Jan. 5 at 2:25 AM
$CVX $LHX $EADSY $BABA $ASML
TOP 5 WEEKEND STORIES:
1. President Trump told Fox News that the U.S. will be "very strongly involved" in Venezuela's oil industry. Trump said, "What can I say? We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we're going to be very much involved in it." Publicly traded companies in the space include BP (BP), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE).
2. L3Harris (LHX) is nearing a deal to sell a 60% stake in a portfolio of space and propulsion businesses to AE Industrial Partners, Mike Stone as Reuters reports, citing three people familiar with the matter. This comes as the company works to sharpen its focus on national security. The deal could be announced as soon as Monday. L3Harris will retain a 40% stake in the portfolio of businesses and AE Industrial will pay over
$500M for its 60% stake, two sources added.
3. Airbus (EADSY) exceeded its revised annual target of 790, delivering 793 aircraft in 2025, Siddharth Philip of Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The figures are currently preliminary and may change, the sources added.
4. In an effort to compete with Meituan in the Chinese food and dining sector, Alibaba (BABA) is launching a service meant to assist restaurants via AI to showcase interiors, Debby Wu of Bloomberg reports. Alibaba's maps and local services unit Amap will allow restaurants to create 3D-images by uploading videos or photos, which should lower the marketing and promotional costs for merchants, sources familiar with the matter said.
5. Bernstein upgraded ASML (ASML) to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of
$1,528, up from
$935. The firm also named ASML its top pick in European semiconductors for 2026. The company will benefit from the upcoming DRAM "super cycle," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says the top three DRAM makers are adding greenfield capacity in 2026 and accelerating the node migration, which is "great" for ASML. Bernstein believes 2026 and 2027 will be "big years" for extreme ultraviolet and for ASML.