A Fresh Chip Story Right When Seasonality Turns Friendly

New month, new momentum.

A classic year-end tailwind meets a chipmaker trying to rewrite its story from laggard to contender.

The headline today is that if execution keeps improving, just as December seasonality kicks in, the setup can stay supportive. 

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Moderna | MRNA

Price: $24.16

This one has been a roller coaster.

The COVID cash cow shrank, and the stock has been trying to find a floor while the pipeline steps up.

The story now is about proving mRNA beyond the pandemic: respiratory combo shots, a long-watched CMV vaccine, and personalized cancer programs. 

Costs are coming down, but it is still a show-me phase.

The good news is that a single positive late-stage read can change the tone quickly, and the balance sheet gives time to get there.

For traders, catalysts matter more than quarterly wiggles.

Why it matters for you: Keep an eye on near-term data drops and partnership updates. If a big study hits, sentiment can reset fast.

SanDisk | SNDK

Price: $210.17

Freshly added to the S&P 500 and riding the AI storage wave, this spinoff has had a monster year.

Index inclusion brings forced buyers, but the meat of the move has been simple: demand for fast, dense flash to feed data centers and AI workloads. 

After such a sprint, the risk is obvious: hot stocks cool if pricing or supply catches up too quickly.

Still, the structural need for more bits is intact, and being a pure play makes the story easy for generalists. Short term, expect choppier days as passive flows meet profit taking.

Why it matters for you: Focus on pricing trends in NAND and any color on enterprise demand. If pricing holds and mix stays rich, momentum can carry past the index bump.

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Eli Lilly | LLY

Price: $1,057.89

One trillion-dollar club and counting.

The weight-loss franchise became a cultural phenomenon, and the pipeline keeps adding new wrinkles, from an oral GLP-1 candidate to next-gen formulations.

The pushback is valuation. When perfection is baked in, even good news can look “not enough.” 

That said, real-world demand, capacity expansions, and broader metabolic care keep the story bigger than a single headline.

For long-term holders, the question is whether this becomes a durable health platform rather than a one-category wonder.

Why it matters for you: Track supply expansions, payer coverage, and signs of durable adherence.

If patients stay on therapy and supply scales, patience gets paid.

Best Buy | BBY

Price: $77.24

Guidance went up, traffic followed innovation, and shoppers found reasons to upgrade laptops, consoles, and phones.

It is still a promotional category, but this operator knows how to cluster demand around predictable sale windows. 

Marketplace expansion and in-store demos for buzzy gadgets add new levers without heavy store growth.

Appliances remain soft, yet that is the kind of headwind that can flip quickly if housing thaws.

The holiday quarter is always tricky, but a stronger tech cycle gives BBY more shots on goal.

Why it matters for you: Watch comps, inventory cleanliness into January, and any commentary on AI PCs.

If upgrades keep rolling and clearance looks tidy, the patience trade makes sense.

Intel | INTC

Price: $40.01

Black Friday served up a head-scratcher: shares ripped higher even as headlines circled a tussle with a rival over a talent hire.

The bigger picture matters more than the noise.

Investors are leaning into a clean 2026–2027 turnaround narrative built on foundry wins, AI-ready PC cycles, and a steadier product roadmap.

After a lost few years, any sign of share stability in PCs and server chips tends to get rewarded, and the bar is still low enough that less bad reads like good.

Cash discipline and capacity planning are back in focus, and a rising tide for chips into the holidays never hurts sentiment.

Why it matters for you: Stick to the simple markers.

Watch new customer logos in foundry, progress on AI PCs, and free cash flow trending the right way.

If those stack up, pullbacks can be gifts.

Stat of the Day: >1% Average Gain

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq just finished the week up 3.7% and 4.9%, with the Dow up 3.2%. Seasonality helps from here.

Since 1950, December has averaged a gain of more than 1%, the third-best month of the year.

That does not guarantee green, but it does mean you are swimming with the current rather than against it. Size positions accordingly and let the winners prove it.

Final Take

Chips got a holiday lift just as a turnaround story tries to hit its stride, which is exactly the kind of tailwind Intel needed.

Moderna is still all about the next green light, not last quarter’s lines.

SanDisk has the wind at its back from AI storage and index inclusion, but sprinting stocks can stumble if pricing blinks. 

Eli Lilly is a superhero suit with a premium price tag; the cape still flies if supply scales and patients stick with therapy.

Best Buy has a cleaner setup this season as upgrades meet better curation and a marketplace kicker.