CNBC Halftime Report
2026-05-13 · Hosted by Scott Wapner · CNBC
Executive Summary
The Halftime Report focused on the broad tech pullback from yesterday’s record highs, with the Nasdaq off ~2%, the Russell down ~2.5%, and chip-heavy names taking the brunt of the selling. Jim Lebenthal sold half his Qualcomm position citing “pulled forward” gains, and committee member Bill Baruch trimmed nearly half of his Micron exposure as the stock became a top-10 US market cap yesterday. Marty McCary resigned as FDA Commissioner during the show, and the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to the Fed Board, advancing him toward the Fed Chair role. Sam Altman testified Elon Musk wanted “absolute control” of OpenAI early on. Panelists debated whether momentum-trade rotation flows to Mag 7, energy, or cyclicals. Josh Brown updated his best-stocks list with raised stops on CBOE and Interactive Brokers.
Key Stories & Changes
1. Tech Pullback — Position Management
QCOM: Qualcomm — Double-digit decline — Jim Lebenthal cut position by 50%
MU: Micron — Down with memory — Bill Baruch trimmed ~40% (largest position to 5% of portfolio)
INTC: Intel — Down — Up 200% since late March
NVDA: Nvidia — Slight — Earnings May 20
SMH: Semis ETF — Up 25% in last month, 50% YTD — Bill Baruch flagged euphoria
Wells Fargo raised Nvidia target to $315 (from $265); Susquehanna to $275 (from $250)
David Goldwasser/Goldman raised Micron target to $1,000
Barclays upgraded momentum factor from neutral to positive
2. Marty McCary Resigns as FDA Commissioner
Reported live during the show by Angelica Peebles
Was scheduled to testify before Senate Appropriations tomorrow
Kyle Diamantas named acting commissioner
Stocks reacted: biotech XBI, Replumune up sharply
3. Kevin Warsh Confirmed to Fed Board
Senate confirmed Warsh as Federal Reserve Board member
Advancing him toward Fed Chair confirmation
Only one Democrat (Sen. John Fetterman) voted in support
Final vote expected late Wednesday or Thursday morning before May 15 deadline
4. Sam Altman Takes the Stand
Altman testified Musk wanted 90% equity stake at one point
Musk had “lost confidence” in OpenAI; said it had “0% chance” of succeeding
Altman described demands as making him “extremely uncomfortable”
Tesla-OpenAI merger discussed “multiple times” over the years
5. eBay-GameStop Update
eBay rejected GameStop’s $55B+ bid
Joe Terranova and Jim Lebenthal both own eBay
Joe: GameStop was “side show”; focus on 136M users spending $80B/year
Jim: Bankers (TD) “look serious”; expects revised offer
6. Earnings Setup — Cisco
CSCO reports tomorrow after the bell
Near record high, up ~20% in last month
Joe Terranova: expects record quarter; hardware revival for AI infrastructure build
Tomorrow’s PPI expected +0.5% MoM headline; +0.4% core
7. eVTOL Movers
Archer Aviation lower after earnings (~-5%)
Joby Aviation preferred by Josh Brown — owns Blade helicopter platform with $100M annual revenue
Long-term thesis intact but “way to go”
8. Josh Brown’s Best Stocks Update
CBOE: Q1 revenue record up 29%; EPS up nearly 50%; updated stop at $299-300
IBKR: Commissions up ~20% to $613M; line in sand at $75
GS: “Stock looks great” but lower high than winter; price targets above $1,000
Trends Identified
1. Position Sizing as the Defining Discipline
The dominant theme from Josh Brown, Bill Baruch, Jim Lebenthal, and Joe Terranova was managing exposure to AI/memory names that had gone parabolic. Multiple committee members trimmed: Qualcomm (Jim), Micron (Bill). The argument was not directional bearishness but recognition that risk/reward had shifted as positioning reached “100th percentile” in momentum factor per Goldman.
2. AI Trade Maturing — Robotics and Autonomy as Next Leg
Josh Brown emphasized Nvidia’s recent appearances have shifted away from LLMs toward robotics, autonomy, and physical AI devices. This positions the stock for a 2029-2030 catalyst cycle, with autonomous driving requiring on-board GPU compute (zero-latency requirement) creating a new addressable market.
3. CUDA Moat Remains Intact
Josh’s analogy: CUDA is Nvidia’s Trojan horse the way Microsoft certifications were for Azure adoption. Custom silicon and ASICs handle pieces of workloads, but the entire AI ecosystem is built on CUDA. This keeps Nvidia in the “catbird seat” even as competition intensifies.
4. Healthcare Sector Inflection Debate
Wolf called healthcare close to an inflection point. Committee was split: Joe sees it requiring a rotation away from momentum, with Merck and medical devices benefiting in defensive scenarios. Josh dismissed the sector: “These are terrible stocks.” Jason flagged Abbott’s Skyrizi/Riniboke as offsets to Humira erosion.
5. Higher-for-Longer Rates Reshape Allocation
With CPI at 3.8% and Fed cut odds collapsing, Jim Lebenthal noted rate-hike probability has crept to 1-in-3. This drove yield-up, momentum-down rotation today. Jim’s cyclicals call: energy, materials, industrials, financials where earnings growth rate is projected higher over coming quarters per ISM surveys. —-
Sentiment Analysis
Overall Market Sentiment: Defensive Profit-Taking
The committee was not bearish on AI/tech long-term but uniformly emphasized discipline and position trimming after parabolic moves. The dominant action was reduce exposure, not exit.
Risk Factors Highlighted
Momentum factor unwind: 100th percentile positioning per Goldman; 30% Q2 gain at risk
AI/memory cycle reversal: Micron up 5x since October even as multiple compressed; Jim sees pulled-forward gains
Inflation re-acceleration: CPI 3.8%; rate hike now 1-in-3 probability
Hormuz closure persistence: Multiple expectations of resolution have failed
Healthcare sector free-fall: Wolfe research notes continuing failure to find footing
OpenAI legal overhang: Musk lawsuit seeking Altman removal as remedy
Custom silicon disruption risk: Even Josh acknowledged ASICs could chip away at Nvidia long-term
Cisco earnings setup: Stock at near-record means high bar for tomorrow’s results
Software no-man’s-land: SaaS names like Toast unable to find buyers despite strong fundamentals
eBay-GameStop overhang: Possible revised offer creates speculative volatility
This episode was covered in today’s The Market Signal — 2026-05-13, a cross-source synthesis of multiple podcast reports.