Company News - ASML's ADRs rose 5% after reporting orders significantly exceeding investor expectations, driven by increased demand for AI computing workloads [3][5][17] - Seagate's stock increased by 8% following a strong second-quarter earnings report that surpassed expectations, along with a positive outlook [3] - Texas Instruments gained 7% after providing a favorable outlook, indicating improved demand in industrial and data center markets [3] - AT&T's shares rose 3% after reporting fourth-quarter profit and revenue that exceeded analysts' estimates, attributed to strong broadband subscriber growth [3] - C3.ai's stock surged 15% amid reports of merger talks with Automation Anywhere [3] - F5 Inc. jumped 8% after raising its revenue forecast for the fiscal year [3] - New Oriental Education's ADRs rose 6% after beating second-quarter estimates and increasing its annual net revenue forecast [3] - Corning's shares fell 3% after reporting fourth-quarter results and providing a disappointing outlook [3] - Elevance Health dropped 6% after giving an adjusted profit forecast for 2026 that fell short of Wall Street expectations [3] - Qorvo's stock fell 10% after issuing a weaker-than-expected outlook [3] Industry Trends - The tech sector is experiencing a rally, driven by strong earnings from semiconductor and memory companies, which is boosting the AI trade [1][4][6] - The Magnificent Seven stocks are mostly higher, with Nvidia, Alphabet, and Amazon showing gains, while Meta and Apple experienced slight declines [3] - The semiconductor, memory, and storage sectors are seeing significant gains due to positive earnings reports, particularly from ASML, Seagate, and Texas Instruments [3][4] - Asian equities are also benefiting from the tech rally, with notable gains in TSMC and SK Hynix [5][13] - The demand for AI memory is driving earnings growth for companies like SK Hynix, indicating a strong market for AI-related technologies [5][14]

Investors might want to bet on Tele2 (TLTZY) , as it has been recently upgraded to a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). An upward trend in earnings estimates -- one of the most powerful forces impacting stock prices -- has triggered this rating change.The sole determinant of the Zacks rating is a company's changing earnings picture. The Zacks Consensus Estimate -- the consensus of EPS estimates from the sell-side analysts covering the stock -- for the current and following years is tracked by the system.The power of a ch ...

Group 1 - Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY) is a notable stock in the Utilities sector, currently outperforming its peers with a year-to-date return of 21.9% compared to the sector average of 12.4% [4] - The Zacks Rank for Deutsche Telekom AG is 2 (Buy), indicating a positive outlook based on earnings estimates and revisions [3] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DTEGY's full-year earnings has increased by 3% over the past quarter, reflecting stronger analyst sentiment [4] Group 2 - Deutsche Telekom AG is part of the Diversified Communication Services industry, which has seen an average gain of 17.4% this year, indicating better performance compared to the industry average [6] - Tele2 (TLTZY) is another strong performer in the Utilities sector, with a year-to-date return of 63.1% and a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [5] - The Wireline Non-US industry, to which Tele2 belongs, is currently ranked 1 but has experienced a decline of 22.9% year to date [6]

Group 1 - Telenor ASA (TELNY) is currently ranked 1 in the Utilities group within the Zacks Sector Rank, indicating strong performance relative to its peers [2] - Telenor ASA has a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), with a 11.5% increase in the consensus estimate for full-year earnings over the past 90 days, reflecting improved analyst sentiment [3] - Year-to-date, Telenor ASA has returned 40.8%, significantly outperforming the average 9.1% gain of the Utilities group [4] Group 2 - Telenor ASA is part of the Diversified Communication Services industry, which ranks 16 in the Zacks Industry Rank, and has gained an average of 15.8% this year [5] - In comparison, Tele2 (TLTZY), another Utilities stock, has outperformed with a 52.7% year-to-date return and has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [4][5] - The Wireline Non-US industry, which includes Tele2, has seen a decline of -29% since the beginning of the year, highlighting the relative strength of Telenor ASA [6]

Group 1 - Exelon (EXC) is currently outperforming its peers in the Utilities sector with a year-to-date return of 23.5%, compared to the sector average of 6.7% [4] - Exelon holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), indicating positive analyst sentiment and an improving earnings outlook, with a 2.4% increase in the consensus estimate for its full-year earnings over the past quarter [3] - The Utilities sector, which includes 106 individual stocks, ranks 1 in the Zacks Sector Rank, reflecting strong overall performance [2] Group 2 - Exelon is part of the Utility - Electric Power industry, which consists of 60 companies and currently ranks 41 in the Zacks Industry Rank, with an average gain of 7.2% year-to-date [5] - Another notable stock in the Utilities sector is Tele2 (TLTZY), which has seen a year-to-date increase of 51.8% and also holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [4] - The Wireline Non-US industry, to which Tele2 belongs, is ranked 3 but has experienced a decline of 27.1% year-to-date [5]

The Utilities group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Southwest Gas (SWX) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Utilities peers, we might be able to answer that question.Southwest Gas is a member of the Utilities sector. This group includes 106 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 diff ...