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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- Semiconductor Market Recovery: Chip stocks are rebounding this morning after last week's severe sell-off, with Apple and Broadcom agreeing to an expanded partnership that is expected to drive long-term growth in the semiconductor sector.
- SK Hynix IPO Plans: South Korean memory giant SK Hynix is looking to raise $28 billion through a Nasdaq listing, which, while maintaining its primary listing in South Korea, will enhance its capital access and broaden its investor base.
- Acquisition Impact: Solstice Advanced Materials is acquiring Element Solutions for $14.5 billion, creating a specialty chemicals powerhouse focused on the semiconductor industry, which will enhance its competitive position and industry consolidation capabilities.
- Airline Sector Benefits from Oil Price Drop: With traffic through the Strait of Hormuz resuming and U.S.-Iran peace talks underway, oil prices are nearing pre-war levels, which could benefit airlines significantly and help combat inflation.
- Technological Milestones: QuantumScape achieved significant commercialization progress in 2025, and despite a 27.4% stock drop in the first half of 2026, its partnership with Honda could expand solid-state battery applications, enhancing market competitiveness.
- Market Opportunities: Beyond electric vehicles, QuantumScape is targeting energy storage solutions for AI factories, showcasing the broad application potential of its solid-state battery technology, which may attract more investor interest.
- Risk Factors: Although technological milestones have reduced investment risks, QuantumScape's market cap remains at $4.3 billion, prompting investors to carefully assess their allocation in speculative portfolios.
- Industry Competition: QuantumScape is not the only company pursuing opportunities in the solid-state battery market, and increasing competition within the industry could impact its market share and future growth potential.
- Technological Milestones: QuantumScape has made significant strides by securing an expanded development and licensing agreement with Volkswagen's battery maker PowerCo, marking a crucial step toward commercializing its solid-state battery technology, despite a 27.4% stock drop in the first half of 2026.
- Partnerships Established: The company has formed partnerships with glass manufacturer Corning and Murata Manufacturing to achieve high-volume production of its ceramic separators, further advancing the practical application of its technology in the market.
- Market Opportunities: QuantumScape's solid-state batteries are expected to offer greater energy density and faster charging times, with plans to extend applications beyond electric vehicles to include power equipment, indicating a broad market potential.
- Investment Risks: While technological milestones have reduced investment risks, the nearly 30% drop in stock price still warrants caution from investors, suggesting that only a speculative portion of their portfolio should be allocated to QuantumScape.
- Technological Milestones: QuantumScape has established an expanded development and licensing agreement with Volkswagen Group's battery maker PowerCo, alongside partnerships with Corning and Murata Manufacturing to achieve high-volume production of its ceramic separators, laying a solid foundation for the commercialization of its solid-state batteries.
- Market Opportunities: The company's solid-state batteries are expected to offer greater energy density and faster charging times, with plans to extend their application beyond electric vehicles to energy storage for AI factories, showcasing the diverse potential of its technology in various sectors.
- Stock Volatility: Despite QuantumScape's stock doubling in 2025 due to positive developments, it plummeted by 27.4% in the first half of 2026, raising investor concerns about its future prospects, particularly amid increasing market competition.
- Investment Risks: While the technological milestones have reduced investment risks, the company's $4.3 billion market cap already reflects some success expectations, prompting investors to carefully consider their allocation within speculative parts of their portfolios.
- Earnings Preview: The earnings season officially kicks off from July 13 to 17, with major companies like Levi Strauss, PepsiCo, and Delta Air Lines reporting, prompting market focus on consumer spending and inflationary pressures impacting performance.
- Oil Prices and Consumer Spending: Despite a 27% drop in U.S. WTI crude prices over the past month, consumer gas prices have only decreased by 10.5%, which may influence purchasing decisions, particularly for brands like Levi's.
- Service Sector Data Release: This week will see the release of the S&P Global Services PMI and ISM Services PMI, aimed at providing timely insights into business activity in the U.S. services sector, aiding in the assessment of economic health.
- Semiconductor Industry Volatility: The semiconductor sector faced severe selling last week, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF and VanEck Semiconductor ETF nearing their 50-day moving averages, and the market will watch for whether buyers will support a rebound in this sector.
- 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.











