Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, Leidos, and Others Featured in CNBC's 'Final Trades'
Morgan Stanley and Analyst Ratings: Joe Terranova from Virtus Investment Partners selected Morgan Stanley as his final trade, while Citigroup's Keith Horowitz maintained a Neutral rating and raised the price target from $130 to $155.
Exxon Mobil's Deal with Rosneft: Exxon Mobil has entered an agreement with Russia's Rosneft to explore recovering losses from its 2022 withdrawal, potentially reclaiming a $4.6 billion write-down.
Performance of Selected Stocks: Leidos Holdings, chosen by Stephen Weiss, saw a price target increase from $185 to $210, while shares of Charles Schwab and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF also experienced gains.
Market Trends: Charles Schwab reported a 15% growth in total client assets year-over-year, benefiting from high share prices and Federal Reserve rate cuts.
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- Earnings Beat Expectations: Apple's Q2 revenue reached $111.18 billion, surpassing the market forecast of $109.66 billion, showcasing strong performance in iPhone, Mac, and Services, despite slightly lower iPhone sales, which bolstered investor confidence.
- Profitability Improvement: Earnings per share stood at $2.01, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.95, indicating the company's effectiveness in cost management, particularly amidst rising memory costs, demonstrating resilience in profitability.
- Optimistic Future Outlook: Apple forecasts revenue growth of 14% to 17% for the June quarter, significantly above analysts' predictions of 9.5%, suggesting strong growth potential in product demand and market share, which could further drive stock price increases.
- Positive Market Reaction: Following the earnings report, Apple's stock rose nearly 4% in premarket trading, reflecting investor optimism about the company's future growth, especially with the upcoming iPhone launch season, as market expectations for Apple continue to rise.
- Escalating Cybersecurity Risks: As the latest AI models raise concerns about hackers exploiting vulnerabilities for larger cyberattacks, major banks across Asia, including those in Singapore, are tightening checks on these tools, reflecting a heightened focus on cybersecurity.
- New Model Launch: Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview has garnered attention in the cybersecurity space, with major banks like JPMorgan Chase participating as launch partners, indicating a balance between exploring new technologies and managing associated risks.
- Market Response: The CEO of DBS Group noted that while AI tools could accelerate attackers' ability to find system weaknesses, banks can also leverage these tools to enhance their defenses, emphasizing the positive role of AI in banking operations.
- Responsible AI Use: Banks like OCBC and UOB are committed to rigorous assessments before deploying AI solutions, ensuring compliance with existing cybersecurity controls, which reflects a cautious and responsible approach to technological innovation in the financial sector.
- Economic Slowdown: Preliminary data indicates that the Eurozone economy grew by only 0.1% in Q1 2026, primarily due to the adverse effects of the Iran war, which hampers growth and intensifies inflationary pressures.
- Rising Inflation: The inflation rate in the Eurozone surged to 3% in April, up from 2.6% in March, driven largely by a 10.9% increase in energy prices, putting greater pressure on policymakers to consider interest rate hikes.
- Central Bank Policy Challenges: The European Central Bank is expected to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 2%, but the rising energy prices due to the Iran war, which are beyond its control, could negatively impact economic activity and consumer confidence.
- Increased Stagflation Risks: Economists warn that the Eurozone may face a period of
- Deepening Employment Crisis: Bernstein warns that the rise of AI may lead to a reduction in high-quality jobs in India's IT sector, affecting the income and consumption capacity of 10 to 15 million employees in IT services and outsourcing, thereby threatening the foundation of national economic growth.
- Shifting Hiring Trends: Net hiring by India's top five IT companies dropped by around 7,000 in FY26, with TCS planning to hire only 25,000 fresh graduates compared to an average of 40,000 over the past three years, indicating a diminishing reliance on large-scale recruitment in the industry.
- Skills Gap Challenge: While the Indian government emphasizes
- Earnings Beat: NXP Semiconductors reported adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share for Q1, surpassing LSEG's estimate of $2.95, indicating strong profitability and competitive positioning in the semiconductor market.
- Significant Revenue Growth: The company achieved $3.18 billion in revenue for Q1, a 12% year-over-year increase that also exceeded LSEG's forecast of $3.16 billion, reflecting robust demand in industrial and automotive processing sectors.
- Data Center Business Outlook: NXP generated approximately $200 million in revenue from data centers last year, with expectations to exceed $500 million by 2026, highlighting its strategic positioning in the rapidly growing AI and data center markets.
- Positive Analyst Reactions: TDCowen and Morgan Stanley raised their price targets for NXP to $310 and $335 respectively, reflecting strong market confidence and recognition of the company's long-term growth potential.
- Earnings Beat: NXP Semiconductors reported Q1 adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share, surpassing LSEG's estimate of $2.95, indicating robust growth in automotive and industrial processing, which strengthens its market position.
- Significant Revenue Growth: The company achieved $3.18 billion in revenue for Q1, a 12% year-over-year increase, also exceeding LSEG's forecast of $3.16 billion, reflecting strong demand in the data center and automotive markets.
- Data Center Revenue Outlook: NXP generated approximately $200 million in revenue from data centers last year, with expectations to exceed $500 million by 2026, highlighting its strategic positioning in the rapidly growing AI and data processing market.
- Analyst Optimism: TD Cowen and Morgan Stanley raised their price targets for NXP to $310 and $335 respectively, demonstrating market confidence in the company's long-term growth potential, further driving the stock price upward.











