Wall Street’s main indices kicked off the trading week soaring on Tuesday amid a series of catalysts from President Donald Trump’s inauguration event that fueled investor sentiment.
The Dow rose by 1.24 percent, the S&P 500 rose 0.88 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.64 percent.
On Tuesday, 10 companies—mostly under the space exploration, energy, and quantum computing sectors—registered the highest gains. In this article, let’s take a look at their impressive performance.
To come up with Tuesday’s top gainers, we considered only the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.
A person holding a cup of coffee while reading stock market data on a phone. Photo by Anna Nekrashevich on Pexels
10. AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS)
Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) rallied by 11.16 percent on Tuesday to close at $23.10 apiece as investor optimism was fueled by President Donald Trump’s plans to support a mission to send US astronauts to Mars.
While the company is not directly tied to space exploration, its technology and infrastructure could become an essential support to the broader space ecosystem.
At his inauguration on Monday, Trump said that the US “will pursue its manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” signaling a boost in investment support for the industry.
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), a company dedicated to developing global satellite networks, stands to gain from a potential surge in investment and government backing for space initiatives. This support, coupled with technological synergies, could significantly advance efforts to send humans to Mars and further enhance the company’s capabilities in providing global connectivity.
9. Nuscale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR)
Nuscale Power (SMR) rose for a second day on Tuesday, adding 16.57 percent to its valuation to end at $25.61 each following statements by President Donald Trump pledging support for the energy sector as a key driver in the resurgence of US manufacturing.
At his inauguration on Monday, Trump said that the US “will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.”
In addition, Nuscale earned a boost from a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), posting a bullish outlook for the nuclear power sector at large, specifically small modular reactors (SMR), which Nuscale Power Corp. (SMR) is betting on as being particularly promising.
According to IEA, Nuscale Power’s SMRs in particular offer exciting growth potential.
The IEA also expects an all-time high production of nuclear power this year, saying that the energy source is making a strong comeback.
8. IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)
Shares of IonQ Inc. (IONQ) jumped by 16.57 percent on Tuesday to close at $45.31 each as investors took heart from news that President Donald Trump is due to announce a $500 billion support to the private sector to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure.
IonQ (IONQ), a leader in quantum computing technology crucial to the rapid advancement of AI, has benefited from the booming AI sector in recent months.
The company is part of a growing ecosystem fueled by major players like OpenAI, which recently formed a partnership with SoftBank and Oracle, for a joint venture company called Stargate, with an initial $100 billion investment and plans to commit up to $500 billion over the next four years to propel the AI industry.
Investment in AI began to surge since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, as companies across various sectors seek to integrate artificial intelligence into their products and services.
7. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)
President Donald Trump’s plans to bolster the energy industry sent Oklo Inc.’s (OKLO) share prices soaring by 19.96 percent on Tuesday to end at $31.25 apiece—a fourth consecutive day.
At his inauguration on Monday, Trump emphasized that the US would leverage the energy industry to strengthen the national economy, particularly the manufacturing sector.
He said that the US “will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.” Following his remarks, shares of Oklo, along with other energy sector peers, saw a notable rise.
Last week, the company said it clinched a new deal with RPower to provide electricity to data centers using its natural gas generators within about 24 months.
The said model will combine immediate energy deployment using RPower natural gas generators with a transition path to clean, reliable energy from Oklo’s Aurora powerhouses, thereby eliminating reliance on diesel generators and supporting scalable, sustainable operations.
6. SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN)
Shares of SoundHound AI (SOUN) surged by 21.11 percent on Tuesday to end at $16.52 apiece in line with the broader market optimism, as investors took heart from announcements by President Donald Trump to support the artificial intelligence industry through a $500-billion government funding.
SoundHound AI (SOUN) is part of a growing ecosystem fueled by major players like OpenAI, which recently formed a partnership with SoftBank and Oracle, for a joint venture company called Stargate, with an initial $100 billion investment and plans to commit up to $500 billion over the next four years to propel the AI industry.
SoundHound (SOUN), whose share price has skyrocketed by 734 percent to date, is poised to reap even greater benefits from the government’s AI-focused support over the coming years.
5. Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ:GH)
Guardant Health’s (GH) share prices increased by 23.10 percent on Tuesday to finish at $45.13 apiece following news that its Guardant Reveal test for colon cancer has been granted expanded Medicare coverage.
According to Guardant Health (GH), Palmetto GBA, a Medicare administrative contractor, has extended the coverage for the test, allowing for the monitoring of disease recurrence in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC), who have undergone curative intent therapy.
Guardant Health (GH) said the development marked an expansion from the previous Medicare coverage, as its previous coverage was only limited to CRC testing in the early post-surgical setting.
With the new coverage, Guardant Health (GH) can now offer more comprehensive monitoring for CRC patients throughout their treatment journey.
4. Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR)
Intuitive Machines (LUNR), an American space exploration company, saw its share prices higher by 23.93 percent on Tuesday after President Donald Trump announced plans to support the space industry’s sending of astronauts to Mars. Intuitive Machines traded higher in line with its counterparts following the news.
At his inauguration on Monday, Trump said that the US “will pursue its manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”
According to analysts, investors in the space exploration companies are reacting to the potential growth in the space sector which is expected to expand significantly in the future.
With government estimates projecting the total cost of the space program at nearly $100 billion over time, the prospects for expansion have sparked heightened interest and investment in the industry.
3. Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB)
Rocket Lab (RKLB) touched a new all-time high on Tuesday at $31.64 apiece before trading slightly lower to end at $31.27 each.
Rocket Lab (RKLB) traded higher in line with its counterparts amid overall market optimism towards the space exploration industry, boosted by President Donald Trump’s promise to support the US mission to send astronauts to Mars.
At his inauguration on Monday, Trump said that the US “will pursue its manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.”
Trump’s pronouncements have signaled a more robust space exploration industry under his term, further fueling optimism in the sector.
In related news, Rocket Lab (RKLB) announced that it has scheduled the next Electron launch for Kinéis, a global provider of Internet-of-Things (IoT) connectivity. The said mission will be the fourth of five dedicated Electron launches under a multi-launch contract with Kinéis, aimed at deploying a complete constellation of 25 IoT satellites.
The first three launches, which took place in June, September, and November 2024, were successfully executed, marking significant progress in the deployment of this global IoT network.
2. Tempus AI (NASDAQ:TEM)
Tempus AI (TEM) grew its share prices by 35.53 percent on Tuesday to close at $47.64 each following the official launch of its app, Olivia.
Olivia is an AI-enabled personal health concierge app designed to empower patients by bringing their health-related data into one central location and leveraging advanced AI to provide actionable insights. It is also designed to address two core objectives centralizing patients’ health data and making that data accessible and actionable through AI.
Tempus AI (TEM) said the app enables patients to bring their health information into one unified platform. They can also connect directly to over 1,000 health systems through electronic health record (EHR) integration, sync data from health devices to track daily metrics, or manually upload health records.
1. Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)
Rigetti Computing (RGTI) soared by 42.22 percent on Tuesday to finish at $13.98 each driven by growing optimism in both the Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing sectors. The rally was further fueled by an analyst raising the company’s price target, reflecting confidence in Rigetti’s potential within these rapidly advancing industries.
Recently, financial services firm B. Riley doubled Rigetti Computing’s price target to $8.50 apiece and reaffirmed its “buy” rating.
In other news, investors took heart from the news that President Donald Trump is due to announce $500 billion in support to the private sector to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure.
OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle have joined forces to form a joint venture company called Stargate, committing $100 billion initially and up to $500 billion in the next four years to support the sector.
While we acknowledge the potential of RGTI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as RGTI but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
