Russell 2000 Kicks Off 2026 Strong, Surging Over 7% Year-to-Date
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 14h ago
0mins
Source: Benzinga
- Small-Cap Outperformance: As of January 15, the Russell 2000 has achieved intraday record highs for ten consecutive sessions, with a year-to-date gain exceeding 7%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's modest 1.5% increase, indicating a robust rebound in small-cap stocks.
- Economic Data Support: The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model estimates a 5.3% annualized growth rate for the U.S. economy in Q4, a pace not seen since mid-2014, reflecting resilient household consumption and business investment, which bolsters small-cap performance.
- Earnings Guidance Improvement: According to 22V Research, the percentage of small-cap companies raising guidance ahead of Q4 earnings has surged, surpassing mid- and large-cap firms for the first time since January 2025, signaling a potential for sustained small-cap outperformance.
- Technical Outlook Bullish: Bank of America's chief technical strategist Paul Ciana notes that the Russell 2000 has broken out of a multi-year range, with upside targets at 2,642, 2,861, and potentially 3,000, highlighting the increasing significance of small caps in investor portfolios.
Analyst Views on ALMS
Wall Street analysts forecast ALMS stock price to fall over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for ALMS is 19.50 USD with a low forecast of 14.00 USD and a high forecast of 25.00 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
2 Analyst Rating
2 Buy
0 Hold
0 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 24.340
Low
14.00
Averages
19.50
High
25.00
Current: 24.340
Low
14.00
Averages
19.50
High
25.00
About ALMS
Alumis Inc. is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in developing next-generation targeted therapies with the potential to significantly improve patient health and outcomes across a range of immune-mediated diseases. Leveraging its proprietary data analytics platform and precision approach, the Company is developing a pipeline of oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitors, consisting of ESK-001 for the treatment of systemic immune-mediated disorders, such as moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and A-005 for the treatment of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s Disease. In addition, its pipeline also includes lonigutamab, a subcutaneously delivered anti-insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor therapy for the treatment of thyroid eye disease, as well as several preclinical programs identified through this precision approach.
About the author

Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.





