The stock market finished in the red territory on Wednesday as investors sold off positions to mitigate risks from a fresh round of tariffs due in the next few days.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell the hardest, down 2.04 percent, followed by the S&P 500, down 1.12 percent. The Dow Jones declined by 0.31 percent.
According to President Donald Trump, all cars made outside of the US would be slapped with a 25-percent tariff beginning April 2.
Meanwhile, let us take a look at the 10 companies across mixed sectors that defied a broader market downturn, having registered modest to strong gains during the trading session.
To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
The New York Stock Exchange building. Photo by Дмитрий Трепольский on Pexels
10. Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA)
Paramount Global grew its share prices by 2.15 percent on Wednesday to end at $11.86 apiece as investor sentiment was bolstered by news that it earned the backing of a Delaware judge denying access to a pension fund investor group’s access request to the media giant’s $8-billion SkyDance sale.
In his decision dated March 24, Delaware Court of Chancery Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster agreed to PARA’s appeal denying Rhode Island’s retirement pension fund after agreeing to the fund’s original motion in January seeking confidential files related to the merger transaction.
The retirement fund alleged that Shari Redstone and her National Amusements Inc.—PARA’s majority owner, had been self-dealing by channeling potential buyers toward a purchase of NAI or its control block.
“It is known that in a [mergers and acquisitions] setting, the individuals speaking confidentially to reporters are usually the parties’ public relations firms, their investment bankers, sometimes their lawyers, and sometimes internal personnel,” the judge noted.
9. Mondelez International Inc. (NASDAQ:MDLZ)
Mondelez International rose by 2.54 percent on Wednesday to end at $66.33 apiece after earning a bullish outlook from an investment banking firm.
On Monday, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on MDLZ, giving it an “overweight” rating and a price target of $69 apiece. The higher target represented a 4-percent upside from the company’s closing price on Wednesday.
According to Morgan Stanley, it expects MDLZ to register a surge in sales due to better market share results, supported by expected growth in its chocolate product line and robust pricing strategies.
Additionally, MDLZ operates in areas with relatively low private label penetration as compared with its peers.
Morgan Stanley said that while MDLZ’s current valuation may appear expensive when compared with its historical share prices, the premium it targeted was justified.
8. Exelon Corp. (NASDAQ:EXC)
Exelon grew its share prices by 2.95 percent on Wednesday to finish at $44.02 each as investor sentiment was buoyed by a new rating upgrade from an investment firm.
On Wednesday, Argus Research gave EXC a $48 price target, a 9-percent upside from its last closing price.
Earlier this month, EXC also earned a bullish outlook from UBS and Morgan Stanley, having received price targets of $47 and $48, respectively. UBS, however, gave a neutral rating on the company’s stock, while Morgan Stanley assigned an equal weight rating.
In recent news, EXC strengthened its cybersecurity oversight with the addition of David DeWalt to its Board of Directors.
Prior to joining EXC, DeWalt founded and served as CEO for cybersecurity and venture capital company NightDragon, and also led companies such as FireEye and McAfee. He also served on the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee for four administrations and presently, a board member of Delta Airlines.
7. DollarTree Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR)
DollarTree saw its share prices grow by 3.08 percent on Wednesday to close at $69.21 apiece as investors cheered news that it was officially divesting its struggling Family Dollar unit for roughly $1 billion, an 88-percent discount from the $8.5 billion it allocated in 2015 to acquire the business.
In a statement, DLTR said it reached an agreement with Brigade Capital Management and Macellum Capital Management to acquire Family Dollar, which it believed would best unlock value for DLTR shareholders and position the for-sale unit for future success.
“Under the experienced, dynamic leadership of Family Dollar President Jason Nordin, and with the financial support of Brigade and Macellum, Family Dollar will be well-positioned for growth as a private company. With the support of a dedicated team, Family Dollar will be able to strengthen its commitment to providing affordable and essential goods to customers so they can do more with less,” said DLTR CEO Mike Creedon.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of the year.
6. TAL Education Group (NYSE:TAL)
TAL Education bounced back from four straight days of losses on Wednesday, rising 3.45 percent to close at $13.48 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting to take advantage of its cheaper valuation.
TAL, a Chinese education services company, is investing heavily in Artificial Intelligence in a bid to bolster its modern learning products and services.
Just recently, it launched what it called the “Genius Tutor,” an AI-powered system that transforms learning into an interactive and engaging experience.
The GeniusTutor was built on the Microsoft Azure OpenAI GPT-4o model, which provides real-time guidance and feedback.
It also aims to empower students to conquer complex math problems through logic-driven, step-by-step explanations, master writing with interactive prompts and instant feedback that build confidence and creativity, and enhance vocabulary and reading skills with innovative tools like “Point-and-Discover.”
5. Qifu Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:QFIN)
Qifu Technology rallied by 4.84 percent on Wednesday to close at $46.37 each after Bank of America upgraded its stock rating for the company.
On Wednesday, Bank of America analyst Emma Xu raised the price target for QFIN to $52.70 from $50.66 previously and maintained a Buy rating on the stock. The price target represented a 13.6-percent upside from QFIN’s closing price on Wednesday.
The more bullish outlook followed QFIN’s announcement of a $600-million convertible bond sale to support its March 2025 share repurchase program. The notes will carry an annual interest rate of 0.50 percent with payments due every six months.
The initial conversion rate for the notes was set at 16.7475 American Depositary Shares for every $1,000 of principal, corresponding to an initial conversion price of $59.71 per ADS.
According to the company, proceeds from the notes will be used to fund its buyback program.
4. VNET Group Inc. (NASDAQ:VNET)
VNET rose by 4.95 percent on Wednesday to end at $8.90 apiece as investors bought up on shares following the prior day’s losses.
Investor sentiment was further supported by a recent upgrade for the company’s stock. On Monday, VNET earned an upgrade in VNET’s corporate family rating to B2 from B3 previously, and was given a “stable” outlook from “positive.”
Moody’s Senior Analyst Shawn Xiong said that the B2 rating was based on VNET’s strong position in China’s IDC market, its strategically located data centers with significantly expanded wholesale IDC capacity, a steady revenue growth record, diversified customer base, and established partnerships with leading cloud service providers and internet giants.
According to Xiong, VNET is expected to post solid revenues and earnings growth over the next 12 to 18 months, supported by operational synergies from strategic shareholder Shandong Hi-Speed Holdings.
Apart from Moody’s, VNET also earned a better rating from Bank of America, with a revised price target of $17.30, up from $14.50 previously. It also maintained a “buy” rating on the company.
The more optimistic outlook was based on the company’s much higher guidance on capacity delivery targets, now between 400 to 450MW as compared with the 153MW actual delivery in 2024.
3. Grab Holdings Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRAB)
Grab Holdings snapped a two-day losing streak on Wednesday, finishing 5.29 percent higher at $4.78 apiece as investors took heart from news that it was planning to raise $2 billion to acquire rival GoTo.
According to a report by Bloomberg, GRAB was in discussions to obtain a bridge loan worth the said amount, but it might also tap a bond or equity offering program.
The report added that GRAB’s capital-raising plan indicates that the acquisition was proceeding after some hesitation and that the company is currently undergoing due diligence about the structure of the acquisition which could be worth $7 billion.
“I will always be open to anything that is enhancing our shareholders’ return … in the long term,” GoTo CEO Patrick Walujo was quoted as saying in an interview with the Financial Times.
“This is something that we need to really consider. Because the other thing that’s unique about GoTo is that we are a national champion,” he added.
2. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME)
GameStop shares jumped by 11.65 percent on Wednesday to finish at $28.36 apiece following news that it would raise as much as $1.3 billion to buy Bitcoin.
The news followed announcements from the company that its Board of Directors “has unanimously approved an update to its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.”
The company said it would attempt to raise the funds through convertible senior notes offering.
The planned Bitcoin purchase came a month after GME CEO Ryan Cohen posted a photo with Strategy CEO Michael Saylor on X. While the photo did not mention any reason for the meetup, investors were quick to speculate a brewing cryptocurrency strategy between the two companies.
It can be learned that the gaming company had already ventured into cryptocurrency in 2022 with the establishment of a now-defunct cryptocurrency wallet that sent its share prices skyrocketing for days after the launch.
Just recently, reports also surged of GME closing several stores in the US, often with little to no warning. Since 2020 alone, GME has been shutting down more than 700 stores as the COVID-19 pandemic heavily weighed on its profits, further aggravated by a shift in consumption to online sales and video game makers resorting to digital-only access to games.
1. Playtika Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:PLTK)
Playtika Holding soared by 20.45 percent on Wednesday to finish at $5.30 apiece as investors cheered a rating upgrade for the company.
On Wednesday, Bank of America Securities upgraded its rating for PLTK to Buy from Underperform previously and raised the price target to $6.5 from $6 previously.
The new price target represents a 22.6-percent upside from its latest closing price.
According to the report, PLTK boasts the industry’s highest profitability with 30 percent EBITDA margins, the industry’s largest direct-to-consumer platform, as well as three of the largest and longest-running franchises in the mobile gaming industry.
“It operates within the mature, but still growing mobile gaming industry, which we expect to grow at least 4% Y/Y for the foreseeable future,” the report said.
PLTK is an Israel-based company specializing in the development and publication of mobile games.
While we acknowledge the potential of PLTK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as PLTK but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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