Benzinga Bulls And Bears: Oracle, Costco, NIO — And Wall Street Snaps Its Slide

Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors' favorite stocks over the last week — here's a look at some of our top stories.

Wall Street snapped a three-day slide as inflation data aligned with expectations, easing fears of aggressive Fed moves. The S&P 500 gained ~0.6%, the Dow added ~299 points, and the Nasdaq rose ~0.4%, with all three indexes pushing toward earlier highs.

U.S. GDP growth surprised to the upside — final Q2 came in at 3.8%, while August PCE inflation edged up to 2.7% year-over-year, and core PCE held at 2.9%. Gold soared past $3,800/oz, up ~43% year-to-date, while silver rallied ~15% for the month.

Despite the rebound, questions loom over Fed strategy. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reiterated there's "no preset path," reflecting tension between sticky inflation and signs of labor market cooling. Markets now look ahead to PCE, employment, and how the Fed navigates growing expectations for further easing.

Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

The Bulls

"Oracle stock rises after Trump signs executive order on TikTok", by Adam Eckert, reports that Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL) shares jumped in extended trading after President Donald Trump issued an executive order approving a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., naming Oracle to manage TikTok's U.S. security operations and provide cloud services.

"UniQure stock's 248% blastoff was just the start — ask Wall Street", by Surbhi Jain, reports that UniQure NV (NASDAQ: QURE) rallied 248% in one session after announcing promising trial results for its experimental Huntington's disease gene therapy, prompting analysts at Stifel and Leerink to raise price targets to $65 and $68 and signaling renewed optimism about the stock's long-term upside.

"Costco beats Q4 earnings, revenue estimates as comparable sales climb 5.7%", by Adam Eckert, reports that Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) delivered $86.16 billion in revenue — beating estimates — and $5.87 in adjusted EPS, while same-store sales rose 5.7% year-over-year and membership fees jumped to $1.72 billion.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:

Biggest Mining Stocks Boom In 50 Years Is Crushing S&P 500 — A ‘Once-In-A-Generation' Trade?

Oklo, NuScale, Nano Nuclear Stocks Soar — The $10 Trillion Nuclear Bet Is On

Snap Stock Goes Full Meme — Buyout Rumors Meet Retail's Roar

The Bears

"Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP plunge taking crypto-linked stocks down", by Erica Kollmann, reports that Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) dropped below $110,000, Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) slid under $3,900, and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) dipped below $2.75 — pressuring crypto-tied equities like Riot Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ: RIOT), MARA Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA), HIVE Digital Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: HIVE), Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ: COIN) and Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR), all of which fell sharply amid the broader selloff.

"NIO and Li Auto fall as Beijing tightens grip on EV exports", by Anusuya Lahiri, reports that NIO Inc. (NYSE: NIO) and Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ: LI) tumbled after Beijing announced that starting Jan. 1, 2026, automakers will need new export permits to ship electric vehicles abroad — part of a broader effort to curb industry discounting and stabilize the domestic EV sector.

"What Freeport's mud rush disaster means for its stock", by Triveni Kothapalli, reports that after a deadly mud rush at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) was downgraded by Scotiabank from Sector Outperform to Sector Perform, with its 12-month target cut to $45 from $55, on expectations of significantly deferred production — especially a 35% drop in 2026 output — and steep cuts to 2025–26 earnings, EBITDA, and free cash flow.

For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:

CarMax Stock Hits 52-Week Low After Q2 Earnings – Here's Why

Freeport-McMoRan Confronts Hard Questions After Fatal Mud Rush In Indonesia

Transocean (RIG) Stock Is Diving After Hours: Here's Why

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.