Russell 2000 Kicks Off 2026 Strong, Surging Over 7% Year-to-Date

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

ALMS-0.7%

AVAV-0.85%

BE+4.28%

Source: Benzinga

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.

ALMS

$24.17+Infinity%1D

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

H.C. Wainwright

Buy

maintain

$20 -> $40

Al Analysis

2026-01-09

Reason

H.C. Wainwright

Price Target

$20 -> $40

Al Analysis

2026-01-09

maintain

Buy

Reason

H.C. Wainwright raised the firm's price target on Alumis to $40 from $20 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The firm says the Phase 3 envudeucitinib readout "reset expectations" for the oral TYK2 landscape. It cites reduced approval risk and a higher revenue ceiling for the target doubling.

Guggenheim

Yatin Suneja

NULL -> Buy

upgrade

$18 -> $32

2026-01-07

Reason

Guggenheim

Yatin Suneja

Price Target

$18 -> $32

2026-01-07

upgrade

NULL -> Buy

Reason

Guggenheim analyst Yatin Suneja raised the firm's price target on Alumis (ALMS) to $32 from $18 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares following the company's positive Phase 3 ONWARD-1/-2 study results. Takeda (TAK) is also conducting studies in PsA, Vitiligo, and HS, which could pioneer multibillion-dollar opportunity for envudeucitinib given its superior pharmacological properties over Sotyktu and Zasocitinib, as demonstrated by yesterday's PsO readout, the analyst tells investors.

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Morgan Stanley

NULL -> Overweight

maintain

$22 -> $33

2026-01-07

Reason

Morgan Stanley

Price Target

$22 -> $33

2026-01-07

maintain

NULL -> Overweight

Reason

Morgan Stanley raised the firm's price target on Alumis to $33 from $22 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares after the company reported positive topline results from the Phase 3 ONWARD program evaluating lead asset envudeucitinib in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Data for envudeucitinib in PsO "look competitive," says the analyst, who raised the firm's view of the probability for success for the indication to 80% from 60%.

Wells Fargo

Derek Archila

Overweight

maintain

$17 -> $39

2026-01-06

Reason

Wells Fargo

Derek Archila

Price Target

$17 -> $39

2026-01-06

maintain

Overweight

Reason

Wells Fargo analyst Derek Archila raised the firm's price target on Alumis to $39 from $17, while keeping an Overweight rating on the shares after the company announced topline results from its Phase 3 ONWARD1 and ONWARD2 clinical trials of envudeucitinib, a next-generation highly selective oral tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The firm believes envudeucitinib's positive PsO data strengthens the investment narrative beyond its original SLE-centric thesis, and will be a key competitor in PsO.

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.