Ten firms outperformed Wall Street’s three major indices over the past week, clocking in double-digit gains on the back of a flurry of company developments that sparked buying appetite.
On a week-on-week basis, the Dow Jones rallied by 1.19 percent, the S&P 500 increased 0.5 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 0.16 percent.
Meanwhile, 10 firms finished stronger with gains of 10 to 20 percent. In this article, let’s explore the names of last week’s best performers and the reasons behind their rallies.
To come up with the list, we only considered the stocks with at least a $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
Stock market data on a laptop screen. Photo by Alesia Kozik on Pexels
10. Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE:ACHR)
Archer Aviation jumped by 10.37 percent week-on-week to close at $8.72 apiece on Friday from the $7.90 finish on March 14, as investors took heart from its recently sealed partnership with Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR) for the development of next-generation aviation software that aims to tap artificial intelligence to improve route planning, as well as air traffic and movement control.
In a statement, ACHR said the partnership would leverage the Palantir Foundry and AIP to accelerate ACHR’s aircraft manufacturing capabilities and its facilities in Georgia and Silicon Valley as part of its commitment to advance the development of software solutions to drive innovation across the entire value chain.
“While the aviation industry has an unmatched level of safety, much of the legacy technology supporting the industry has only incrementally advanced. AI and software present an inflection point that will shape the future of aviation,” said ACHR founder and CEO Adam Goldstein.
For his part, PLTR CEO Alex Karp said that the partnership would redefine the future of flight, making it not only more efficient but also more accessible.
“By integrating [PLTR’s] advanced AI capabilities with [ACHR’s] innovative approach to aircraft manufacturing and operations, we are setting the stage for a transformative leap in efficiency, safety, and sustainability,” he added.
9. Sibanye Stillwater Ltd. (NYSE:SBSW)
Despite booking a 0.23-percent dip on Friday versus its share price on Thursday, Sibanye Stillwater still managed to register an 11.19-percent gain week-on-week, ending Friday at $4.37 versus the $3.93 registered on March 14.
Trading in the company last week was generally fueled by RBC Capital Markets’ upgrade of SBSW’s rating to “outperform” from “sector perform” previously. It also increased its price target to $5.3 from $4.7 previously, representing a 21-percent upside from its closing price on Friday.
According to RBC, SBSW shares have underperformed against other platinum group metals (PGM) and gold producers by 10 percent and 20 percent, respectively, making the company already undervalued.
According to the investment firm, SBSW is expected to perform better than the average return of the sector over the medium term.
Towards the end of the week, investors sold off positions in SBSW to pull the company’s day-on-day stock price.
