The stock market suffered a bloodbath on Friday, with major indices posting whopping declines, as investors sold off positions for saver havens amid concerns about a slowing economy and sticky inflation.
The Dow Jones fell by 1.69 percent, the S&P declined by 1.71 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq nosedived by 2.20 percent.
Meanwhile, 10 stocks—predominantly Chinese firms—defied a broader market downturn, clocking in gains.
To come up with Friday’s best performers, we considered only the stocks with $2 billion in market capitalization and $5 million in daily trading volume.
A woman reading and analyzing stock market data. Photo by Artem Podrez on Pexels
10. Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO)
Novo Nordisk extended a four-day winning streak on Friday, adding 5.18 percent to close at $88.08 apiece as investors cheered news that its best-selling weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic are now produced in sufficient quantities, two years after entering a supply shortage.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, supply is currently meeting or exceeding demand, and NVO has developed a product inventory to cover future demand.
“We are pleased the FDA has declared that supply of the only real, FDA-approved semaglutide medicines is resolved,” said Dave Moore, NVO executive vice president for US operations and global business development, while taking a swipe at manufacturers of the blockbuster drugs’ knock-offs.
According to Moore: “No one should have to compromise their health due to misinformation and reach for fake or illegitimate knockoff drugs that pose significant safety risks to patients.”
9. Lufax Holding Ltd. (NYSE:LU)
Lufax Holding saw its share prices grow by 5.44 percent on Friday to close at $3.1 as funds continued to flock to Chinese stocks on expectations that the booming Artificial Intelligence industry in China, thanks to DeepSeek, would bolster growth of firms across all industries.
Last week, reports showed that a growing number of Chinese companies—including those listed on the US stock market—were rushing to adopt DeepSeek’s models into their business operations.
LU, a financial services company empowering institution for small and micro businesses in China, traded higher in line with fellow US-listed Chinese companies namely Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD), Hesai Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HSAI), Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME), and Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY).
8. Moderna Inc. (NASDAQ:MRNA)
Pharmaceutical giant Moderna Inc. saw its share prices grow by 5.34 percent on Friday to finish at $35.53 apiece following news that a new coronavirus with pandemic potential was discovered in China.
MRNA traded higher in line with its counterparts Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) and Novovax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX), with investors repositioning their portfolios on the belief that the newly identified virus could lead to increased demand for vaccines and propel sales.
According to reports, researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology found a new coronavirus strain, HKU5-CoV-2. The strain was found in bats and bears a close resemblance to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, and was even closer to MERS, which has a higher mortality rate.
According to the study led by virologist Shi Zhengli, the HKU5-CoV-2 can infiltrate human cells similarly to SARS-CoV-2 and pose a significant risk to humans.
7. PDD Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:PDD)
PDD Holdings grew its share prices by 5.57 percent on Friday to end at $131.34 apiece as investors continued to gobble up shares in Chinese firms on growth expectations bolstered by Chinese AI platform DeepSeek.
With Chinese firms and government agencies slowly adopting DeepSeek AI models into their operations, investors are noticeably scrambling to place their bets to take advantage of relatively lower share prices.
PDD, which owns the e-commerce platform Temu, traded higher in line with fellow US-listed Chinese firms namely Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA), Lufax Holding Ltd. (NYSE:LU), Hesai Group Inc. (NASDAQ:HSAI), Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME), and Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY).
Investors also appeared to have shunned potential risks for PDD which could face challenges from the growing trade tensions between the US and China, having enjoyed what is called the “de minimis” exemption—a Latin term that means “too small to matter.” This lets packages worth less than $800 be brought to the US without any customs fees.
6. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA)
Alibaba rallied for a second day on Friday, adding 5.72 percent to finish at $143.75 apiece as investors cheered twin news that the e-commerce giant would expand heavily in Artificial Intelligence over the next three years, coupled with better earnings performance reports.
In a call with analysts, BABA CEO Eddie Wu said that the group would invest heavily in cloud and AI infrastructure, more than the amount it spent over the past decade. The announcement came at a time when companies and industries in China are slowly integrating DeepSeek into their operations to support growth.
Wu, however, declined to elaborate on the amount to allocate but emphasized that the primary objective was to pursue AI. Part of its plans would see the launch of a deep reasoning model as it seeks to compete with DeepSeek and OpenAI’s recent models that have reasoning capabilities for solving complex tasks.
During the fourth quarter of 2024, BABA saw net income attributable to shareholders increase by 239 percent to $48.9 billion from $14.4 billion in the same period last year, while revenues rose 8 percent to $280 billion from $260 billion.
5. Hesai Group (NASDAQ:HSAI)
Hesai Group saw its share prices increase by 6.05 percent on Friday to finish at $19.63 apiece as investors continued to place bets on Chinese stocks amid the booming Artificial Intelligence industry in China, thanks to the rapid advancements in DeepSeek.
HSAI, a company specializing in light detection and ranging (lidar) technology, traded higher in line with fellow US-listed Chinese firms.
Earlier this month, HSAI announced various partnerships, including with a spatial AI software platform to deliver lidar technology and perception software for Embotech’s AVM technology deployed in BMW facilities and known internally at BMW as Automated Driving In-Plant (AFW).
It also bagged design wins for multiple Chery models, which are expected to enter mass production in the second half of 2025. Hesai said the new models will be equipped with the newest generation of Hesai’s ultra-compact high-performance ATX lidar.
4. Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX)
Viking Therapeutics rose by 7.71 percent on Friday, ending the trading session at $34.07 apiece, as investor sentiment was fueled by renewed takeover speculations.
According to reports, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) is setting its sights on VKTX for a potential takeover, and Morgan Stanley has been tapped as its advisor for the acquisition.
The rumors came days after the company released its earnings performance in the fourth quarter of the year, widening its net loss by 44 percent to $35.4 million from the $24.6 million in the same period a year earlier primarily due to the increase in research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses, partially offset by an increase in interest income.
Net loss for full-year 2024 also widened by 28 percent to $109.96 million from $85.895 million in 2023.
VKTX also earned lower price targets from two investment firms, with Maxim cutting its price target by 42 percent to $70 from $120, citing the company’s wider-than-expected loss per share in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, B. Riley also lowered its price target for VKTX to $96 from $109, representing an 11-percent cut, while keeping the “buy” rating on the shares.
3. Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME)
Tencent saw its share prices on Friday surge by 12.08 percent to close at $14.38 apiece as investors cheered news of the company’s inclusion to the Hang Seng Tech Index on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
While its inclusion in Hang Seng Tech does not directly affect its shares on the US stock market, investors took the inclusion positively over hopes of the company’s increased visibility and investor interest. Being included in a stock market index means that a company has met certain market and financial stability criteria.
TME, one of the leading music and audio streaming services in China, traded in line with its Chinese counterparts listed on the US market.
2. Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CELH)
Celsius Holdings jumped by 27.77 percent on Friday to finish at $32.62 apiece as investors gobbled up shares in the company following twin news of its acquisition of its competitor while earning a rating upgrade from an investment firm.
According to the company, it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Alani Nutrition LLC for a total transaction of $1.8 billion, which includes taxes amounting to $150 million.
CELH’s acquisition was seen as a strategy to bolster growth. By combining with Alani Nu, the two brands are expected to hold a 16-percent market share in the energy drink sector.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year.
Meanwhile, CELH also earned a higher price target from TD Cowen at $30 versus $29 previously. The investment firm, however, maintained a “hold” rating on CELH’s shares.
1. Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY)
Pony AI soared by 32 percent in Friday’s trading, ending the session at $23.61 each as investors cheered news that the company secured the exclusive operation of a robotaxi route in Guangzhou, China.
In a statement, PONY said it had begun providing “paid robotaxi services from multiple locations in Guangzhou’s city center to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and Guangzhou South Railway Station,” underscoring expectations of high demand for its service in the said route.
“By offering autonomous rides from the heart of the city to key transit hubs, we’re providing practical, real-world services that meet the needs of travelers and city residents alike, solidifying Pony.ai’s status as a global leader in the large-scale commercialization of autonomous mobility.” PONY CEO James Peng said in a statement.
While we acknowledge the potential of PONY 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 timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as PONY but that 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.
