Peloton jumps as traders keep piling into bullish options bets

Peloton shares popped more than 8% Thursday as the nascent streak of bullish options activity powers on. As of 11:15 a.m. ET, more than 56,000 calls have changed hands, which is already higher than the full-day total for 90% of sessions this year.

After years of trying to convince customers to splurge thousands on its indoor bikes, Peloton has pivoted to focus on profitability, especially its growing services business. The company recently hired a new CEO known for leading subscription efforts at Apple and Ford.

Analysts polled by FactSet now have an average “overweight” (or buy) rating on the stock for the first time since 2022, as Peloton doubles down on cost cuts and a steadier business model.

Peloton’s stock is down about 20% year to date, but still up more than 100% from where it was a year ago.

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Luke Kawa52m

Oracle gains amid report that the TikTok deal is poised to close this week

Oracle is gaining in premarket trading as Semafor reports that China and the US have signed off on the sale of TikTok’s US operations to a consortium in which the software giant is one of the three leading investors.

The transaction is poised to close this week, per the report, citing people familiar with the situation.

In mid-December, Oracle booked a huge gain after the CEO of TikTok owner ByteDance indicated that he’d signed contracts with Oracle and the other major investors leading this consortium, private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-backed tech investment company MGX.

If, as previous reporting suggested, the transaction values TikTok’s US operations at about $14 billion, that would mark a fairly low price tag for a lot of eyeballs and ad dollars. This pact will also afford Oracle’s cloud business an opportunity to deepen its preexisting relationship with TikTok.

J. Edward Moreno57m

Abbott slumps after reporting sales miss, disappointing Q1 guidance

Abbott Laboratories fell in premarket trading after it reported fourth-quarter sales that missed Wall Street estimates and gave disappointing guidance for the current quarter.

The company said it expects to report first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of between $1.12 and $1.18, below the $1.20 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. For the full year, it expects to report adjusted earnings per share of $5.55 to $5.80, in line with the $5.67 the Street is penciling in.

Abbott also reported $11.5 billion in sales for the fourth quarter, less than the analyst consensus of $11.8 billion. The sales miss was driven by lower-than-expected sales of its medical devices, its largest segment. Its profits for the quarter hit $1.50 per share, right in line with expectations.

The stock fell more than 5% in premarket trading on Thursday.

GE Aerospace posts better than expected Q4 results and surprisingly strong full-year profit guidance

GE Aerospace had a strong 2025, rising roughly 85% to outpace both the S&P 500 and industry benchmarks.

Matt Phillips1h

Hyunsoo Rim2h

Goldman hikes year-end gold price forecast to $5,400 per ounce as private investors and central banks compete for the shiny stuff

Goldman Sachs has raised its December 2026 gold price forecast to $5,400 per ounce, up from the previous $4,900 target, citing strong demand from private sector investors using gold as a hedge against global policy risks, according to a note released late Tuesday.

The revised price target reflects a 17% increase from January's month-to-date average price, with continued central bank buying as the biggest driver of the forecast (accounting for 14pp of the expected appreciation), while ETF inflows add another 3pp — supported by an assumed Fed rate cut this year.

Central banks have been on a gold-buying spree since 2022, after the freezing of Russia's foreign reserves, helping push prices up 15% in 2023 and 26% in 2024. But Goldman analysts note that the rally accelerated in 2025 as competition between central banks and private investors for the limited bullion intensified — driving prices up another 67% last year, with recent tensions over Greenland only adding to the momentum.

That private-sector demand now extends well beyond ETF inflows. Goldman says buying is increasingly coming from a new class of investors seeking protection against macro-policy risk and currency "debasement," including purchases from high-net-worth families and call-option buying — flows that are "hard to track" but have become a "significant incremental source of demand."

Goldman assumes these macro-related "sticky" hedges will persist through 2026 — unlike those tied to the 2024 US election, which unwound quickly once the outcome was clear.

Claire Yubin Oh3h

Alibaba jumps on report of a potential IPO for its AI chipmaking division

Alibaba ADRs are up 5% in premarket trading on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that the cloud and e-commerce giant is preparing to list its chipmaking division, looking to capitalize on strong investor interest in AI.

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg wrote that the Chinese tech giant is looking to first restructure the unit, known as T-Head, into a partially employee-owned business before exploring an IPO, though the specific timing for this process remains uncertain.

Though Alibaba’s IPO plans are still at an early stage, with T-Head’s valuation expectations still unclear, recent debuts by rival Chinese chipmakers like Moore Threads Technology have attracted strong interest from investors, jumping over 400% on its first day after raising $1.13 billion.

Alibaba has also been investing aggressively into AI in the past year, committing more than $53 billion to develop its cloud and AI infrastructure. Last week, the company upgraded Qwen — its flagship AI app — to function more like an agentic chatbot able to place orders for food, book travel, and execute other tasks, as the company pushes further into consumer-facing AI.

Alibaba Is Said to Plan IPO for AI Chipmaking Unit T-Head

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