My top 10 things to watch Wednesday, March 18 1. S & P futures turned lower after hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation data. The producer price index increased 0.7% last month, much higher than estimates. PPI shouldn’t be this much of a market mover. There are a lot of extraneous factors at play. The Federal Reserve is expected to leave rates unchanged this afternoon at its March meeting. Investors will listen to Fed chief Jerome Powell’s press conference for remarks on inflation and Iran war-driven spikes in oil. Crude futures rose this morning. 2. Nvidia ‘s stock is stuck. What will make it move again? Does more money need to come into the S & P 500 to raise all boats? No. It will be new, non-GPU products, including the newly announced inference chips that are better and faster. It will also be new customers, mainly Anthropic and OpenAI. And finally, it will be the profits from the current data centers plowed back into new data centers, as they will be money makers. 3. Starbucks was downgraded to a hold from buy at RBC Capital. Analysts said investors’ revenue growth expectations are “elevated, leaving less room for upside.” They added the stock is already “trading near peak historical multiple.” Another headwind: RBC pointed to a lack of visibility on the coffee retailer’s cost savings. 4. Another rating change on a beverage giant. Citi goes to buy from hold on Constellation Brands, raising its price target to $175 from $155. Retail scanner data shows improving beer trends ahead of the summer season, meaning more topline growth for the Corona and Modelo brewer. I like new CEO Nick Fink. 5. Huge Disney call. Guggenheim cut its price target to $115 from $140, reassessing its valuation metrics and the road ahead under new CEO Josh D’Amaro , who took over today. While Disney shares have lagged significantly in recent years, the analysts see a path to rebuilding investor confidence by way of more transparency and guidance across its streaming, film, and television segments. 6. Citi analysts resumed their coverage of Netflix with a buy, thinking the streaming platform could raise its 2026 guidance. The analysts pointed to other catalysts, like a hike in U.S. prices, which could lead to more revenue gains. Citi kept its $115 price target on Netflix, implying a 21% increase from yesterday’s close. 7. Nuclear startup Oklo reported a slightly narrower net loss per share of 72 cents for fiscal 2025. There were lots of unexpected costs and big expense increases. Citi cut its price target on Oklo to $73.50 from $95, citing what it calls a “robust” capital expenditure outlook. This “year of magical investing” stock is down more than 15% year to date after rising nearly 240% in 2025. 8. Vertiv is sold out of product. CEO Giordano Albertazzi told a bullish story on “Mad Money” last night. The company makes power and cooling systems as well as monitoring software for data centers. It’s a close Nvidia partner. I think the stock keeps going higher. It’s up 65% year to date after rising more than 40% last year. 9. Lots of price target cuts on Lululemon after a disappointing quarter and weak full-year outlook. Higher expenses, tariffs headwinds, and a boardroom battle with its founder hurt the company’s top and bottom lines. Barclays went to $161 from $203, pointing to that soft 2026 guide. Stifel took Lululemon to $176 from $210. 10. Truist likes Block on last month’s 40% reduction in its workforce. The analysts upgraded shares of the Square and Cash App parent to a buy from hold and raised their price target by $5 per share to $77. I think we’re going to see more of these AI-driven job cuts, like the reports on a possible 20% reduction in force at Club name Meta Platforms . 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.
Jim Cramer’s top 10 things to watch in the stock market Wednesday
Mar 18, 2026
