J&J gets a big win on its new robotic surgical system — plus, a flood of earnings

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch — an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks were mixed on Wednesday . The S & P 500 was basically flat in late afternoon trading, while the Nasdaq was modestly weaker.

Once again, it was one of those days, with a big split within technology. While many chip stocks rallied, including Nvidia 's roughly 3% gain, software stocks lagged, and the hyperscalers that are funding the AI infrastructure buildout also moved lower. The move in software may be tied to this shocking news that OpenAI models broke out of a sandboxed testing environment, accessed the internet, and exploited a vulnerability to hack into an open source developer's network to find the information needed to pass an internal evaluation.

The cybersecurity stocks, including CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, got swept up in this software selling, and we think that's the wrong read . The security incident underscores the critical role these companies play in protecting enterprises as AI models become more sophisticated. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks have now given back all the gains tied to IBM 's explanation last week that clients are more focused on figuring out how much they need to invest in cybersecurity (as well as paying up for tech hardware) than buying traditional mainframe servers.

The OpenAI security incident could serve as a catalyst for companies to deepen their engagement with cybersecurity providers, benefiting CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks. Johnson & Johnson got a big regulatory win , with the FDA approving its Ottava Robotic surgical system for multiple general procedures. If you've been following along with the J & J story, you would know this approval was coming up.

In May, we wrote how a clinical study evaluating the safety and performance of the system paved the way to this approval. But the reason why the stock was up 2% is that this approval came months earlier than anticipated. Cowen analysts had been expecting approval in late 2026, according to a research note.

Ottava's upcoming launch positions it to compete in the robotic surgery market, long dominated by Intuitive Surgical 's da Vinci systems. MedTech was the weaker part of J & J's recent quarterly results, but management is very bullish about this new product. The company called it "one of the most significant MedTech innovations we will bring to market this decade."

In a note to clients Wednesday, analysts at Stifel wrote, "This JNJ launch will almost certainly take a deliberate and phased approach, significant training (physicians and staff) will be required, and the indications for Ottava are still limited. But with this approval, JNJ is now 'in the game' and can iterate and improve on Ottava over time, potentially building towards a system that is closer to directly competing with Intuitive's broader offering." Looking to get in early on the next big IPO before it comes public?

Goldman Sachs has rolled out a new platform to help wealthy clients and family offices do just that. The group, dubbed the alternative investments platform, lets investors grab a stake in individual private companies rather than just gaining exposure to traditional private equity funds, CNBC's Hugh Son first reported on Tuesday. That way, investors would already be invested before any initial public offering.

The announcement comes just a month after SpaceX 's historic IPO and ahead of potential monster offerings from OpenAI and Anthropic. It's a wise move on Goldman's part to capitalize on the trend. Its investment banking line already benefits immensely from the influx of deals.

The new platform aims to boost Goldman's much-smaller asset and wealth management (AWM) division. Growth in AWM can mean more stable, recurring revenues and offset the more volatile investment banking and trading operations. The push shouldn't be all that surprising, given Goldman has been trying to expand the AWM division for years.

The firm's assets under supervision hit a new record in the second quarter . "Those are the businesses that didn't seem to matter, but they're so big now that they do seem to matter," Jim said after earnings earlier this month, referring to asset and wealth management. It's a big night of tech earnings with Alphabet , Tesla , ServiceNow , and Texas Instruments set to report.

Alphabet's results could have broader implications for the Magnificent Seven and the broader AI infrastructure complex based on what management says about the pace of AI spending. We'll also hear more about IBM following last week's negative preannouncement. In the industrial sector, earnings are due from CSX and United Rentals .

Before Thursday's open, we'll see earnings from Honeywell , RTX , and Dover . Thursday's economic calendar includes the weekly jobless claims report. Intel is out with quarterly results on Thursday evening.

(See here for a full list of the stocks i