Presented by Strategic Trader: Warrants can give you years to be right on a stock with option-like upside, yet most investors have never looked at one.
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Analyst upgrades are setting the tone before the bell. An EV maker and a cybersecurity name are both climbing on fresh Buy calls, with a rival of the latter rising in sympathy, while a beauty giant is higher after a beat and a raised outlook.

Elsewhere, two names that got hit hard on Friday are bouncing back as dip-buyers step in. The one corner in the red is energy, where falling oil prices are pulling the group lower.

You don’t need to buy hundreds of shares – costing thousands of dollars - to get exposure to a company’s potential upside. Warrants often cost a fraction of the underlying stock. But gives you leverage to the upside.

Strategic Trader’s free guide explains the mechanics so you can decide whether this speculative corner of the market fits your strategy.

Rivian Automotive (RIVN): +3%

UBS (UBS) upgraded the EV maker to Buy. Analyst Joseph Spak argued the stock’s recent sell-off has created a buying opportunity ahead of an inflection in its R2 midsize SUV ramp. The call treats the R2 as Rivian’s next real test, and UBS is betting the market has priced in too much doubt before that ramp gets going.

CrowdStrike (CRWD): +3%

Deutsche Bank (DB) upgraded the cybersecurity name to Buy from Hold. Analyst Brad Zelnick argued the market still isn’t fully pricing in how much AI will expand demand for cybersecurity. Peer Palo Alto Networks (PANW) gained 1% in sympathy, a sign investors are reading the call as a thesis for the whole sector, not just one name.

Estée Lauder (EL): +2%

The beauty company comfortably beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines for its fiscal first quarter and raised its full-year earnings outlook. A strong quarter paired with a higher bar for the year suggests management sees the momentum carrying through, not fading after one good print.

Vertiv (VRT): +2%

The digital infrastructure technology company is bouncing after sliding 5% on Friday, as investors stepped back in following the pullback. Bloom Energy (BE) is doing the same, up 2% after an 8% drop in the prior session. Neither move erases Friday’s damage, so this reads more like dip-buying than a fresh catalyst.

Valero Energy (VLO): -1%

Valero is leading energy names lower as oil prices decline to start the week. Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) also slipped nearly 1%. The moves are modest, but they show how closely the group is still trading off the direction of crude.

A cheap warrant isn’t automatically a bargain. Strategic Trader editor John Pangere asks three questions: how much time is left, how good are the stock’s prospects, and whether the warrant trades actively enough.

Learn more in his free guide to warrants.

Wendy’s (WEN)

Wendy’s is trending on StockTwits this morning, days after a Trian-led investor group offered $7.35 per share in cash to take the burger chain private. Retail sentiment on the platform jumped to extremely bullish after the bid, and message volume rose significantly in a week. The debate centers on whether a higher offer is coming or whether short interest near 30% could fuel a squeeze.

The stock has been trading just below the offer price, and an independent board committee is reviewing the bid. Shareholder Blackwells Capital has already called the price too low. Thursday’s third-quarter report could be the moment that either strengthens the case for a better deal or makes $7.35 look generous.

✌️That’s it for today.