CVR Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CVI) is set to report its first-quarter earnings Monday after the bell, and Wall Street is bracing for a loss of $0.89 per share on revenue of $1.31 billion.

The stock is down a rough 43.78% over the past year but has been showing signs of resilience lately, falling just 0.85% year-to-date and 6.05% in the past month. But while the scoreboard looks bruised, legendary investor Carl Icahn clearly sees an opening others are missing.

Let’s dig into what the charts are signaling and how Icahn’s bold moves set the tone ahead of the numbers.

Read Also: Trade Deal Or No, These 2 Stocks Will Outperform

CVI Technical Setup Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

Chart created using Benzinga Pro

The technicals are flashing mixed signals. CVI stock, at $18.62, is above its eight-day and 20-day simple moving averages, signaling a short-term bullish signal. However, it sits slightly below its 50-day and well below its 200-day moving averages, suggesting there’s still technical damage to repair in the long term.

Meanwhile, CVI’s MACD (moving average convergence/divergence) indicator of a negative 0.18 and an RSI (relative strength index) hovering at 51.87 hints at positive momentum but warn that the stock could be treading into overbought territory if the rally continues unchecked.

Icahn’s Big Bet On CVI

While Wall Street debates CVR’s near-term prospects, Carl Icahn has been busy buying – not talking. In April alone, filings show Icahn snapped up over 1.5 million shares worth more than $27 million. His total stake now sits at a commanding 70.1 million shares.

This isn’t a silent vote of confidence. When Icahn leans into a stock this hard, it’s usually a prelude to strategic shakeups, boardroom battles, or transformational plays. Investors ignoring this power move might be missing the bigger picture.

CVI Price Action: CVI stock was trading at $18.67 per share at the time of publication.

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Security software companies Tenable Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TENB), Varonis Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VRNS) and Qualys Inc (NASDAQ:QLYS) are gearing up to report their quarterly earnings on May 6.

While security continues to be a top priority for Chief Information Officers, industry checks reveal that tariffs and currency headwinds have limited impact on security spending, according to JPMorgan.

The Security Software Analyst: Analyst Brian Essex maintained ratings, while cutting price targets.

• Tenable Holdings: Overweight, price target reduced from $53 to $43
• Varonis Systems: Overweight, price target cut from $55 to $45
• Qualys: Underweight, price target trimmed from $122 to $117

The Security Software Thesis: Although tariffs pose less of a threat on security spending,there is limited visibility into the performance of security software companies due to enterprises facing macro uncertainty, Essex said in the note.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

Tenable Holdings

The company is likely to report solid results, despite core VM (virtual machine) featuring lower in the list of enterprises’ spending priorities, the analyst stated.

If Tenable Holdings beats expectations but does not pass through the outperformance to the guidance, preferring to play it safe, this would be seen as a positive, he added.

Varonis Systems

“We see potential for VRNS to beat SaaS expectations this quarter as the company moves to accelerate its transition this year,” Essex wrote.

Management’s full-year guidance is already conservative, which Varonis Systems could outperform due to its healthy fundamentals, he said.

Qualys

The company may deliver “another quarter of billings deceleration,” given tougher comps, the analyst stated.

Management needs to remain conservative in their guidance due to Qualys’recent sales execution issues, he further said.

Price Target Reductions:

The price target for the three companies has been reduced “to reflect lower peer multiples,” Essex wrote in the note.

At the time of publication on Monday, shares of:

• Tenable Holdings had risen by 0.39% to $33.11
• Varonis Systems had risen by 0.05% to $42.30
• Qualyshad risen by 0.21% to $127.02

Read More:

• Expert Outlook: Qualys Through The Eyes Of 8 Analysts

Image: Shutterstock

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bullish stance on PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP).

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don’t know. But when something this big happens with PEP, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga‘s options scanner spotted 10 uncommon options trades for PepsiCo.

This isn’t normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 60% bullish and 40%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 7 are puts, for a total amount of $800,020, and 3 are calls, for a total amount of $116,835.

Predicted Price Range

Based on the trading activity, it appears that the significant investors are aiming for a price territory stretching from $115.0 to $140.0 for PepsiCo over the recent three months.

Volume & Open Interest Trends

In terms of liquidity and interest, the mean open interest for PepsiCo options trades today is 1048.5 with a total volume of 2,048.00.

In the following chart, we are able to follow the development of volume and open interest of call and put options for PepsiCo’s big money trades within a strike price range of $115.0 to $140.0 over the last 30 days.

PepsiCo 30-Day Option Volume & Interest Snapshot

Noteworthy Options Activity:

Symbol	PUT/CALL	Trade Type	Sentiment	Exp. Date	Ask	Bid	Price	Strike Price	Total Trade Price	Open Interest	Volume
PEP	PUT	TRADE	BULLISH	01/16/26	$13.6	$12.7	$12.89	$140.00	$360.9K	3.0K	480
PEP	PUT	SWEEP	BULLISH	01/16/26	$13.9	$12.55	$12.96	$140.00	$126.5K	3.0K	100
PEP	PUT	TRADE	BEARISH	01/16/26	$12.65	$12.65	$12.65	$140.00	$126.5K	3.0K	100
PEP	PUT	SWEEP	BEARISH	01/15/27	$16.6	$15.0	$15.0	$135.00	$87.0K	510	58
PEP	CALL	SWEEP	BULLISH	09/19/25	$9.95	$9.9	$9.95	$130.00	$52.7K	326	11

About PepsiCo

PepsiCo is a global leader in snacks and beverages, owning well-known household brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Lay’s, Cheetos, and Doritos, among others. The company dominates the global savory snacks market and also ranks as the second-largest beverage provider in the world (behind Coca-Cola) with diversified exposure to carbonated soft drinks, or CSD, as well as water, sports, and energy drink offerings. Convenience foods account for approximately 55% of its total revenue, with beverages making up the rest. Pepsi owns the bulk of its manufacturing and distribution capacity in the US and overseas. International markets made up 40% of both total sales and operating profits in 2024.

PepsiCo’s Current Market Status

• Currently trading with a volume of 2,057,362, the PEP’s price is up by 0.49%, now at $134.04.
• RSI readings suggest the stock is currently may be approaching oversold.
• Anticipated earnings release is in 73 days.

What Analysts Are Saying About PepsiCo

In the last month, 5 experts released ratings on this stock with an average target price of $156.4.

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* An analyst from RBC Capital has revised its rating downward to Sector Perform, adjusting the price target to $163.
* An analyst from B of A Securities has revised its rating downward to Neutral, adjusting the price target to $155.
* An analyst from Barclays has decided to maintain their Equal-Weight rating on PepsiCo, which currently sits at a price target of $135.
* An analyst from Citigroup persists with their Buy rating on PepsiCo, maintaining a target price of $160.
* An analyst from UBS persists with their Buy rating on PepsiCo, maintaining a target price of $169.

Options trading presents higher risks and potential rewards. Astute traders manage these risks by continually educating themselves, adapting their strategies, monitoring multiple indicators, and keeping a close eye on market movements. Stay informed about the latest PepsiCo options trades with real-time alerts from Benzinga Pro.

Gainers

Symbol	Name	Price	Change ($)	Change (%)	Volume
(NYSE:XLC)	The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund	94.80	0.44	0.46	1.2K
(NYSE:XLF)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial	48.14	0.12	0.24	141.5K
(NYSE:XLP)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Staples	80.87	0.03	0.03	1.1K

Losers

Symbol	Name	Price	Change ($)	Change (%)	Volume
(NYSE:XLK)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Technology	208.13	-0.34	-0.17	16.8K
(NYSE:XLV)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Health Care	137.86	-0.19	-0.14	4.9K
(NYSE:XLE)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Energy Select Sector	82.30	-0.09	-0.11	9.0K

Pulled from Benzinga Pro data this sector movers alert provides traders with a compiled way to read macro-level market trends. Investors garner a particular interest in sector movers to better determine sectors that are over- or under-performing to make better investing decisions on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or individual tickers in those sectors.

To read more about sector movers, click here.

Gainers

Symbol	Name	Price	Change ($)	Change (%)	Volume
(NYSE:XLC)	The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund	94.30	0.53	0.56	5.5K
(NYSE:XLRE)	Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (The)	40.71	0.12	0.29	805
(NYSE:XLP)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Staples	81.12	0.07	0.08	6.5K

Losers

Symbol	Name	Price	Change ($)	Change (%)	Volume
(NYSE:XLE)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Energy Select Sector	81.82	-0.72	-0.88	55.0K
(NYSE:XLF)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial	47.97	-0.28	-0.59	336.8K
(NYSE:XLB)	Materials Select Sector SPDR	82.78	-0.46	-0.56	7.5K
(NYSE:XLI)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Industrial	128.38	-0.64	-0.50	9.9K
(NYSE:XLK)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Technology	204.59	-0.84	-0.41	63.0K
(NYSE:XLU)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Utilities	78.34	-0.11	-0.15	1.1K
(NYSE:XLY)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Discretionary	193.85	-0.26	-0.14	11.2K
(NYSE:XLV)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Health Care	137.23	-0.16	-0.12	3.7K

Pulled from Benzinga Pro data this sector movers alert provides traders with a compiled way to read macro-level market trends. Investors garner a particular interest in sector movers to better determine sectors that are over- or under-performing to make better investing decisions on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or individual tickers in those sectors.

To read more about sector movers, click here.

As of April 25, 2025, two stocks in the health care sector could be flashing a real warning to investors who value momentum as a key criteria in their trading decisions.

The RSI is a momentum indicator, which compares a stock’s strength on days when prices go up to its strength on days when prices go down. When compared to a stock’s price action, it can give traders a better sense of how a stock may perform in the short term. An asset is typically considered overbought when the RSI is above 70, according to Benzinga Pro.

Here’s the latest list of major overbought players in this sector.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:LXRX)

• On March 28, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals entered into an exclusive license agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) for LX9851, a first-in-class, oral non-incretin development candidate in obesity and associated metabolic disorders. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk obtains an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize LX9851 in all indications. The company’s stock jumped around 95% over the past month and has a 52-week high of $2.45.
• RSI Value: 73.9                                
• LXRX Price Action: Shares of Lexicon Pharmaceuticals gained 4.7% to close at $0.70 on Thursday.
• Edge Stock Ratings: 5.71 Momentum score with Value at 55.06.

Amarin Corporation PLC (NASDAQ:AMRN)

• On March 12, Amarin announced its intent to effect a 1-for-20 ADS ratio change. The company also reported fourth-quarter financial results. “Since taking on the role of CEO of Amarin last year, I have worked with our leadership team and the Board of Directors to identify opportunities to leverage our unique assets, skills and resources to drive value,” said Aaron Berg, President & CEO, Amarin. “In 2024, while still progressing with the early launch in markets outside the U.S. and despite a dynamic generic market in the U.S., we generated more than $200 million in revenue and ended the year with nearly $300 million in cash and no debt — all measures exemplifying the strength and resilience of our franchise and the impact of our disciplined approach to capital deployment.” The company’s stock gained around 24% over the past five days and has a 52-week high of $20.60.
• RSI Value: 73.5
• AMRN Price Action: Shares of Amarin rose 7.9% to close at $11.18 on Thursday.

BZ Edge Rankings: Find out where other stocks stand—explore the full comparison now.

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Photo via Shutterstock

Five9 Inc (NASDAQ:FIVN) is gearing up to report its quarterly results on May 1.

The 2025 and 2026 revenue estimates have been lowered to reflect macro uncertainty arising from tariffs, according to Rosenblatt Securities.

The Five9 Analyst: Analyst Catharine Trebnick reiterated a Buy rating while slashing the price target from $58 to $36.

The Five9 Thesis: The recently announced plans to cut its workforce by 4% will have a positive impact on the company’s operating margins in 2025, Trebnick said in the note.

Check out other analyst stock ratings.

The analyst raised the 2025 pro forma earnings to reflect improved margins, from $2.58 per share to $2.60 per share. The 2026 estimate was kept unchanged at $3.00 per share, which is slightly higher than the Street’s expectations of $2.98 per share.

Trebnick cut the 2025 revenue projection from $1,142.5 million $1,136 million, reflecting 9% growth, below the lower end of the current guidance range and Street expectations of $1,139 million to reflect macro uncertainty. He trimmed the 2026 revenue estimate from $1,261 million to $1,249 million, below the consensus estimate of $1,255 million.

“We see the company as a significant beneficiary of AI adoption in CCaaS and believe the company has a more open system, which aligns with organizations evaluating new CCaaS solutions based on platform flexibility,” Trebnick wrote.

FIVN Price Action: Shares of Five9 had risen by 2.93% to $23.87 at the time of publication on Thursday.

Read More: Five9 Leans Into Artificial Intelligence While It Cuts Workforce

Photo: Shutterstock

Tech giant Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is set to report quarterly financial results Thursday after market close as the company faces a key antitrust case that could change the structure of the company’s business segments moving forward.

Here are the analyst estimates for the first quarter, what analysts are saying and key items to watch.

Earnings Estimates: Analysts expect Alphabet to report first-quarter revenue of $88.87 billion, up from $80.54 billion in last year’s first quarter, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The company has beaten analyst estimates for revenue in eight straight quarters.

Analysts expect Alphabet to report first-quarter earnings per share of $2.02, up from $1.89 in last year’s first quarter. The company has beaten analyst estimates for earnings per share in eight straight quarters.

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What Experts Are Saying: Alphabet’s advertising revenue could provide an earnings surprise, Navellier & Associates chairman Louis Navellier said in a recent podcast.

“Well, their sales are forecasted to go up 10.7%, and earnings are forecast to grow 7%. Google does not provide any guidance whatsoever, but it has a very good earnings surprise history. I think what everybody’s going to be looking at is their advertising revenue very carefully,” Navellier said.

Bank of America analyst Justin Post recently maintained a Buy rating on Alphabet with a price target of $185.

The analyst said that the Street has been lowering expectations for Alphabet, which could mean an in-line quarter or beat comes across as a positive.

Needham analyst Laura Martin highlighted Alphabet’s large language models as a key upside valuation driver ahead of earnings.

The analyst recently reiterated a Buy rating with a $178 price target.

Martin said generative AI will help increase Alphabet’s revenue growth. The company’s segments, like Google’s search engine and YouTube, give Alphabet’s large language models a competitive advantage, Martin said.

Freedom Capital Markets chief global strategist Jay Woods said Alphabet is making headlines due to ongoing antitrust litigation and competition in search from the likes of ChatGPT.

“Shares have been under pressure all year and find themselves at a fork-in-the-road coming into their Thursday number,” Woods said in a weekly newsletter.

Woods said Alphabet stock rallied and paused at the end of 2024.

“That level of prior resistance now became support in textbook fashion. Shares rallied from there to make new all-time highs. Then, they failed again.”

Woods said Alphabet stock shows a favorable risk/reward scenario with the potential to break down to the $140.50 and $136 levels, while the upside shows “smooth sailing” to the 50-week moving average above $172.

“It may take a strong beat and guide in this macro environment to push much higher, but the lines are set as we head into this busy week of earnings.”

Key Items to Watch: One of the biggest items to watch with Alphabet stock remains the ongoing antitrust case with the Department of Justice.

Alphabet will likely be forced to sell or spin off its Chrome segment, with the DOJ finding Alphabet in violation of antitrust laws. The company could be forced to end its search deals with smartphone companies like Apple as well.

While Alphabet is unlikely to comment on the pending case, any commentary on what comes next or if the company discusses businesses in more separate lines than usual could signal future plans.

Google Search and YouTube were bright spots in the fourth-quarter results. Investors and analysts will look for these key indicators to show strength in the Q1 results and in future guidance. Google Cloud also posted strong growth in the fourth quarter.

“Together, Cloud and YouTube exited 2024 at an annual run rate of $110 billion. Our results show the power of our differentiated full-stack approach to AI innovation and the continued strength of our core business,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said after fourth-quarter results.

Alphabet’s results could put pressure on several top ETFs, as the stock is a member of the Magnificent Seven and one of the largest companies in the world.

Alphabet is the third-largest holding in the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (BATS: MAGS) at 14.9%. The company is also one of the largest holdings in the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ), with Class A shares being the ninth-largest holding at 2.6% and Class C shares being the 11th-largest holding at 2.5%.

GOOGL Price Action: Alphabet stock was up 2.6% to $155.35 on Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $140.53 to $207.05. Alphabet stock is down 18% year-to-date in 2025.

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Gainers

Symbol	Name	Price	Change ($)	Change (%)	Volume
(NYSE:XLE)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Energy Select Sector	81.7300	0.490	0.60	78.8K
(NYSE:XLK)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Technology	199.2277	1.188	0.59	105.5K
(NYSE:XLU)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Utilities	78.4200	0.090	0.11	1.3K

Losers

Symbol	Name	Price	Change ($)	Change (%)	Volume
(NYSE:XLF)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Financial	47.51	-0.21	-0.45	657.5K
(NYSE:XLC)	The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund	91.60	-0.33	-0.36	6.2K
(NYSE:XLI)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Industrial	125.87	-0.32	-0.26	360
(NYSE:XLRE)	Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (The)	40.40	-0.07	-0.18	534
(NYSE:XLY)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Discretionary	190.07	-0.25	-0.14	3.4K
(NYSE:XLV)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Health Care	135.62	-0.11	-0.09	4.0K
(NYSE:XLP)	SPDR Select Sector Fund – Consumer Staples	81.70	-0.07	-0.09	12.3K

Pulled from Benzinga Pro data the above sector movers alert assists traders in understanding macro-level trends and market variations. Traders will look for sector movers providing information on sectors that are over- or under-performing, deriving these results into investing decisions on exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or individual tickers in those sectors.

For more information on sector movers, click here.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is increasingly being viewed in the same league as gold when it comes to long-term inflation hedging, according to John D’Agostino, Head of Strategy for Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) Institutional.

What Happened: Speaking with CNBC as Bitcoin traded near $92,500 levels on Thursday morning, D’Agostino emphasized that Bitcoin has now earned a place next to gold in strategic asset allocations aimed at protecting capital during periods of financial stress.

“In every single one of their analysis, Bitcoin was top five,” he said, referring to top global commodity traders who ran inflation hedge simulations. “Bitcoin and gold go side by side.”

The statement comes amid heightened institutional interest in Bitcoin as a non-sovereign asset.

D’Agostino noted that while retail investors have been exiting Bitcoin ETFs in April, institutional players, including sovereign wealth funds and insurance pools, were steadily accumulating directly.

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This divergence in behavior coincided with a 13% rise in Bitcoin’s price, outpacing gold’s 10.5% during the same period.

“There’s a very short list of assets that mirror the characteristics of gold,” D’Agostino said, highlighting scarcity, immutability, portability, and non-sovereign status as core attributes shared by both assets.

He added that some investors, having missed the rally in gold, are now positioning in Bitcoin as a second inflation hedge. “You look at that rally and say, I missed the boat on that. What other assets could participate?”

What’s Next: While stressing that no asset is a perfect hedge, D’Agostino’s comments reflect growing alignment in institutional strategy that views Bitcoin as a viable component of long-term inflation protection, especially as macro conditions like de-dollarization and geopolitical volatility evolve.

Read Next:

• Bitcoin Has Likely Bottomed At $74,500, $200,000 Is On The Table, Says Arthur Hayes

Image: Shutterstock