Morning movers: Webull jumps 14.9% after record revenue

The Morning Read covers the broader backdrop. This brief uses delayed pre-market quotes captured at 05:34 ET on 20 August 2026, checked against a second market scan at 05:39 ET; early trading can change quickly.

BULL: +14.93% after Webull's strongest quarter

Webull reported Q2 revenue of $198.8 million, up 51% year over year, and adjusted operating profit of $62.6 million, a 31.5% margin. Net income was $24.4 million, versus a $28.3 million loss a year earlier. Equity notional volume rose 73% to $279 billion, while options volume grew 68% to 213 million contracts. The gap rewards operating leverage, not merely user growth.

• Why it matters: revenue grew much faster than operating expenses, showing stronger platform leverage during heavy trading activity.
• Objective range: the delayed session had traded from $9.80 to $10.18 by 05:34 ET, versus Wednesday's $8.64 close.
• Peers: HOOD and ETOR can show whether the reaction is specific to Webull or part of a broader online-broker move.
• Main risk: trading activity is cyclical, so one record quarter does not establish a permanent revenue or margin run rate.

WOLF: -12.85% as negative margins dominate the AI growth story

Wolfspeed reported about $150 million of fiscal Q4 revenue, a -25% GAAP gross margin, a $145 million GAAP net loss and $1.1 billion of cash and short-term investments. AI data-centre revenue more than doubled year over year and rose about 20% sequentially, but fiscal Q1 2027 guidance calls for $140-$160 million of revenue and another negative non-GAAP gross margin. Demand can improve before factory economics do.

• Why it matters: AI data-centre growth is real, but negative gross margin means each revenue dollar still carries weak near-term economics.
• Objective range: the delayed session had traded from $25.20 to $26.70 by 05:34 ET, against a $29.09 close.
• Peers: compare ON, STM and power-semiconductor suppliers after 09:30 ET for a company-specific versus sector reaction.
• Main risk: a fast negative gap can reverse if investors focus on cash and data-centre growth rather than the margin outlook.

MRNA: -9.68% as a historic Phase 3 surge cools

Moderna and Merck said Phase 3 INTerpath-001 met its recurrence-free-survival and distant-metastasis-free-survival endpoints for intismeran plus KEYTRUDA versus KEYTRUDA alone after high-risk melanoma surgery. The 1,137-patient study reported no new safety signal, but effect sizes remain undisclosed, overall-survival follow-up continues and detailed data await a medical meeting. That missing magnitude matters after MRNA rose 176.97% Wednesday and then slipped pre-market.

• Why it matters: the result is the first positive Phase 3 readout for an individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy, supporting a platform beyond respiratory vaccines.
• Objective range: the delayed session had traded from $147.80 to $169.28 by 05:34 ET, versus Wednesday's $174.38 close.
• Peer read-through: MRK is the development partner; other oncology platforms may move on sentiment, not on equivalent evidence.
• Main risk: detailed hazard ratios, subgroup results and longer safety follow-up could change the market's first interpretation.

Also on the radar

• PURR +12.25% at $10.54 near 05:39 ET: no fresh issuer filing supplied a separate catalyst; the crypto-linked move remained sentiment-driven and reversal-prone.
• COIN +7.04% at $171.48 near 05:39 ET: this was the same crypto-linked group, not a distinct issuer announcement.
• HOOD +5.08% at $100.63 near 05:39 ET: the online broker joined that group and overlaps the live watchlist, making it a natural 09:45 Tip-screen candidate.

What to watch today

• Before 09:30 ET: watch for issuer disclosures that change any catalyst or range above.
• 09:30 ET — opening auction: compare regular-session prices and volume with the thinner delayed prints.
• After 09:35 ET — option chains: rebuild live bids, asks and implied volatility before reading aggregate totals.
• Through the close: see whether the BULL, WOLF and MRNA gaps retain volume.