The latest Market Talks covering Equities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires throughout the day.

0931 ET - The healthcare and life-sciences sector is increasingly turning to AI, but the technology's impact on drug discovery remains in the second or third inning, analysts at Citi say in a research note. "AI's initial impact is likely to be on productivity, speed, and cost avoidance vs. an improvement in [research-and-development] success rates," Citi says. Still, AI is starting to seep into the clinical setting and reshaping biopharma, the analysts say. Big pharma companies increasingly view AI as a tool to enable identification of targets for new drugs, design new medicines and develop them, they add. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0905 ET - WPP executives appear confident that bringing work in house can help the U.K. advertising group's production division deliver growth against a declining market, Citi analysts say in a research note. The company is looking to internalize a pool of previously externalized third-party spending estimated at between $1 billion and $2 billion to eliminate inefficiencies, the analysts say. "This shifts job economics toward higher net sales and improved operating margins while reducing gross client expenditures," they add. Shares fall 0.3%. (adria.calatayud@wsj.com)

0819 ET - AB InBev looks to be focusing on profitable growth rather than chasing sales volumes at all costs, Bank of America says. The Brussels-listed brewer of Bud Light and Stella Artois changed its medium-term earnings target to 5%-9% growth in EBIT a year on average, from a previous goal of 4%-8% growth in Ebitda. "As we focus on consistent, compounding growth and better asset utilization, EBIT more clearly reflects business performance and long-term shareholder value creation," Chief Financial Officer Fernando Tennenbaum told an investor event this week. BofA points to a more balanced portfolio that should allow price-mix to boost AB InBev's earnings, and to the group's successful business-to-business platform."The focus is on growth that is profitable, translates into cash, and is sustainable over the long term," the bank's analysts say.((joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby))

0813 ET - BlackBerry's embedded software division leads a beat-and-raise F2Q. The QNX division sees revenue grow 27% to $80.3 million, while adjusted gross margin rose 4 percentage points to 87%. CEO John Giamatteo calls it a record performance, and cites "strength in our core automotive business." And QNX still has more to give. He notes its first win for Alloy Kore in the quarter, its middleware software for commercial vehicle fleet hardware, "the largest design win in QNX history marks an important commercial milestone," and adds over $100 million to the QNX royalty backlog. The segment's performance drove total growth above expectations in 2Q, and anchors a full-year guidance raise. (adriano.marchese@wsj.com)

0801 ET - Starbucks is looking to trim more underperforming locations from its footprint under CEO Brian Niccol. The coffee chain plans to close around 250 cafes across North America this week, after it said around the same time last year it would shutter hundreds of stores. Niccol joined Starbucks two years ago and has been looking to streamline its operations and boost profitability.(kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

0732 ET - EssilorLuxottica's new smart eyewear launches with Meta are a sign of confidence in growth opportunities and the group's ability to maintain leadership in the category, Equita SIM's Domenico Ghilotti says. The companies will launch new lines and models featuring artificial intelligence and intend to expand the category into other markets. "[EssilorLuxottica's] commercial response to the market's fears related to the growth opportunities of the category and the growing competition seems very clear and strong," the analyst writes in a research note. Shares in EssilorLuxottica are down 2%. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0730 ET - AO World is a winning proposition with a clear long-term growth runway, Jefferies analyst Andrew Wade writes. The online retailer's impressive first-half performance likely reflects discipline--with AO no longer chasing marginal sales--together with the reported improvements in Mobile and musicMagpie, he adds. "AO has the opportunity to leverage its scale and customer relationships to deliver premium growth for the foreseeable future," Wade says. Jefferies cuts its target price on the stock to 155 pence from 160 pence, and holds its buy rating. Shares are down 5.8% at 87.60 pence after AO warned of a challenging comparative environment in the second half,and are 21% lower over the year-to-date. (ian.walker@wsj.com)

0708 ET - London-listed software group RELX is one of the few media companies well-placed to benefit from the rollout of consumer-focused AI agents, Bank of America's David Amira and Adrien de Saint Hilaire write. Agents like Meta's Muse can automatically make purchases on consumers' behalf and recommend different products, making it more likely consumers will switch providers of products like insurance and phone contracts more frequently. Around 15% of RELX's revenue comes from sales to insurance companies, with the majority of the insurance business based on one-off transactions, the analysts say. As a result, RELX would benefit from more consumers shopping around for insurance--something that "could prove a multiyear tailwind," for the company, they say. RELX shares slip 0.2%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0646 ET - EssilorLuxottica's new product launches with Meta should help increase consumer awareness, analysts at J.P. Morgan say in a note. The Franco-Italian eyewear group and the Facebook owner unveiled new glasses featuring artificial intelligence and revealed plans to expand into more markets. The launches, category expansions and new feature additions should be seen as positive for the smart glasses category, the analysts say. The new products could attract new consumers to the segment at both the higher end and the less expensive level, they add. (andrea.figueras@wsj.com)

0643 ET - European classifieds stocks are falling over investor fears around competition from Meta's Muse AI agent, but the market reaction runs counter to what we know about Muse, Jefferies' Giles Thorne and Weng Lum Khoo write. Stocks like real estate online marketplaces Rightmove and Scout24 have fallen sharply following the successful release of Muse. Investors fear that AI agents will make online market intermediaries redundant. But rather than devaluing the sector, Muse should be seen as a positive for classifieds, the analysts write. Proprietary data and strong brand trust make the classifieds resilient, while agentic AI will make companies better. Rightmove and Scout24 fall 4.5% and 1.8% Thursday, after the pair dropped 3.4% and 5.2%, respectively, in the last session. Auto Trader drops 2.5%. (josephmichael.stonor@wsj.com)

0643 ET - Mitchells & Butlers might be outperforming peers but its longer-term prospects depend on the next U.K. government budget statement, Peel Hunt's Douglas Jack and Ivor Jones write. The statement is due Oct. 28 and the analysts point to it as the key driver of forecasts and sentiment. "It is unclear how much of the sector will benefit from the 20% business rates discount, and the government is yet to say that it intends to cease its hikes in tax rates and regulation," they say. Despite this, the bar and restaurant company's valuation multiple is unfairly low, Peel Hunt says. The investment bank has a buy rating on the stock and a 375 pence price target. Shares are 2.4% higher at 278.50 pence.(joseph.wilkins@wsj.com)

0636 ET - AB InBev's strategy can deliver growth in the years ahead, analysts at Bank of America tell clients in a note. The Bud Light brewer detailed the evolution of its strategy at an investor day in St. Louis, Missouri, this week. "AB InBev has further strengthened its commercial and digital capabilities, positioning the company to sustainably deliver and compound best-in-class earnings growth and free cash flow," BofA says. The bank points to the company's scale and portfolio among the elements of its competitive advantage versus peers.