My Top 10 Things to Watch Tuesday, December 16th 1. Stocks fell slightly and headed towards the bottom. Wall Street had little reaction to November’s better-than-expected job growth. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 people last month. However, the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 4.6% last month. Data was delayed due to the government shutdown. If the S&P 500 closes low today, it will be the third consecutive session of declines. The cause of yesterday’s market decline was again the loss of AI names. 2. Morgan Stanley raised the price target for club name GE Vernova from $710 to $822. Analysts who maintained a buy rating like the energy equipment company, which helps build AI data centers. GE Vernova’s heavy-duty turbine provides an additional power source. Wells Fargo also raised GE Vernova’s PT from $717 to $831. 3. Despite having strong fundamentals, Jeffries believes cybersecurity-related names will lag in 2026. Analysts lowered their price target for Cloudflare from $250 to $225. However, the company left the club’s Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike PTs unchanged. 4. Kraft Heinz said this morning that former Keranova CEO Steve Cahillane will lead the company ahead of a 2026 split. Cahillane, who previously led Kellogg Co. until its split in 2023, is scheduled to take over on January 1. This is a good move on Kraft’s part. The stock price rose nearly 2% on the news. 5. JPMorgan raised First Horizon’s price target from $23 to $27 and maintained its rating. Analysts believe there is “potential for solid upside” in local bank names in 2026 due to additional interest rate cuts and increased lending. The club owns major banks, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo, and these are notable stocks. 6. Gap was upgraded from Hold to Buy at Wells Fargo. Analysts raised their price target on the parent company of Old Navy and Athleta to $30 from $24, citing the possibility of tariff elimination and a feared better holiday season. The gap is one of Wells’ favorite long ideas. 7. Bank of America analysts raised their price target on Estée Lauder from $120 to $130, naming it a top beauty stock for 2026. BofA maintained its buy rating but raised its earnings forecast for Estée Lauder, saying it was encouraged by the company’s turnaround. 8. PayPal has applied to form a bank that can offer small business loans and savings accounts. The move follows last week’s provisional approval by the government of a plan by virtual currency companies Ripple and Circle to establish a national trust bank. 9. Barclays upgraded Southwest Airlines from Hold to Buy and raised its price target from $34 to $56. Analysts said they like the company’s new strategy. I think this is a late call considering the stock closed yesterday at around $42. 10. Mizuho raised its price target on Tesla from $475 to $530, implying an 11.5% upside from yesterday’s closing price. Analysts maintained their buy rating on the stock, citing improved sentiment toward robotaxis. Is this a notable new technology outside of data centers? Sign up for free for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Markets email newsletter (See here for a complete list of Jim Cramer Charitable Trust stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you’ll receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
