The Club’s 10 things to watch Friday, Aug. 21 — Club portfolio director Jeff Marks wrote today’s newsletter. 1. Stocks are set for a higher open Friday following yesterday’s nasty rate-driven pullback. Bond yields are steady this morning after the Treasury’s debt buyback plan flops. 2. Broadcom is in talks to help raise $60 billion in debt for an AI chip financing deal for customers like Anthropic, according to Bloomberg . The move is similar to fellow Club name Nvidia’s recent announcement with major Wall Street firms to line up $500 billion in financing. 3. Citigroup joins Morgan Stanley , Club name Goldman Sachs , and JPMorgan as the top bankers working on the Anthropic IPO, which is expected this fall. 4. Micron was initiated with a buy rating and $1,300 price target by BMP Capital on a prolonged memory supercycle. CEO Sanjay Mehrotra explained to Jim Cramer on “Mad Money” last night why the industry is no longer as boom-and-bust as it was previously. Micron is our newest position. 5. BMO Capital started titans of AI semiconductors Nvidia , Broadcom, Advanced Micro Devices , and Marvell with buy ratings. 6. Eaton was initiated with a buy rating at Baird and $500 price target on strong data center demand. During our August Monthly Meeting , we said we were content with the size of our positions in Eaton and GE Vernova , both of which are crucial to powering these AI facilities. 7. There was a round of price target cuts on Walmart after disappointing earnings Thursday; only one downgrade, and it was from Gordon Haskett. Shares of Walmart are flat after yesterday’s 9% decline. 8. Ross Stores shares are up more than 8% after a beat and raise. Comparable sales increased 10%, significantly outperforming Club name TJX , which didn’t have the right inventory but has taken steps to fix it and has seen improvement in August. 9. BJ’s Wholesale shares are up 2.5% this morning after reporting a better-than-expected second quarter with comparable sales, excluding gas, up 3.1%. The warehouse club also raised its full-year earnings outlook. 10. Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay $670 million to resolve some of the litigation surrounding its preterm infant formula. It helps remove an overhang in the stock that has cast a shadow for years. Abbott said the settlements are not an admission of liability. It stands by the products. Sign up for my Top 10 Morning Thoughts on the Market email newsletter for free (See here for a full list of the stocks at Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Here are the top 10 things we’re watching in the stock market Friday
Aug 21, 2026
