Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Amgen, Qualcomm, Expedia, CoreWeave & more

Midday trading was sharply mixed, led by AI-infrastructure gains after OpenAI released GPT-6 Astra: CoreWeave rose nearly 15%, Lumentum gained 12%, Corning and Nebius added about 10%, and Qualcomm climbed 4% on an AWS data-center partnership involving warrants for 25 million Qualcomm shares valued at $4 billion. Healthcare names sold off on trial and operational setbacks, with Novartis down 13% after another disappointing Phase 3 result, Amgen down nearly 10% amid reduced expectations for olpasiran, and Stryker down more than 7% on vascular-business supply constraints expected into Q4. Roivant rallied about 20% on positive Phase 2 pulmonary-hypertension data, while Boston Scientific fell 5% after saying a cyberattack could impair 2026 sales and profit targets. Travel stocks declined as October gasoline futures rose roughly 2%, while quantum-computing stocks gained following a $300 million CHIPS Act deal involving U.S. minority equity stakes.

Analysis

The cleanest fundamental read-through is in Lp(a): Novartis' outcome weakens the assumption that lowering the biomarker will automatically translate into outcomes benefit, raising the required evidence bar for AMGN's olpasiran rather than merely resetting near-term sentiment. AMGN now carries a multi-year binary-data discount, while its established-product earnings base provides downside support; the key risk is that investors extrapolate one mechanism-specific failure too broadly. Watch trial-design differences, achieved Lp(a) reduction, and cardiovascular-event endpoints rather than treating the programs as interchangeable.

Medtech disruptions create a near-term revenue-capture opportunity for competitors, but SYK's constrained portfolio is unlikely to be fully substitutable in physician preference-sensitive procedures. More importantly, BSX's cyber incident exposes a sector-wide operational risk: hospitals may delay orders or impose tighter vendor IT scrutiny, extending sales-cycle friction beyond the directly affected company. Over the next one to three quarters, revisions to procedure-volume growth and management commentary on backlog conversion matter more than the initial stock moves.

AI infrastructure gains are increasingly being financed through customer-linked commercial arrangements and index flows, rather than solely through independently measurable revenue acceleration. QCOM's AWS relationship merits attention only if it produces disclosed data-center design wins or material accelerator revenue; warrants can align incentives but also transfer economics to the customer and dilute equity holders. BE's index inclusion should create a mechanical demand window, but its elevated valuation makes post-rebalance flow exhaustion a meaningful risk; similarly, CRWV, LITE, COHR, GLW and NBIS remain highly exposed to any moderation in hyperscaler capex guidance.

The travel selloff on fuel sensitivity is likely more narrative-driven than earnings-material unless fuel inflation persists long enough to impair discretionary demand or airline capacity. BKNG has greater pricing power and geographic diversification than EXPE, while ABNB's alternative-accommodation model can gain share if hotel rates rise. The more actionable structural short remains PTON: declining scale can pressure gross margin, marketing efficiency, and liquidity simultaneously, unlike a one-quarter fuel-cost shock.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Initiate a 3-6 month long BKNG / short EXPE pair on equal dollar exposure after the initial fuel-driven move stabilizes. BKNG should better absorb modest travel-cost inflation through international mix and merchant economics; exit if forward booking commentary weakens broadly or EXPE closes its growth/profitability gap.
• Use any index-inclusion strength in BE to reduce long exposure or initiate a small tactical short after the effective-date rebalance, sized for high volatility. The catalyst is passive-flow exhaustion over days to weeks; cover on new contracted data-center capacity disclosures or a material upward revision to revenue/FCF guidance.
• Maintain an AMGN watch rather than adding on the headline decline. Upgrade to a long only if valuation reaches a defensible floor relative to its core earnings and management demonstrates that olpasiran's endpoint, dose durability, or enrolled risk profile meaningfully differentiates it; a peer-like efficacy signal would invalidate the thesis.
• Remain underweight PTON over 6-18 months; favor long-dated puts only if implied volatility is not already extreme. The thesis fails if subscriber stabilization translates into sustained positive free cash flow without renewed promotional spending.
• Avoid chasing CRWV, LITE, COHR, GLW, NBIS, QBTS and RGTI on momentum alone. For AI optical names, require order/backlog conversion and hyperscaler capex confirmation at the next earnings cycle; for quantum names, government equity support does not resolve commercialization timing or potential dilution.