The market looks a touch pricey — about 10% above what FPI thinks it's worth

Here's the quick answer: the market is a little expensive right now, not wildly so. FPI sees stocks sitting about 10% above fair value, a small step up from around 9% the week before. Think of it as paying a modest premium for what you own — nothing alarming, just not a bargain. One thing to keep in mind: this reading is a long-term valuation signal, not a knee-jerk reaction to one week's headlines, so don't expect it to swing wildly with the news.

Speaking of news, the week itself was mostly a wash until Friday. For the week, the S&P 500 climbed 0.1%, the Dow fell 0.3% and the Nasdaq climbed 0.4%. The plot twist came from jobs. U.S. stocks slipped Friday after the August employment report showed the economy added 162,000 jobs, nearly three times what economists expected. The unexpectedly strong labor market revived concerns that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its September meeting. It's one of those odd Wall Street moments — a strong economy spooked investors, because it gives the Fed more room to keep rates high. Following the jobs report, traders increased the probability of a September Fed rate hike to roughly 58%, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool. The 30-stock Dow was down 271.86 points, or 0.51%, closing at 53,414.25. The S&P 500 slid 0.38%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.29%. Next up: inflation numbers land next week, and they'll likely decide which way the Fed leans.

The frothy end is stacked with cyclical, growth-y names. Basic materials — miners, chemicals, packaging — sit about 38% above what FPI thinks they're worth, the priciest corner of the market right now. Tech is close behind at roughly 30% over, and industrials around 23% over. Materials and industrials both had a good week in the real world, with materials the top-performing group Thursday, so the gap between price and value isn't shrinking. The Materials Select Sector SPDR and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR rose about 2% and 1%, respectively. There's a story behind the strength — industrials are supported by increased capital spending in areas like electricity capacity, the AI infrastructure buildout, defense, and energy, which also supports materials — but a good story and a fair price aren't the same thing.

The cheaper end is where the watchlist candidates live. Financial services stands out by a mile, trading about 33% below FPI's fair value — the biggest bargain zone on the board. Utilities are around 13% under, and a handful of others (communication services, real estate, healthcare, energy) hover near or just below fair value. Worth knowing: financials aren't cheap because they're broken. Financials are seeing upward earnings revisions from a steeper yield curve and solid net interest income as well as improved capital markets activity. One geography note too — European stocks look about 14% overpriced versus roughly 9% for the US, so the ocean you fish in matters. If any of these cheaper sectors are on your radar, this is the kind of spread where setting a buy price in the FPI app earns its keep.

Two names flipped hard this week. Synopsys, the chip-design software maker, blew past expectations — it posted quarterly earnings of $3.91 a share on revenue of about $2.48 billion, well ahead of forecasts, with revenue up roughly 42% from a year earlier as AI chip-design demand surged. Shares jumped about 11% over the following week. The result: in FPI's eyes the stock swung from sitting well below fair value to now trading well above it — from looking like a bargain to looking expensive. HealthEquity, which runs health savings accounts, told a similar story after its own quarterly update lifted the shares; it flipped from deeply below fair value to comfortably above.

On the other side of the ledger, a handful of names got noticeably cheaper versus fair value, including Fugro, Reysas, First Bancorp, Investor AB and Unit Corporation — each sliding from a healthy premium to a discount. Zoom out and the value hunting ground grew: 53 stocks dropped into undervalued territory this week, meaning they now trade more than 10% below what FPI thinks they're worth. Worth a look on your watchlist, or a spot to set a buy price in the app.

Folks added 17 new buy prices this week, bringing the total to 509 across 174 stocks. Apple drew the most attention, gaining another buy price to reach 34 investors watching it. American Express, Bank of America, Colgate, and Costco each picked up their first or second follower too. No new community buy zones opened up this week.

As for where people are willing to pay more: Realty Income (O) saw its typical buy price nudge up about 2% among its 13 investors, and Apple's crept up a touch as well. Meta barely moved. Nothing dramatic — just small shifts in what the crowd thinks is a fair price to step in.

Next week is short — Labor Day closes markets Monday — but it's packed with the numbers that shape fair values. A week shortened by Monday's holiday packs the data into four days, highlighted by August inflation, with the Producer Price Index out before Thursday's open and the Consumer Price Index before Friday's open. Why care? These two reports tell us whether prices are cooling or heating up — the backdrop against which every company's future earnings get judged. And one more wrinkle: the Fed's "quiet period" ahead of its September 15-16 meeting started September 5 and runs through September 17, so don't expect officials to weigh in — the data will do the talking.

On the company side, it's a quiet stretch with a few names worth watching — Adobe and grocery giant Kroger are among those reporting. Fresh earnings update FPI's fair-value models daily, so a strong or weak report can nudge what a stock is really worth. If a name on your watchlist is reporting, that's a good moment to check its fair price in the app and decide where you'd want to set a buy.