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.
8. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Robinhood Markets grew its share price by 13.05 percent last week to end at $44.36 apiece versus the $39.24 registered a week earlier, or on March 14, 2025, as investor sentiment was buoyed by rating upgrades from two investment companies.
Last Wednesday, Compass Point initiated coverage on HOOD stocks, giving the company a “buy” rating and a price target of $61, a 37.5-percent upside from its last closing price.
According to Compass Point, HOOD has the opportunity to generate as much as $665 million from cross-selling to existing US customers. The figure includes a potential $150 million from staking alone.
Following the news, investors gobbled up shares in HOOD, propelling the stock to a three-day rally towards the end of the trading week.
Further adding to the sentiment was KeyBanc’s maintained positive outlook for the company, having assigned an “overweight” rating and a stock price of $75 each. The new price target represents a 69-percent upside from its last closing price.
7. Genius Sports Ltd. (NYSE:GENI)
Shares of Genius Sports jumped by 13.27 percent week-on-week to end at $10.41 on Friday versus the $9.19 recorded on March 14, as investors cheered its recently inked partnership with GRID Esports and Bayes Esports to deliver sportsbook a more robust, official, and low-latency data pipeline for some of the most bet-on esports title globally.
Under the agreement, GENI would gain exclusive access to official live data from major esports titles such as League of Legends and Valorant.
The partnership also covers Rainbow Six, along with data sets from top-tier tournaments in CounterStrike 2 and Dota 2.
Meanwhile, GENI also strengthened its live data capabilities with Bayes Esports which holds exclusive partnerships with ESL FACEIT Group and other top-tier tournament organizers.
“With GRID and Bayes on board, we can now offer sportsbooks a premium, all-in-one esports product backed by the most reliable data in the space,” said GENI Global Partnerships Director Matt Stephenson.
6. StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE)
StoneCo saw its share price increase by 14.19 percent week-on-week to close Friday’s trading at $11.10 apiece from $9.72 previously on the back of impressive earnings performance last year.
In its latest earnings release, the Brazilian firm said net income in the fourth quarter of the year rose by 18.1 percent to R$665.6 million from R$563.8 million in the same period a year earlier, as revenues rose 11.1 percent to R$3.609 billion from R$3.248 billion.
Meanwhile, net income for the full year 2024 jumped by 41.3 percent to R$2.2 billion from R$1.557 billion as revenues increased by 10 percent to R$13.257 billion from R$12.055 billion.
Despite the impressive performance, STNE posted a cautious outlook for this year.
“We should prepare for a tough 2025, as projected higher long-term interest rates are expected to impact economic activity. Given interest rate volatility, inflation, and emerging opportunities, prudent capital structure management is paramount,” said STNE CEO Pedro Zinner.
5. Roku Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU)
Roku Inc. increased its share price by 15.5 percent week-on-week to end Friday’s trading at $78.29 versus the $67.78 on March 14 following its partnership with Monster Jam to add its FAST channel to its platform.
Under the agreement, ROKU will bring Monster Jam trucks, stunts, and races for free to millions of households across the US.
The Monster Jam channel will feature a vast selection of content from 20 years of its TV shows, including the current season with full event replays, behind-the-scenes access, and exclusive interviews with champion drivers.
Meanwhile, ROKU recently earned a “buy” rating from Guggenheim Securities, saying that it believes the company will exit the year “at its strongest” level amid expectations of continued improvements.
“Specifically, we believe actions including improved focus on monetization-based operating metrics, broadening third-party partnerships, and expanding revenue-generating offerings while incrementally focusing on profitability and free cash flow generation are driving a more valuable enterprise,” it said.
4. Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ:LCID)
Shares of Lucid Group surged by 15.79 percent week-on-week to close at $2.42 on Friday from the $2.09 registered on March 14.
The rally was primarily buoyed by Morgan Stanley’s “underweight” rating, an upgrade from the “equal weight” rating previously.
It also gave the company a new price target of $3, or a 23.97-percent upside from its last closing price.
According to Morgan Stanley, it believes that LCID has the opportunity to execute an AI strategy leveraging strategic partnerships with the context of urgency to develop onshore manufacturing capacity for Battery Electric Vehicles as the socket for the AI brain.
“While [LCID] can continue to license out their industry-leading drivetrain technology to legacy OEMs, we see the real value in potential partnerships with AI/ADAS players for advancing autonomy in a software-defined EV socket,” Jonas added.
3. Millrose Properties Inc. (NYSE:MRP)
Millrose Properties grew its share price by 16.6 percent week-on-week to close at $25.35 versus the $21.74 on March 14 as investor buying was largely fueled by the announcement of cash dividends.
MRP, a newly spun-off firm, said it would be paying investors $0.38 per Class A and B shares by April 15 to investors as of record date of April 4.
The dividend was based on the initial period of MRP’s existence, covering the business from the day its stock began trading publicly to March 31.
MRP was spun off by its parent firm Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) last month, which involved the latter’s distribution of approximately 80 percent of MRP shares to stockholders of LEN.
Each LEN shareholder as of record date January 21, 2025, received one share of MRP common stock.
MRP engages in land purchases, horizontal development, and homesite option purchase arrangements for LEN. It anticipates to attract other homebuilders seeking to implement an asset-light strategy.
2. New Fortress Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NFE)
New Fortress surged by 20.6 percent last week, ending Friday’s trading at $11.17 each versus $9.26 on March 14, primarily due to news reports that it was planning to develop a 1,000-acre data center in Ireland.
The new data center was on top of the planned 630-acre power plant and a 120-megawatt battery energy storage system as part of the Shannon Technology and Energy Park project.
Apart from Ireland, NFE was also looking to kick off the construction of a $1.1-billion liquefied natural gas plant at the Mexican port of Altamira in the middle of the year. The project was in partnership with state utility CFE.
So far, NFE said it had spent $625 million on the project, mainly on the procurement of the liquefaction modules. Construction of the modules is now more than 50 percent complete.
NFE said Texas-based contractor Kiewit is building the modules and will ship them to Altamira next year.
1. Celsius Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CELH)
Celsius soared by 21.6 percent week-on-week to end at $32.93 versus the $27.08 recorded a week prior, with investor sentiment primarily boosted by PepsiCo’s move to expand its healthy drinks category.
PepsiCo, which owns a significant stake in CELH, recently entered into an agreement to acquire prebiotic soda brand Poppi for $2 billion.
The news dribbled into CELH which produces a range of fitness and energy beverages under the brand Celsius.
“More than ever, consumers are looking for convenient and great-tasting options that fit their lifestyles and respond to their growing interest in health and wellness. Poppi is a great complement to our portfolio transformation efforts to meet these needs,” said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval. Additional terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The news followed recent leadership developments, following the appointment of Eric Hanson, PepsiCo’s senior vice president for strategic partnerships, as CELH’s president and COO.
While we acknowledge the potential of CELH 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 CELH but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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