The stock market ended on a mixed note on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones the sole loser during the session, as investor caution persisted amid confusing tariff policies from President Donald Trump.
The Dow Jones dropped by 0.43 percent, while in contrast, the S&P and Nasdaq finished in the green territory, albeit the S&P inched up by only 0.01 percent, and the Nasdaq ended higher by 0.26 percent.
On Wednesday, Trump raised hopes for another month of delay for the imposition of tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, while signaling a 25-percent reciprocal tariff on European cars and goods.
Meanwhile, ten companies defied the broader market pessimism, posting modest to strong gains during the day.
To come up with Wednesday’s top gainers, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.
A man in black suit holding a tablet looks at stock market data on a monitor. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE)
Bloom Energy saw its share prices rise by 6.51 percent on Wednesday to close at $23.40 apiece as investors repositioned portfolios ahead of the release of its earnings performance on Thursday, February 27 after market close.
Investors will particularly look out for any cues about its outlook for the year, especially with the Trump administration’s plan to expand energy sources in the country to bolster other industries.
According to Zacks Research, it expects fourth-quarter revenues to settle at $551.6 million, which would represent an increase of 43.35 percent from the same period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, earnings per share is expected to settle at 32 cents per share, or a growth of 357.1 percent from the reported figure a year ago.
9. Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT)
Vertiv grew its share prices for a second day on Wednesday, adding 7.30 percent to finish at $98.61 each as investor sentiment was buoyed by JPMorgan’s reiteration of its positive rating for the company.
In its report, JPMorgan maintained its ‘overweight’ rating and price target of $132 for VRT, which if compared with its latest closing price, would represent a 33-percent premium.
The company also earned an average ‘strong buy’ rating from other analysts, with price targets ranging from $99.5 to $165 apiece.
According to JPMorgan, while the company is facing the threats of DeepSeek, its underlying business conditions remained strongly favorable, adding that the company’s specialization in building and servicing critical infrastructures for data centers, communication networks, and commercial environments is positioned at a different point in the business cycle.
8. Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST)
Retail electricity services provider Vistra Corp. grew its share prices by 7.52 percent to finish at $148.29 apiece as bullish analyst estimates sparked buying appetite ahead of its earnings release on Thursday, February 27.
According to Zacks Research, VST revenues are expected to settle at $4.38 billion in the fourth quarter of the year, or an increase of 42.34 percent from the revenue reported in the same period a year earlier.
Meanwhile, it expects the company to post $1.59 earnings per share, which would represent a 431.25-percent increase from the same comparable period.
VST is a Texas-based retail electricity and power generation company whose services span across California to Maine. The company also operates a power generation fleet of natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery energy storage facilities while taking an innovative, customer-centric approach to its retail business.
7. SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN)
SoundHound AI firmed up on Wednesday, finishing the day up by 7.53 percent to close at $9.57 apiece as investors bought up shares ahead of the release of its earnings performance on Thursday, February 27.
In addition, funds poured into quantum computing stocks, including SOUN, following Nvidia Corp.’s announcement of its fourth-quarter earnings release after market close on Wednesday.
It can be recalled that SOUN was one of the stocks sold off by NVDA over the past few months, but the outlook remained bullish for the company following earlier statements from NVDA CEO Jensen Huang that the giant chipmaker will support the growth of quantum computing stocks over the next few years.
Also on Tuesday, SOUN announced the next generation of its voice AI-powered platform for restaurants, enhancing its Dynamic Drive-Thru solution’s accuracy and speed, and adding seamless omnichannel ordering.
With the new service, restaurants can now extend their AI automation beyond the drive-thru to include Call-to-Order, Text-to-Order, Scan-to-Order, and In-Car Voice Ordering.
6. KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE)
Shares of KE Holdings rallied for a second day on Wednesday, adding 7.62 percent to finish at $22.87 apiece as investors gobbled up shares in the company following bullish analyst outlooks.
Just recently, BEKE earned a ‘strong buy’ rating and a price target of $22.1 from HSBC Global Research, saying that there are 10 signs that the Chinese real estate market has already bottomed out, making Chinese real estate stocks more attractive.
According to the report, signs include year-on-year growth in new home sales, recovery in housing prices, price expectations reset, a surge in land sales, and foreign investment participation.
It also said that the market experienced continued housing completions, easier access to credit for developers, higher household risk appetite, gradual clearing of real estate inventory, and rental yields becoming more attractive compared to government bond yields.
KE Holdings is an integrated online and offline platform for housing transactions and services in China. It operates Lianjia, China’s leading real estate brokerage brand.
5. OKLO Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)
Shares of Oklo jumped by 9.73 percent on Wednesday to end at $35.19 apiece as investors cheered news that it joined the Department of Energy’s Voucher Program which is expected to accelerate the development of next-generation materials.
The initiative was part of the Technology Commercialization Fund and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to enhance efficiencies in manufacturing, supply chain, and overall scalability as OKLO accelerates the deployment of its commercial powerhouses.
The collaboration leverages DOE-funded vouchers to conduct advanced material characterization and real-world testing to validate high-performance materials that will support OKLO’s fast reactor designs.
“This project helps us refine proven fast reactor technologies to deliver scalable, cost-effective clean energy solutions that empower our customers to meet their energy goals sustainably. With 14 gigawatts of announced customers and partners in our pipeline, we believe we are well positioned to address growing energy demands across diverse applications,” said OKLO CEO Jacob DeWitte.
4. Li Auto Inc. (NASDAQ:LI)
Li Auto rose anew on Wednesday, jumping 10.30 percent to end at $32.92 apiece as investors resumed buying following the sneak peek of its new vehicle model which would kick off a new “intelligent” series.
Earlier this week, LI said it would launch a new series of vehicles called the I series, a smart driving system promising both innovation and intelligence.
A sneak peek of the first variant, Li i8, has already been announced earlier this week, albeit details on the pricing and the official launch date were yet to be divulged.
Li i8 will complement the carmaker’s existing electric SUVs under the L series and the MEGA premium MPV.
It also forms part of the LI product roadmap, where it plans to launch five range-extended electric vehicles. Apart from the i8, the company will also launch the i6, i7, and i9.
3. Super Micro Computer Inc. (NASDAQ:SMCI)
Super Micro jumped by 12.23 percent on Wednesday as investors gobbled up shares in the company following the successful submission of its delayed filings on its final deadline, a factor that was vital to keep its position as a listed firm on the Nasdaq exchange.
SMCI erased earlier losses on Tuesday after cautious investors turned to sellers prior to the company’s submission of delayed filings that occurred after market close.
According to SMCI, the Nasdaq accepted its compliance with the exchange requirements, and the matter is now closed.
In its delayed annual report, Super Micro Computer, Inc. said sales in fiscal year 2024 more than doubled to $14.99 billion year-on-year on the back of growing demand for its products to support artificial intelligence.
Earlier this month, SMCI said revenue could hit $40 billion in fiscal year 2026 after reaching $23.5 billion to $25 billion in 2025.
2. XPeng Inc. (NYSE:XPEV)
XPeng grew firmer on Wednesday, closing the trading session up by 14.95 percent to finish at $21.99 each as investors cheered the company’s plan to go aggressive on expanding into international markets.
Earlier this month, XPEV CEO He Xiaopeng said that the company targets to increase its international market portfolio to 60 this year from 30 countries in 2024.
“This year, we will increase to 60 and will have established more than 300 after-sales service points worldwide,” he said.
As part of the promise, XPEV already officially launched its G6 and G9 SUVs in Finland while signaling plans to open two showrooms in Helsinki and Espoo within the year.
Meanwhile, it is expected to launch its G7 models in Australia in 2026 and will undercut the Tesla Model Y in terms of pricing.
Over the next 10 years, he said that the international markets are expected to power its sales.
1. ZoomInfo Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ZI)
ZoomInfo’s shares skyrocketed by 23.08 percent on Wednesday to end at $11.73 apiece as investor sentiment was fueled by the company’s bullish outlook for the year.
In its latest earnings release, ZI said it expects revenues for fiscal year 2025 to settle between $294 million to $297 million, which is way higher than the analyst consensus of $292.4 million.
Earnings per share was also pegged at a range of 22 cents to 23 cents, versus analyst consensus of 22 cents.
During the fourth quarter of the year, ZI swung to a net income of $14.6 million, reversing a net loss of $5.5 million in the same period a year earlier despite revenues dipping by 2.3 percent to $309.1 million from $316.4 million year-on-year.
Meanwhile, net income for the full year 2024 dropped by 73 percent to $29.1 million from $107.3 million in 2023, while revenues dipped by 2 percent to $1.214 billion from $1.239 billion year-on-year.
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