Key Takeaways CNC partnered with Cityblock Health to serve 10,000 Medicaid members across 17 Illinois counties.The deal adds a 24/7 wrap-around care model with primary, urgent, behavioral, social and pharmacy support.Illinois marks the fourth regional collaboration, reinforcing Centene's value-based Medicaid focus.Centene Corporation (CNC) continues to sharpen its Medicaid-focused growth strategy with a new partnership between its Illinois subsidiary, Meridian Health Plan of Illinois, and Cityblock Health. ...

All right, joining me now here on set, our man of the hour, Kenny Pulcary, partner, chief market strategist, Slate Stone Wealth. Love when you're here in person. Great to see here.>> Tell me your thoughts. We went through some of the numbers on non-farm payrolls. What stood out to you.What was important. >> So, there were two things, right. Because it's kind of a mixed report.We had better job uh growth than we expected and certainly in contrast to the ADP number last week that showed negative uh uh job gro ...

Market Overview - The CME has halted futures trading, leading to a quiet market on Black Friday, with some metals starting to trade [1] - Volatility in equity markets has decreased, with the VIX at one-month lows and a four-day winning streak for equities [1] - The S&P 500 is down only 4% from Wednesday's close, indicating a potential Santa Claus rally [1] Consumer Spending and Retail Sector - Consumer spending is expected to reach $1 trillion this holiday season, surpassing last year's estimates [1] - Retail earnings have been strong, with significant attention on upcoming reports from Macy's, Dollar Tree, and Dollar General [1] - There is a bifurcation in the market, with consumer sentiment declining while GDP growth expectations remain high at 4% for the current quarter [1] Retail Winners and Losers - Kohl's stock surged 40% post-earnings, highlighting unexpected winners in the retail space [2] - Discount retailers like Dollar General and Dollar Tree are under observation, while Costco is noted for being in a downtrend [3] Oracle's Financial Situation - Oracle's stock has dropped about 27% in the month prior to trading being halted, with concerns over rising borrowing rates [4][5] - The company is seeking a $38 billion loan to fund data centers in Texas and Wisconsin, raising credit risk concerns [6][7] - Credit default swaps for Oracle have increased, indicating heightened credit risk, with the stock down 40% from its all-time high in September [7][8]

Group 1: Tesla and Technology Stocks - Tesla's stock increased by 7%, making it one of the top performers in the S&P 500, following CEO Elon Musk's announcement about plans to build more AI chips than all others combined [2] - Major U.S. equities indexes rose, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq surging over 2%, driven by optimism regarding a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve [1] Group 2: Other Notable Stock Movements - Shares of Google parent Alphabet jumped over 5% to an all-time high, fueled by excitement surrounding the launch of the Gemini 3 AI model [2] - Centene, Elevance Health, and Molina Healthcare shares rose after reports of President Trump's support for a healthcare proposal extending Affordable Care Act subsidies [3] - Carvana's shares surged nearly 7% following an upgrade to "outperform" from "neutral" by Wedbush analysts [3] - Novo Nordisk's shares declined after the company reported that its latest drug trial was ineffective in slowing Alzheimer's progression [3] Group 3: Market Trends - Performance Food Group shares dropped as it and rival US Foods agreed to call off merger talks, while US Foods' shares increased [4] - Gold prices increased slightly, while crude oil futures decreased [4] - The yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged lower to 4.05% [4]

Group 1 - The core viewpoint of the articles highlights a significant shift in investor sentiment towards valuations, particularly among S&P 500 stocks, with some trading at extremely high price-to-earnings ratios of 150 or more [1] - The article mentions that the AI stock market is experiencing severe downturns, with a reported loss of $2.4 trillion in value, indicating a potential bubble burst in this sector [2] - Specific companies such as Tesla, CVS Health, and Fidelity National Information Services are noted for their inflated valuations, which may raise concerns among investors [1] Group 2 - Nvidia's recent earnings report has led to a sell-off, impacting other major tech stocks like Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, suggesting a broader market reaction to tech earnings [4] - Analysts are warning that nine stocks are at risk of significant declines, indicating potential volatility in the market [4] - The article also notes that 13 S&P 500 stocks have slipped into bear market territory, reflecting a challenging environment for investors [4]

Government Shutdown and Economic Impact - The House of Representatives is set to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with a vote on a stopgap funding package to restart food assistance, pay federal workers, and revive the air traffic control system [1][12] - The government shutdown has negatively impacted the economy and created a data gap for the Federal Reserve and traders, leading to reliance on private economic indicators [9][12] Market Performance - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record-high close, lifted by gains of about 3.5% in Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth Group, with the index up approximately 13% in 2025 [3][12] - The S&P 500 rose 0.06% to end at 6,850.92 points, while the Nasdaq declined 0.26% to 23,406.46 points [7][12] - Six of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, with healthcare leading at a 1.36% increase and financials gaining 0.9% [8][12] Sector Rotation and Earnings - There has been a rotation away from Nasdaq-heavy leadership toward sectors like healthcare and financials, as indicated by comments from investment professionals [6][12] - A critical component for market broadening is the need for earnings to broaden as well [7][12] Job Market and Economic Indicators - ADP's preliminary payroll figures indicated private employers shed an average of 11,250 jobs per week for the four weeks ending October 25, signaling continued weakness in the labor market [9][12] - Traders are pricing in a 65% probability of a quarter-point reduction in interest rates at the upcoming December monetary policy meeting [10][12] Notable Stock Movements - Tech-related stocks such as Amazon and Tesla fell about 2% each, while Palantir lost 3.6% and Oracle declined 3.9% [6][12] - AMD saw a significant rally of 9% after announcing a $100 billion data-center revenue target [12]

Core Viewpoint - Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP is investigating potential claims against Molina Healthcare, Inc. due to alleged violations of federal securities laws, encouraging investors who suffered losses exceeding $75,000 to contact them directly [1][3]. Summary by Sections Legal Investigation - The law firm is looking into claims against Molina Healthcare, highlighting a deadline of December 2, 2025, for investors to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action [1][6]. Allegations Against Molina - The complaint alleges that Molina and its executives made false or misleading statements regarding: 1. Material adverse facts about the company's medical cost trend assumptions [3]. 2. A dislocation between premium rates and medical cost trends [3]. 3. Molina's near-term growth being dependent on low utilization of various health services [3]. 4. A substantial likelihood of cutting financial guidance for fiscal year 2025 [3]. 5. Misleading positive statements about the company's business and prospects [3]. Financial Performance and Stock Impact - On July 7, 2025, Molina announced second-quarter financial results, revealing adjusted earnings of approximately $5.50 per share, which was below prior expectations, leading to a 10.2% cut in full-year earnings guidance from at least $24.50 to a range of $21.50 to $22.50 per share [4]. - Following this announcement, Molina's stock price fell by $6.97, or 2.9%, closing at $232.61 per share on July 7, 2025 [4]. - On July 23, 2025, Molina further slashed its full-year earnings guidance, reporting GAAP net income of $4.75 per diluted share for the second quarter, an 8% decrease year-over-year, and cutting full-year adjusted earnings guidance to no less than $19.00 per diluted share, representing a 13.6% cut [5]. - This led to a significant drop in Molina's stock price by $32.03, or 16.84%, closing at $158.22 per share on July 24, 2025 [5].

Core Insights - Community Health Systems (CYH) reported $3.09 billion in revenue for Q3 2025, a slight year-over-year decline of 0.1% [1] - The company achieved an EPS of $1.27, a significant improvement from -$0.30 a year ago, resulting in an EPS surprise of +496.88% compared to the consensus estimate of -$0.32 [1] Financial Performance - Revenue of $3.09 billion exceeded the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.99 billion, indicating a positive surprise of +3.22% [1] - Adjusted admissions were reported at 222,159, slightly above the average estimate of 220,688 [4] - Total patient days were 411,105, which fell short of the average estimate of 426,007.70 [4] - Total admissions reached 97,648, surpassing the average estimate of 96,825 [4] - The number of licensed beds remained consistent at 10,478, matching the average estimate [4] - The company operates 70 hospitals, in line with analyst estimates [4] - Beds in service totaled 8,983, exceeding the average estimate of 8,679 [4] Market Performance - Over the past month, shares of Community Health Systems returned +0.9%, outperforming the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.2% change [3] - The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold), suggesting it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term [3]

Group 1: Tesla Inc - Tesla reported third-quarter revenue of $28.095 billion, representing a 12% year-over-year increase, surpassing the Street consensus estimate of $26.239 billion [1] - The company's earnings per share for the third quarter were 50 cents, which missed the Street consensus estimate of 54 cents per share [1] - Tesla shares fell 3.2% to $424.88 in pre-market trading following the earnings report [2] Group 2: Other Companies - Molina Healthcare, Inc. shares dipped 19.8% to $156.00 after issuing FY2025 adjusted EPS guidance below expectations [4] - Beyond Meat, Inc. shares fell 17.8% to $2.94 after a significant surge earlier in the week due to its addition to the Roundhill Meme Stock ETF [4] - Ribbon Communications Inc. declined 11% to $3.56 after reporting worse-than-expected third-quarter results and issuing Q4 sales guidance below estimates [4] - Krispy Kreme, Inc. shares fell 8.9% to $3.67 in pre-market trading [4] - IBM reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results and expects constant currency revenue growth of "more than" 5% for full-year 2025, up from prior guidance of "at least" 5% [4] - Centene Corporation declined 5.9% to $33.89, potentially affected by Molina Healthcare's guidance [4]

Market Sentiment - Current market sentiment is cautious, with concerns over high valuations and potential bubbles in AI capital spending, as the forward PE ratio on the S&P is at 23 times, compared to 25 during the tech bubble [2][3] - Despite companies beating earnings expectations, there is uncertainty about future performance, leading to jittery market conditions [3][4] Earnings Performance - Tesla missed profit expectations, while IBM beat expectations and raised guidance but still saw its stock trade lower, indicating mixed investor sentiment [1] - A significant rally of 38% off a low is noted, the largest in over 50 years, but a pullback of 3% to 5% is anticipated [5] Economic Outlook - The economy is perceived to be stronger than labor market indicators suggest, with no imminent bear market expected without a recession [6] - Upcoming fiscal and monetary stimulus in 2026 is expected to support earnings growth, with large caps projected to grow by 13.3% and small caps by 22% year-over-year [6] Currency Impact - The dollar has strengthened by over 1.5% in the last month, which may impact future earnings, especially as a weaker dollar has previously benefited earnings [7][8] - Record net capital inflows from foreign investments in U.S. treasuries are expected to support a rally in the dollar, potentially putting pressure on international investments [9] Healthcare Sector - The healthcare sector has been upgraded due to attractive valuations despite regulatory uncertainties and pressures from drug pricing reforms [11] - Long-term demographic trends, managed care demand, and biotech innovation are expected to provide strong tailwinds for the healthcare sector [12]