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Nasdaq futures dipped a further 0.4% after investors sold artificial intelligence (AI) tech stocks yesterday, leading to a near-1.5% daily decline, though the index is still up 40% since April's low. Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) fell 9.4% by market close -- for a five-day losing streak -- even though quarterly revenue topped $1 billion for the first time ever earlier this month.

• "The year's worst performers finally saw some buying interest as investors rotated across the market." Bespoke Investment Group reports signs of investors shifting from the market's biggest winners to less popular stocks, as Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) also suffered -- down 5.4% and 3.5%, respectively, by close yesterday.
• "Investors, active managers are underweight of the mega caps." Morgan Stanley's (NYSE:MS) Erik Woodring, meanwhile, points to big tech stocks being bought relatively less by managed funds than their large S&P 500 weightings would imply and suggests avoiding extra-large weightings could be a good thing.

Rule Breakers recommendation Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) fell 42% yesterday after a phase 2 trial of its oral weight loss drug VK2735 showed mixed results. Patients lost up to 12.2% of body weight after three months, but the trial had a 28% patient dropout rate due mainly to mild gastrointestinal side effects.

• "Investors should be cautious, but also willing to wait for more info." Fool analyst Karl Thiel pointed to "the extremely high side effect rate among patients on placebo," which "calls into question how we should interpret these results."
• "The progressive nature of the weight loss curves suggests the potential for further improvement with longer dosing periods." While some analysts suggest this is a boost for competitors Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO), Viking CEO Brian Lian suggested VK2735 could lead to better long-term weight loss, after the relatively short trial showed no sign of a loss plateau.

Speaking at yesterday's Wyoming Blockchain Symposium, Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman urged the banking system to take a more active approach to crypto technology and AI, cementing her break with Fed Chair Jerome Powell's cautious stance.

• "Despite this past inertia, change is coming." Bowman believes the Fed should "embrace the change and help shape a framework that will be reliable and durable" rather than see the financial system fall behind.
• "We stand at a crossroads." Along with Governor Christopher Waller, Bowman broke ranks and voted for a rate cut in July, with the meeting minutes due to be released today. Some are tipping her as a potential successor to Powell in May 2026.

Buck Hartzell

Vets raised prices following COVID-19. Trupanion (NASDAQ:TRUP) was forced to raise prices. In 2024, nearly 50% of their subscription pets received price increases of 30% or more. In the last 10 years, an average pet stayed with them for 70 months. That declined to only 57 months during this big inflationary cycle. In Q1 25 they saw their first sequential improvement in retention in 12 quarters. That happened again in Q2 25. Their avg monthly profit per pet is around $9.15. With over 1 million pets, it's easy to see how higher retention will add meaningfully to the lifetime value of a new pet.

Key retail updates before today's opening bell should offer insight into consumer confidence. Stock Advisor rec TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) beat Wall Street estimates last time, and analysts expect second-quarter stability as tariff-led inflation is turning more shoppers toward value-driven outlets.

• Sales mostly flat for around four years: Target (NYSE:TGT) named Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke to take over from CEO Brian Cornell in February, as the company reported Q2 revenue and earnings beats -- but still forecast another full-year sales decline. The stock fell more than 9% pre-market.
• Acquiring Foundation Building Materials for $8.8 billion: Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) beat Q2 expectations as home projects demand grew and lifted full-year sales guidance from $83.5 billion-$84.5 billion to $84.5 billion-$85.5 billion while saying its "core business performance in fiscal 2025 remains unchanged." Shares rose over 4% in early-hours trading in response.

Have you invested in consumer trends previously? How has that worked out for you? Discuss with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying.