for a cloud computing business, which Cramer believes will significantly enhance the company's long-term outlook by diversifying its revenue streams and potentially becoming instantly profitable.
- Caution on Rebounds: Despite market rebounds, Cramer warns investors against blindly chasing stocks, particularly noting that rebounds in Salesforce, ServiceNow, General Mills, and Nike may be temporary, necessitating careful evaluation of their sustainability.
- Market Rotation Opportunity: CNBC's Jim Cramer suggests that investors should take advantage of Wednesday's market rotation to switch to some of the biggest winners they may have missed, particularly highlighting companies like Meta, Micron, and AMD, allowing them to buy strong stocks at a discount.
- AI Infrastructure Stock Pullback: Cramer emphasizes that the recent pullback in AI infrastructure stocks has created potential buying opportunities, especially for companies like Micron, Corning, and AMD, as demand for semiconductors and data center equipment remains robust despite recent selling pressure.
- Meta's Cloud Computing Prospects: Cramer points out that Meta's plan to launch a cloud computing business fundamentally enhances its long-term outlook by diversifying revenue streams beyond advertising, with expectations that its cloud business will be instantly profitable.
- Caution on Rebounds: Despite market rebounds, Cramer warns investors to be cautious, suggesting that rebounds in companies like Salesforce, ServiceNow, General Mills, and Nike may prove temporary, advising vigilance in investment decisions.










