End-of-day recap

AI infrastructure set the tone on October 21, 2026. SpaceX earnings and Super Micro's preannouncement lifted tech shares, and the Nasdaq posted its third straight gain.

SpaceX (SPCX) rose 7.79% to $159.31, a $2.10 trillion market cap, on 3.35 million options contracts. Elon Musk said power, cooling and electrical equipment now limit new compute, benefiting GE Vernova, Eaton and Vertiv. Pivotal Research raised its target to $260 from $162.23.

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) gained 9.55% to $35.57 on 81.84 million shares, a $23.37 billion market cap, after preannouncing much stronger-than-expected third-quarter revenue.

Netskope (NTSK) rose 10.04% to $21.81, an $8.91 billion market cap, as cybersecurity stocks rallied on concern that AI tools make software vulnerabilities faster and easier to discover.

Skydance (SKYD) climbed 10.85% to $7.87 after John Malone speculated SpaceX could invest $8 billion to $10 billion, citing Musk-Ellison financial ties.

Jefferies raised its United Airlines (UAL) target to $142 from $134 following the carrier's third-quarter EPS beat.

Leerink's Mike Kratky raised his Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) target to $503 from $473.

Liberty Energy (LBRT) reported revenue of $1.2 billion, up 26%, a net loss of $(0.24) per share and Adjusted EBITDA of $142 million. It raised its dividend 11% to $0.10 and signed a deal to deliver 1.2 gigawatts of power services to a frontier AI lab's data centers.

BPRE director Ramin Kamfar bought 271,555 shares for about $3.34 million from October 19 to 21, three straight days of open-market purchases at a $1.76 billion company.

Nvidia (NVDA) led single-stock options with 4.24 million contracts, 145% of average volume, at a 0.48 put-call ratio. Shares rose 2.54% to $221.97.

The Nasdaq rose 1.05% to 26,702.86, the S&P 500 gained 0.59% to 7,757.85 and the Dow added 0.69% to 52,856.09. The VIX fell to 16.68 as the 10-year held at 5.13% ahead of the Fed's October 28 decision.

Technology led all eleven sectors, up 1.67%, while Communication Services fell 1.11%, as money rotated toward AI infrastructure names.

Danaher (DHR) earned an adjusted $2.11 a share versus $1.92 expected on in-line $6.55 billion revenue. Shares rose 4.4% after hours to $234.09 as the company raised full-year EPS guidance.

Essential Properties (EPRT) missed on EPS, $0.27 versus $0.33 estimated, but beat on revenue at $168.7 million. Shares fell 3.4% after hours to $24.89 as AFFO guidance of $2.02-$2.05 trailed the $2.19 consensus.

Crown Castle (CCI) missed with EPS of $0.67 versus $0.69 on $966 million in revenue. Shares fell 3.1% after hours to $78.65 despite a $25 million increase to its adjusted EBITDA outlook.

Power and compute capacity tied together the day's biggest moves, with the Fed's October 28 decision next.

Not financial advice. For informational and educational purposes only.