Sponsored by REXSHARES: Memory chip makers and other AI leaders are driving the tape, and now you can trade the whole theme with leverage in a single note. See why +3X AIQU is built for active traders chasing the AI move →

The AI trade is back in control of the tape this morning, and it is rewarding anything tied to memory and next-generation compute. A blowout from one chipmaker is dragging the entire sector higher, while a fresh cash buyout is reminding the market that takeout premiums still snap a stock to the deal price overnight.

The pain is concentrated on the consumer side. A travel name is getting hammered on a double miss, and two retailers are sliding, one on weak guidance and the other on a large holder heading for the exits. The split is clean: chips and dealmaking up, the consumer under pressure.

Trade memory chip makers and other AI leaders in 1 ETN. +3X AIQU now trading.

Learn more

The notes are not suitable for all investors and are intended to be a daily trading tool for sophisticated investors. An investment in the notes is subject to significant risks. You should proceed with caution in considering an investment in the notes.

Bio-Techne (TECH): +19%

The life sciences tools company is being bought by Merck for $73 per share. A clean cash takeout at a premium is the kind of catalyst that snaps a stock to the deal price overnight, and that is exactly what is happening here.

Micron (MU): +18%

The memory chipmaker blew past earnings expectations, with revenue more than quadrupling from a year ago. This is the clearest signal yet that the AI buildout is translating into real demand for memory, and the market is treating it as confirmation rather than hope.

Sandisk (SNDK): +16%

The flash storage maker is ripping higher in sympathy with Micron's blowout. When the read-through from a peer is this strong, money rotates fast across the whole memory complex, and Sandisk is catching the bid.

Western Digital (WDC): +14%

Another memory name riding the Micron halo, up double digits before the bell. The trade today is simple: if AI demand is lifting one storage player's numbers, investors are betting it lifts all of them.

Qualcomm (QCOM): +10%

The chipmaker nearly doubled its 2029 forecast for non-handset revenue and laid out a $15 billion data center sales target for the same year. The story here is Qualcomm convincing the market it is more than a smartphone company, and the guidance reset is doing the persuading.

Trip.com (TCOM): -11%

The online travel agency missed on both earnings and revenue. When a growth-oriented travel name comes up short on the top and bottom line, investors tend to punish first and ask questions later.

Darden Restaurants (DRI): -3%

The Olive Garden parent beat on earnings but fell short on revenue and guided below expectations. In a cautious consumer environment, the forward outlook is what the market cares about, and Darden's wasn't reassuring.

Dollar Tree (DLTR): -3%

The discount retailer slid after disclosing that a major shareholder is selling a large block of stock to JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. Dollar Tree plans to repurchase $500 million of its shares from Goldman once the block trade clears, but a big holder heading for the exit is the part the market is reacting to first.

Trade memory chip makers and other AI leaders in 1 ETN. +3X AIQU now trading.

Learn more

The notes are not suitable for all investors and are intended to be a daily trading tool for sophisticated investors. An investment in the notes is subject to significant risks. You should proceed with caution in considering an investment in the notes.

Viking Therapeutics (VKTX)

Retail traders have been piling into Viking chatter on Reddit and StockTwits this week, with the obesity-drug developer climbing into the most-discussed biotech conversations as bulls position ahead of a looming data readout. The pitch circulating is that strong late-stage results could vault Viking into the same conversation as the GLP-1 giants and even draw buyout interest.

The grounding here is concrete: Viking expects results from its VK2735 maintenance dosing study in the third quarter of 2026, and its larger Phase 3 obesity trials are fully enrolled. That pending data could be the event that either cements the bull thesis or deflates it.