Wall Street’s main indices finished the trading week in the negative territory as investor sentiment was weighed down by economic uncertainties brought about by the ongoing trade tensions globally.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell the heaviest, by 2.70 percent, followed by the S&P 500, by 1.97 percent, and the Dow Jones, by 1.69 percent.
Despite the broader market downturn, 10 individual stocks showed a strong performance during the trading session, with three companies particularly notable for hitting new all-time highs.
In this article, we listed Friday’s top performers and detailed the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2-billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
Photo by George Morina on Pexels
10. Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
Shares of Merck & Co. rallied by 1.86 percent on Friday to end at $89.23 apiece following news that it would officially launch in October this year a subcutaneously injectable version of its blockbuster cancer treatment, Keytruda.
According to the company, it targets the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment on September 23 ahead of its October 1 official launch target. The peak adoption rate is expected to hit two years later.
By injecting Keytruda under the skin rather than intravenous delivery, the time it takes for patients to receive the medicine would significantly reduce.
“We’ll be shipping product immediately following approval, in the first week or two following approval is the expectation, and we’ll have more than enough supply to meet the market demand,” said Joanne Monahan, MRK senior vice president in oncology division.
“We expect the greatest uptake, at least initially, in patients who take monotherapy, oral combinations, and those who have early-stage cancers,” she added.
9. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY)
Bristol-Myers saw its share prices increase by 1.90 percent on Friday to finish at $60.02 apiece following news that it earned the backing of a key European regulatory committee for its blockbuster cancer treatment Opdivo.
According to BMY, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), a part of the European Medicines Agency, recommended the approval of Opdivo for the treatment of adult solid tumors and is now being reviewed by the European Commission.
A decision from the commission is expected to be released by June 2, 2025.
In other news, BMY announced plans to acquire 2seventy Bio for $286 million. The transaction involved the purchase of all outstanding shares at a price of $5 apiece.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year, subject to customary closing conditions, including the tender of a majority of the outstanding shares of 2seventy Bio’s common stock and the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.
8. PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL)
PPL Corp. soared to a new all-time high on Friday, finishing 2.09 percent higher to end at $35.71 apiece, as investors cheered JP Morgan’s rating and price target upgrade for the company.
At intra-day trading, PPL touched a record high of $35.97 before ending marginally lower towards the close.
On Friday, JP Morgan raised the company’s price target to $38 from $36 previously. The new figure represented a 6.4-percent premium from the company’s latest closing price.
PPL is an energy utility holding company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania which owns distribution utilities Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, PPL Electric Utilities, and Rhode Island Energy.
PPL currently serves more than 1.3 million customers across its service areas.
7. Braze Inc. (NASDAQ:BRZE)
Braze grew its share prices by 2.21 percent on Friday to end at $37.51 each following announcements that it would acquire OfferFit for $325 million.
In a statement, BRZE said it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire OfferFit—an AI decision company—for $325 million.
The acquisition was in line with its vision to adopt agentic AI in customer engagement, building on its existing artificial intelligence research with the planned development of Project Catalyst.
“This native AI agent is designed to help brands personalize and optimize experiences with highly relevant Journeys, Content, and Incentives,” BRZE said.
AI decision-making agents can autonomously experiment, learn, and deliver highly relevant, personalized experiences.
Subject to customary closing conditions, BRZE said it expects the acquisition to close in the fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2025.
6. Primo Brands Corporation (NYSE:PRMB)
Primo Brands extended its winning streak for a fourth straight day on Friday, adding 2.47 percent to its valuation to close at $35.30 apiece as investors gobbled up shares in the company following an influencer’s TikTok video that showed a specific bottled water produced by PRMB.
In his video, user Ashton Hall elaborated on his morning routine, saying he wakes up before 4 AM doing a flurry of activities before many start their work days. The video showed the Saratoga Spring Water, piquing investor interest in its parent firm, PRMB.
Hall’s original video earned 100 million views, sparking memes and jokes across different social media platforms.
PRMB is the company that emerged following the merger of Primo Water and BlueTriton Brands. It also owns other brands namely Ice Mountain, Pure Life, and Poland Spring.
5. AppLovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP)
AppLovin Corp. grew its share prices by 4.08 percent on Friday to end at $272.38 each as investors reacted positively to a maintained rating and price target for the company despite being embroiled in a series of allegations.
On Friday, analysts at Benchmark maintained its Buy rating on APP with a price target of $525, a 92.7-percent upside from its latest closing price.
The analysts emphasized the company’s transparency and potential for growth, with APP CEO Adam Foroughi’s message to investors that it would address concerns raised by short sellers in the company.
In his remarks, Foroughi encouraged investors to focus on the fundamentals of its business rather than the noise created by short sellers.
APP said it retained Alex Spiro, partner and Co-Chair of the Investigations, Government Enforcement & White Collar Defense Practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, to conduct an independent review and investigation into a recent short report activity targeting the company.
“We are fully committed to defending the Company, its operations, and its reputation from those seeking to manipulate the market through false narratives,” Foroughi said. “We will take all necessary steps to ensure the facts are known and to protect our employees, stockholders, and partners.”
4. Gold Fields Ltd. (NYSE:GFI)
Gold Fields rose for a second day on Friday to touch a new all-time high following Bank of America’s bullish outlook on gold prices.
In its market note on Wednesday, Bank of America raised its average gold prices forecast for this year and in 2026 to $3,063 per ounce this year and to $3,350 per ounce next year. The new figures marked a significant increase from its previous forecasts of $2,750 per ounce for 2025 and $2,625 per ounce for 2026.
The bullish outlook spilled over to gold prices, including Gold Fields, propelling the company’s all-time high performance before a slight selling pulled the company lower.
Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, GFI is one of the largest gold mining companies globally. In recent news, it was rejected by Australia’s Gold Road Resources for its proposed $2.1 billion takeover bid. In response, Gold Road put forward a counter-proposal to acquire GFI’s stake in the Gruyere mine at the same implied valuation as the rejected offer.
3. Soleno Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SLNO)
Soleno Therapeutics jumped for a second day on Friday, adding another 6.83 percent to its valuation to end at $71.99 apiece after securing the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its diazoxide cholin—to be called Vykat XR—which aims to treat extreme hunger in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome.
The syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by abnormalities in chromosome 15. Its symptoms include extreme hunger, low muscle tone, developmental delays, and behavioral challenges.
Meanwhile, extreme hunger poses a threat to people with the syndrome and can lead to severe obesity and associated health complications.
FDA’s approval followed a three-month delay after the agency classified responses from Soleno as a “major amendment” to its new drug application, requiring additional time to review.
2. W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB)
WR Berkley Corp. rallied for a fifth consecutive day on Friday to reach a new all-time high following news that Japan-based Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance is planning to acquire a significant stake in the company.
During the trading session, WRB hit a record high of $76.38 apiece before profit-taking pulled the company’s stock price lower to end just up by 7.53 percent at $71.27 apiece.
According to WRB, Mitsui is set to acquire a 15-percent stake in the company through open market purchase or private third-party transactions.
The Berkley family, however, said that it would not sell any of its common shares ownership in the company and that the Mitsui would not purchase any more shares directly from the firm.
WRB is a commercial lines property and casualty insurance holding firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut.
1. Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY)
Harmony Gold surged by 9.5 percent on Friday to finish at $14.06 apiece as investors snapped up shares in the company following higher gold spot prices and outlook from an investment firm.
As of Friday, 6:24 PM EDT, spot prices of gold were up by 0.91 percent to a new all-time high of $3,085.12 per ounce, marking its 18th record high this year, as investors continued to flock to safer assets amid the ongoing trade tensions globally.
The higher prices pushed Bank of America to raise its average gold price targets for this year and the next. In its market note on Wednesday, the investment firm raised its gold price forecast to $3,063 per ounce this year and to $3,350 per ounce next year. The new figures marked a significant increase from its previous forecasts of $2,750 per ounce for 2025 and $2,625 per ounce for 2026.
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