$STX and $APP Are Stealing the Show While Everyone's Watching Oil Explode
While markets whipsaw on Iran headlines, STX and APP are quietly printing gains with Wall Street upgrades and social buzz to match

Ticker Ratings
$APP was the top gainer in both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 on Monday, surging 6.8% after Wells Fargo bumped its price target to $560 from $543 — citing improving channel checks and, hilariously, the fact that buy-side sentiment on AppLovin was so negative it became a contrarian buy signal. Reddit's r/stocks crowd largely agrees: they've been calling APP underappreciated in a market obsessed with semis and ignoring high-margin ad-tech. X/Twitter was piling on too, with fintech accounts flagging the move in real time as it happened.
Meanwhile, $STX popped 5.6% after Morgan Stanley named it a top pick and raised its target to $582 from $468 — that's not a tweak, that's a statement. The thesis: AI-driven hyperscaler demand is pushing HDD pricing firmer into 2027, and the market is just now catching up. YouTube's Bloomberg Podcasts covered this across three separate videos, which is basically a standing ovation in financial media terms. $WDC also got the Morgan Stanley treatment with a target raise to $380, though it played second fiddle in the hype department.
With 40-50% of individual stocks sitting 20% below their one-year highs per Neuberger Berman's Joe Amato, finding anything green right now feels like spotting a parking spot in Manhattan — STX and APP found theirs.