Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday
2 hr 38 min ago
Advancers
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares jumped 15%, logging the top daily performance in the S&P 500 for the third time this week. Thursday’s gains came after Nvidia mentioned its partnership with the server maker during its earnings call last night. Earlier this week, Supermicro filed a compliance plan related to the release of its delayed annual report, which should help it steer clear of a possible delisting by the Nasdaq. Nvidia’s shares rose 0.5%.
- Shares of Amentum (AMTM) jumped 10.5%, clawing back a portion of the stock’s recent losses as the efficiency priorities of the incoming presidential administration create an uncertain outlook for government contractors. Amentum has seen some positive developments this week, securing a $389 million contract to provide logistical support for the U.S. Army and partnering with the government of the Netherlands to evaluate potential nuclear power projects in the country.
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- Deere (DE), manufacturer of tractors and other heavy-duty farming equipment, reported better-than-expected profit for its fiscal fourth quarter, and its shares plowed 8.1% higher. More moderate raw material prices and freight expenses contributed to lower production costs, helping Deere overcome a slump in demand for farm equipment. Deere’s full-year profit guidance came in below expectations, as the firm expects persistent pressure on farm incomes to continue dragging down spending on major agricultural equipment.
- Vistra (VST) shares surged 7.8% Thursday, adding to gains posted Wednesday after the electricity generator announced a private offering of $1.25 billion in senior secured notes. The opportunity for the Texas-based utility to provide power for energy-intensive data centers has helped catapult Vistra stock to the best performance in the S&P 500 for 2024, with gains of above 330%.
Decliners
- Shares of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) fell 4.7%, the most of any S&P 500 stock, after the Justice Department said the tech giant should be forced to divest its Chrome browser, arguing the company has a monopoly in the search business. The DOJ also recommended that Google make changes to ensure its control of the Android mobile operating system does not disadvantage others. The company said it will submit its own proposals in December.
- A newsletter focused on short-selling opportunities released a report on Thursday alleging that aerospace component supplier TransDigm Group (TDG) has engaged in price gouging and taken advantage of government inefficiencies to boost its profits. Pointing to past accusations of exorbitant and accounting irregularities, the report suggested TransDigm could face scrutiny under emerging government efficiency efforts. TransDigm shares lost 4.1%.
- GE Healthcare Technologies (GEHC), the medical technology firm that completed its spinoff from General Electric early last year, hosted its 2024 investor day. The company boosted its quarterly dividend and reconfirmed its organic revenue growth targets, highlighting its innovation pipeline, but shares slipped 3.4%. GE Healthcare faces a challenging environment in China and has indicated that it expects recovery in the country to remain muted in the first half of 2025.
Supermicro, Dell and Other Nvidia Partners Pop
3 hr 50 min ago
Shares of Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Dell (DELL), and other Nvidia (NVDA) partners surged Thursday on expectations they could stand to benefit after the chipmaker reported fiscal third-quarter results that blew past analysts’ expectations.
Supermicro, which makes servers that utilize Nvidia chips, saw its shares pop 15% Thursday. Fellow original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) gained close to 4% and 3%, respectively. Shares of Micron (MU), which provides Nvidia with memory solutions for its AI chips, added more than 4%.
Annabelle Chih / Bloomberg / Getty Images
After Nvidia’s results, Citi analysts issued a “buy” rating and $160 price target for Dell, which implies about 15% upside on top of the company’s closing price Thursday. The analysts said they expect Dell could benefit from an expanding market for artificial intelligence, particularly after Nvidia management highlighted “strong traction of Al in enterprise environments” in the company’s earnings call.
Nvidia also mentioned Dell and Supermicro on its earnings call. Getting a shoutout could matter particularly for Supermicro, as the server maker has been dogged this year by delayed financial filings and concerns about its accounting practices.
In another sign of Nvidia’s growing influence, mentions of the chipmaker have surged in other companies’ earnings calls and other corporate events in the past few years, according to transcript data compiled by AlphaSense.
AlphaSense found Nvidia came up in a whopping 2,204 earnings calls, corporate presentations, and events since 2019, with 251 mentions in the calendar third quarter, up from 161 in the same period in 2023, and 60 a year earlier. The data covered about 9,000 companies globally and did not include any events or calls held by Nvidia itself.
Major Indexes on Pace for Weekly Gains
4 hr 25 min ago
The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are on track to post weekly gains as major indexes are back near record highs. Stocks had slumped last week after a big post-election rally that had sparked a series of all-time highs.
Through Thursday’s close, the Nasdaq is up 1.6% for the week, while the S&P 500 and Dow are up 1.3% and 1%, respectively.
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The Dow and S&P 500 have lost ground in three of the last four weeks, while the Nasdaq has done so in two of the last four weeks.
PDD Slides as Results Fall Short of Estimates
5 hr 41 min ago
U.S.-traded shares in PDD Holdings (PDD) plunged in intraday trading Thursday after the parent of the Temu discount marketplace posted quarterly results that fell massively short of analysts’ estimates as competition continued to eat into its operations.
Revenue for the three months to Sept. 30 rose 44.3% to 99.35 billion yuan ($13.7 billion) below the Visible Alpha consensus of 101.6 billion yuan. Third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of 4.23 yuan also lagged estimates of 4.46 yuan.
Temu’s low-cost platform has grown rapidly to challenge e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN), and Chinese rivals Alibaba (BABA) and JD.com (JD). But its costly expansion internationally has weighed on its profitability, while rivals are fighting back: Amazon last week launched a new section on its app to focus on items costing $20 or less to take on the Chinese platform as well as others like Shein.
The company had warned in August, when the company posted below-estimate sales, that revenue growth will be under pressure in the future as competition intensifies.
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PDD’s U.S. traded shares were down 10% Thursday afternoon and are down nearly 30% this year.
Nvidia Hit an All-Time High Today Before Turning Lower
7 hr 46 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) shares have been on a rollercoaster ride today after the AI chipmaker released quarterly results that handily topped analysts’ expectations on just about every count.
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The stock rose nearly 5% in the opening minutes of Thursday’s session to a record high of $152.89, before falling as much as 3.5% an hour later. The stock was down about 1% in recent trading.
Investors have come to expect results that exceed expectations, and Nvidia has delivered for the past several quarters. But even as the company’s revenue nearly doubled in the latest quarter versus a year ago, it does represent slower growth than in prior quarters, disappointing the loftiest Wall Street expectations.
BJ’s Wholesale Stock Hits Record High on Strong Earnings
8 hr 8 min ago
BJ’s Wholesale Club (BJ) shares soared Thursday after the warehouse retailer reported better third-quarter earnings than expected despite sales falling just short of estimates.
The retailer reported $5.1 billion in revenue for the quarter, up about 3% year-over-year. Net income rose by nearly 20% from last year to $155.75 million.
Comparable store sales rose by 1.5% in the quarter, just under the increase analysts had expected, as BJ’s said it believes the threat of the port strike that started over the summer and was suspended in October increased sales as shoppers prepared for potential supply disruptions.
BJ’s also announced that as of January 1, its membership fees will increase to $60 and $120, up from $55 and $110 previously for the Club and Club+ memberships, respectively. The more expensive tier gives BJ’s members access to a wider range of discounts and rewards.
The company’s board also approved a new $1 billion stock buyback program. The previous program is set to expire in January, and the new program will run through January 2029.
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BJ’s stock was up nearly 10% in recent trading, at an all-time high.
Deere Shares Jump After Results Top Estimates
9 hr 20 min ago
Shares of Deere & Company (DE) jumped Thursday after the maker of farm equipment reported fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter results that topped estimates, even as the company warned of “ongoing headwinds.”
Deere posted revenue of $11.14 billion, down 28% year-over-year, and net income that plunged 47% to $1.25 billion. Still, the results beat consensus forecasts of analysts polled by Visible Alpha, who were looking for $10.68 billion and $1.05 billion, respectively.
CEO John May said the company is navigating “ongoing headwinds across our markets.”
The company expects fiscal 2025 net income of $5.0 billion to $5.5 billion, down from the $7.1 billion it generated in fiscal 2024. Analysts are forecasting $5.89 billion, per Visible Alpha.
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Deere shares were up 8% in recent trading, pushing the stock into positive territory for the year.
Nvidia Price Levels to Watch After Earnings
10 hr 7 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) shares were lower in recent trading after hitting an all-time high earlier in the session following a quarterly earnings report that handily beat analysts’ expectations.
The stock was down nearly 2% at around $143 after hitting a high of just below $153. Investors have come to expect that earnings from the AI favorite will blow past estimates, and the latest quarterly report may have fallen short of the loftiest projections on Wall Street.
Nvidia shares traded within a four-month ascending triangle before breaking out above the chart pattern last month. Since then, the stock’s price has continued to track higher, with the 50-period moving average providing support.
It’s worth noting that trading volumes have remained light following the breakout, suggesting that larger market players may have remained on the sidelines ahead of the chipmaker’s quarterly report.
Investors should watch important support levels on Nvidia chart around $136, $115, and $97, while monitoring a measured move price target at $186.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Alphabet Drops as DOJ Says Google Should Divest Chrome
10 hr 24 min ago
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL) should sell off its Chrome browser, following an August court ruling that the tech giant holds an illegal monopoly in the search market.
The DOJ’s amended filing with federal judge Amit Mehta, who made the August ruling, comes a month after it submitted a framework for restructuring Google, including breaking up the tech giant.
Losing Chrome, which controls two-thirds of the search market, would be damaging to Google. The tech giant requires the browser to gauge activity from users and use that data to target ads—its biggest revenue source.
Alphabet shares were down 5% in recent trading and were the biggest decliner in the S&P 500.
Read the full story here.
Snowflake Levels to Watch as Stock Pops After Strong Earnings
12 hr 12 min ago
Snowflake (SNOW) shares soared in premarket trading Thursday after the data analytics software maker reported better-than-expected earnings and boosted its revenue outlook.
Between September and October, Snowflake shares carved out a double bottom, a classic chart pattern that indicates a bullish reversal. More recently, bulls successfully defended a retest of the pattern’s neckline ahead of earnings, setting the stage for further gains.
Investors should watch key overhead price levels on Snowflake’s chart around $145, $165, $182, and $200, while monitoring an important support area near $125.
After closing at around $129 yesterday, the stock was up 25% at $161 about an hour before Thursday’s opening bell.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Index Stock Futures Move Higher
12 hr 56 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.4%.
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S&P 500 futures were also up 0.4%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.2%.
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