Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday
1 hr 45 min ago
Advancers
- Shares of Taser maker Axon Enterprise (AXON) surged 14.1%, gaining the most of any stock in the S&P 500 on Thursday. The company, which also provides body cameras and other products for military and law enforcement, posted better-than-expected sales and profits for the first quarter and boosted its full-year guidance. Axon touted strong growth for its software and services segment, highlighting robust demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) policing systems.
- Epam Systems (EPAM) also surpassed consensus estimates with its quarterly results, and shares of the digital engineering and cloud-based software provider jumped 12.9%. Growth in IT services revenue, AI-related demand, and strategic partnerships helped underpin the strong performance. EPAM also increased its full-year sales outlook and announced that its current chief revenue officer would take the reins as CEO later this year.
- Enphase Energy (ENPH) shares advanced 12.2% after the energy technology firm launched a plug-and-play solar energy system in Germany. The new product is designed for users who live in apartments or have limited roof space. It can also be used in off-grid locations such as cabins, campsites, and mobile homes. With Thursday’s gains, Enphase stock staged a partial recovery from losses posted late last month after its quarterly results fell short of expectations.
Decliners
- Shares of Match Group (MTCH), operator of Tinder and other online dating services, sank 9.6%, posting the S&P 500’s weakest daily performance. The company reported a year-over-year decline in paying users across its platforms, including the dating sites Hinge and OkCupid. Furthermore, Match said it would cut its workforce by 13% in an effort to cut costs as it navigates challenges related to user engagement.
- Fortinet (FTNT) shares fell 8.4% in the wake of the cybersecurity firm’s quarterly earnings release. Although its first-quarter adjusted profits came in ahead of consensus forecasts, revenue for the period missed the mark, and Fortinet issued underwhelming guidance for the current quarter and the full year. Despite the relatively cautious outlook, Fortinet maintains a strong leadership position in the global firewall market.
- Shares of drug wholesaler and pharmaceutical solutions provider Cencora (COR) lost 6.8% on Thursday, reversing the strong gains posted by the stock in the prior session following a strong earnings report. Notwithstanding the strong quarterly performance, Cencora noted that it faces challenging growth comparisons for GLP-1 weight-loss products along with softness in clinical trial activity and its specialty logistics business.
AppLovin Levels to Watch as Stock Soars After Earnings
1 hr 54 min ago
AppLovin (APP) shares surged Thursday after the mobile app marketing provider announced the sale of its mobile game business and quarterly results that topped Wall Street expectations.
The company, which offers AI-powered software products to assist developers target ads and monetize apps, said late Wednesday it sold its mobile game unit to London-based Tripledot Studios for $400 million and will hold a 20% stake in the private firm following the transaction.
In addition to topping analysts’ first quarter earnings forecasts, the company issued current quarter advertising revenue guidance above expectations, while also pointing out that it focuses on mid-market web advertisers that have less exposure tariffs.
AppLovin shares tumbled as much as 62% between mid-February and early April after short sellers published reports accusing the adtech company of deceptive practices. The stock gained 12% to close Thursday at $339.51, and is up about 70% from last month’s low point.
After setting a record high in mid February, AppLovin shares staged a sharp reversal back to the 200-day moving average, where they traded mostly sideways since that time. However, the stock recently broke out above a falling wedge pattern and reclaimed the 50-day moving average in a move that coincided with the relative strength index crossing back above the 50 threshold to signal improving price momentum.
Investors should watch crucial overhead areas on AppLovin’s chart around $352, $525 and $940, while also monitoring an important support level near $235.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Why D-Wave Quantum Stock Skyrocketed Thursday
2 hr 33 min ago
D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) stock soared on Thursday after the quantum computing company reported record revenue and a narrower loss in the first quarter.
D-Wave reported first-quarter revenue of $15 million, a 509% increase from a year ago. The surge in revenue was driven by the sale of an Advantage quantum computing system to Germany’s Jülich Supercomputing Centre. D-Wave’s net loss narrowed to $5.4 million, or 2 cents a share, from $17.3 million, or 11 cents per share, last year.
D-Wave finished the quarter with a record consolidated cash balance of $304.3 million, an amount that management expects will be sufficient to fund the company until it’s profitable.
“The first quarter of 2025 was arguably the most significant in D-Wave’s history,” said CEO Alan Baratz. The company, he said, “became the first to demonstrate quantum supremacy over classical computing on a useful real-world problem” with a peer-reviewed paper published in the scientific journal Science in March.
Quantum computing stocks stepped into the spotlight late last year when Alphabet (GOOG) debuted a quantum computing chip called Willow, which the company claimed can complete computations orders of magnitude faster than the most advanced non-quantum chips. Since then, quantum stocks, including D-Wave, Rigetti Computing (RGTI), and Quantum Computing (QUBT), have been volatile amid highly speculative trading.
D-Wave shares finished 51% higher on Thursday, putting the stock back into positive territory for 2025. Shares of competitors Rigetti and Quantum Computing jumped 11% and 19%, respectively.
Warner Bros. Discovery Jumps on Report of Possible Spit
2 hr 59 min ago
Shares of media company Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) popped Thursday following reports that the company was considering a split.
The wide-ranging media company known for brands like HBO, MAX, CNN, and Adult Swim is moving toward some kind of split, CNBC’s David Faber said earlier today, adding that “we could get some sort of an announcement in the not-too-distant future.” (A detailed transcript of Faber’s comments is available on CNBC’s website.)
A split “will take quite some time to actually happen,” Faber said. The company in December announced a restructuring, at the time saying the changes—creating one division focused on global linear TV and another with its film studios and global streaming platform—would “increase optionality to pursue further value creation opportunities for both divisions in an evolving media landscape.”
Comcast (CMCSA), meanwhile, late last year said it would spin off its cable TV networks.
TradingView
The news helped Warner Bros. Discovery shares gain more than 5% in Thursday trading, leaving the company down roughly 15% so far this year. Spokespeople for Warner Bros. Discovery did not respond to Investopedia’s request for comment in time for publication.
The company earlier today reported first-quarter financial results that included a year-over-year drop in revenue.
Taser Maker Axon Enterprise Soars to Lead S&P 500
3 hr 25 min ago
Axon Enterprise (AXON) shares surged nearly 14% to lead S&P 500 and Nasdaq gainers Thursday, a day after the Taser maker topped profit and sales forecasts and lifted its outlook on demand for its new artificial intelligence policing tool.
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based firm reported first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.41 on sales that jumped 31% year-over-year to $603.6 million. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha expected $1.30 and $587.0 million, respectively.
Axon said the revenue figure exceeded its expectations, “driven by Software & Services, strong adoption of TASER 10, [body-worn camera system] Axon Body 4 and growing demand for platform sensors.” The company recently unveiled Axon Assistant, “an AI voice-enabled companion built into Axon Body 4.” On Axon’s earnings call Wednesday, CEO and founder Patrick Smith said Axon Assistant ensures police officers will “have an always available voice-driven AI assistant delivering critical information exactly when and where it’s needed” in the field.
Axon raised its full-year revenue outlook to a range of $2.6 billion to $2.7 billion from the prior $2.55 billion to $2.65 billion, representing roughly 27% annual growth at the midpoint. It also lifted its its adjusted EBITDA projection to $650 million to $675 million from $640 million to $670 million.
Shares of Axon rose 14% on Thursday, boosting the stock’s year-to-date gain to 16%.
Coach Parent Tapestry Lifts Outlook, Says Tariffs ‘Immaterial’
4 hr 20 min ago
Shares of Tapestry (TPR) rose Thursday after the owner of fashion brands reported better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results and lifted its full-year outlook.
The Coach and Kate Spade parent posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03 on revenue of $1.58 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected $0.88 and $1.53 billion, respectively.
Tapestry lifted its full-year revenue forecast to $6.95 billion, which would represent growth of about 4% year-over-year, up from approximately 3% growth it previously projected. EPS is seen coming in at $5.00, up from the prior range of $4.85 to $4.90.
The company said the outlook includes the expected tariffs as of April 10, a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, and 10% on all other imports. Because of Tapestry’s current inventory and shipping plans, the tariffs are “expected to have an immaterial impact on Fiscal 2025 results.”
The third quarter was Tapestry’s first full period since it and Versace owner Capri Brands (CPRI) called off their planned merger after a judge ruled that it likely would be anti-competitive and lead to higher prices for consumers.
Tapestry shares were up 4% in late trading Thursday. The stock has risen about 20% since the start of the year.
Analysts Remain Bullish on Alphabet Amid Search Concerns
5 hr 25 min ago
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) lost about $150 billion in market capitalization Wednesday amid worries it could lose ground to AI-powered search options. Morgan Stanley says it’s an opportunity to buy the stock.
“GOOGL sentiment has (again) troughed due to AI-disruption fears,” Morgan Stanley said, referencing an Apple (AAPL) executive’s comments that the iPhone maker is looking to add AI-powered search options to its Safari browser, and suggested they could eventually replace Google, which is currently Safari’s default search engine.
Morgan Stanley argued that competitors in the space such as OpenAI, Meta (META) and Perplexity “don’t yet have large enough user bases or compelling enough products” to drive customers away from Google.
Shares of Alphabet were up 2% at around $156 in recent trading Thursday, after plunging 7% a day earlier. Morgan Stanley maintained its price target of $185 and said it’s “time to buy” the stock.
TradingView
Jefferies analysts noted that Google’s Chrome holds a 66% browser share compared to Safari’s 17%. Google has also made its own progress in AI, with AI Overviews in Search reaching 1.5 billion monthly active users. “While we agree there are emerging alternatives to Google Search, GOOGL is not standing still,” the analysts said.
Jefferies reiterated its $200 target, calling yesterday’s sell-off “overdone.” JPMorgan and Citi affirmed their targets of $195 and $200, respectively.
Still, one serious risk to Google’s search dominance is antitrust enforcement. Last August, a federal judge agreed with Justice Department prosecutors that Google operated an illegal monopoly in the online search market. The Apple executive’s comments were part of testimony in a court proceeding Wednesday meant to find a remedy to that monopoly.
How Much Traders Expect Coinbase to Move After Earnings
5 hr 46 min ago
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is slated to report quarterly results after the bell on Thursday. Investors are expecting a relatively modest response from its stock.
Coinbase stock is forecast to move about 6.5% in either direction on Friday, according to an analysis of options prices on Thursday morning. A move of that magnitude could put the stock to a two-month high of about $217.50 or down to around $191.
Over the last four quarters, Coinbase stock has seen an average post-earnings move of more than 9%. Shares slumped 8% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings in February and 15% following its third-quarter results in October. The last time Coinbase stock rose after earnings was a year ago, when the company said first-quarter revenue jumped as investors piled into newly approved spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Analysts are split in their assessments of Coinbase’s stock, with six of the 12 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha assigning shares a “buy” rating and the other six advising that investors hold.
The average price target for the stock is $262.42, implying upside of about 33%. Price targets range from $169 at Barclays to $400 at Canaccord and Citizens.
Coinbase shares were up more than 6% in recent trading as the price of bitcoin surpassed $100,000 for the first time since February. The stock has lost more than 15% of its value so far this year.
Crypto Stocks Jump as Bitcoin Surges Above $100K
6 hr 53 min ago
Crypto stocks got a jolt Thursday as the price of bitcoin climbed above $100,000 for the first time since early February.
Bitcoin was at $101,000 recently, up from an overnight low around $96,000, as investors welcomed news of a trade agreement between the U.S. and U.K. and the prospect of more deals. President Donald Trump said Thursday that “many other deals” are in “serious stages of negotiations,” and expressed optimism that progress would be made in talks between U.S. and Chinese officials over the weekend.
The latest developments on trade provided a boost to risk assets broadly, as U.S. stocks also surged. Investors have been looking for concrete signs of progress on trade talks amid concerns that the tariffs the Trump administration has proposed will cause economic growth to stall.
Shares of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) were up 6% in early-afternoon trading, while Strategy (MSTR), the Bitcoin buyer formerly known as MicroStrategy, added 7%. Bitcoin miners Riot Platforms (RIOT) and Mara Holdings (MARA) climbed 7% and 8%, respectively.
Bitcoin hit a record high of around $109,000 ahead of Trump’s inauguration in January amid optimism that the new administration would adopt policies to benefit the crypto industry. Trump has made efforts to be seen as a pro-crypto president, including signing an executive order in March that laid the groundwork for a strategic bitcoin reserve and a broader U.S. digital asset stockpile.
However, bitcoin stumbled in recent months, along with the U.S. stock market, as concerns about the potential impact of Trump’s trade policy weighed on risk appetite. With today’s rally, bitcoin has risen about 33% from its early-April low of $76,000.
Cleveland-Cliffs Stock Dives as Steelmaker Idles Some Plants
8 hr 1 min ago
Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) shares tumbled Thursday, a day after the steelmaker announced it was cutting back on production and capital spending in an effort to improve operations.
The company said it will “fully or partially idle six facilities to optimize its footprint, reposition away from loss-making operations, and release excess working capital.” The moves are expected to save more than $300 million a year, with additional savings in overhead and improved productivity at its other factories.
In addition, Cleveland-Cliffs will no longer be investing in the development of a transformer production facility in Weirton, W.Va., “due to changes in scope from the project partner that no longer meet Cliffs’ investment requirements.”
CEO Lourenco Goncalves said that the company’s first-quarter results were hurt by “non-core assets and the lagging effect of lower index prices in late 2024 and early 2025.” Goncalves noted that the steps being taken are aimed at streamlining the business and enhancing efficiency.
In the quarter, Cleveland-Cliffs reported an adjusted net loss of $0.92, with revenue up 7% year-over-year to $4.63 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected a net loss of $0.83 on revenue of $4.62 billion.
In January, CNBC reported that the company was teaming up with rival Nucor (NUE) for a potential bid for U.S. Steel (X), whose $14.1 billion buyout by Nippon Steel was blocked by President Joe Biden.
Cleveland-Cliffs shares were down 16% in recent trading. Including today’s sharp declines, shares of Cleveland-Cliffs have lost about a quarter of their value this year.
Anheuser-Busch Inbev Stock Hits 52-Week High
8 hr 53 min ago
U.S.-listed shares of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) gained Thursday as the world’s biggest beer brewer easily beat earnings estimates as lower costs offset falling volumes.
The maker of brands including Budweiser and Michelob reported first-quarter net profit of $2.15 billion, nearly double what it was a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $1.66 billion. Revenue rose 1.5% year-over-year to $13.63 billion, short of forecasts.
AB InBev’s selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) decreased nearly 6% to $4.19 billion. The company pointed to disciplined resource allocation, overhead management, and optimization of capital expenditures for the decline.
Beer sales declined in the U.S., Europe, and China, but they gained in Latin America and South Africa. Total beer and non-beer volume dipped 2.2%, which the company blamed on “calendar-related factors such as cycling the leap year selling-day benefit in 1Q24 and Easter shipment phasing.”
CEO Michel Doukeris said that the consistent execution of AB InBev’s strategy “drove a solid start to the year and reinforces our confidence in delivering on our outlook for 2025.”
TradingView
AB Inbev stock was up 2% at $66.90 in recent trading, after hitting a 52-week high of $67.55 this morning.
Shopify Stock Sinks on Surprise Q1 Loss
10 hr 1 min ago
Shares of Shopify (SHOP) tumbled Thursday morning as the e-commerce platform reported a surprise net loss for the first quarter.
The company said $74.75 billion in gross merchandise value was sold through its platform in the quarter, about $150 million less than analysts had expected, per Visible Alpha. Shopify generated $2.36 billion in revenue, just above what analysts had expected.
Shopify’s adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.25, a penny below the analyst consensus, but the company’s surprise net loss was likely more of an issue with investors. Analysts had expected EPS of $0.17, but Shopify reported a net loss of $0.53 per share as it incurred a more than $900 million loss on its equity investments.
Shopify projects second-quarter revenue to grow at a mid-twenties percentage rate year-over-year, while gross profit is expected to grow at a high-teens percentage.
Shopify shares were down 6% shortly after opening bell Thursday. The stock entered the day down 11% since the start of the year.
Watch These Alphabet Levels After Yesterday’s Slide
10 hr 22 min ago
Alphabet (GOOGL) shares moved higher in premarket trading after tumbling Wednesday following reports that Apple (AAPL) is looking to add AI-powered search options to its Safari browser, and that they could eventually replace standard search engines like Google’s.
The two tech giants have a longstanding partnership that sees Alphabet’s Google pay Apple an estimated $20 billion a year to make its search engine the default option on Safari in exchange for the iPhone maker receiving a cut of Google’s ad revenue through the browser. The news heightened concerns that AI is chipping away at Google’s bread-and-butter online search business.
Alphabet shares have slumped 20% since the start of the year through Wednesday’s close, in part over concerns that an economic slowdown could hit revenue as ad spending is reined in. The stock was up about 2% at around $156 shortly before the opening bell, after falling more than 7% yesterday.
Following an ominous death cross surfacing on the chart last month, Alphabet shares staged a countertrend rally to form a rising wedge, a bearish pattern that indicates a continuation of the stock’s move lower.
Indeed, that move looks to have started in Wednesday’s trading session, with the price breaking down below the pattern’s lower trendline on above-average daily volume. Moreover, the drop coincided with the relative strength index (RSI) plunging below the 50 threshold, signaling accelerating selling momentum.
Investors should monitor major support levels on Alphabet’s chart around $141 and $131, while also watching major resistance levels near $165 and $182.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Index Futures Point to Higher Open
11 hr 16 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.7%.
TradingView
S&P 500 futures rose 0.9%.
TradingView
Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.2%.
TradingView
