Micro-, Small-Cap Firms Dominate Market Rally

The stock market pulled back to the red territory on Thursday, with all major indices posting significant losses as tariff threats continued to rattle investors.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted the largest loss, down 2.61 percent, followed by the S&P 500 with 1.78 percent, and the Dow Jones with 0.99 percent.

On Thursday, 10 micro and small-cap companies defied a broader market decline, with their share prices jumping by as much as double digits. One company stood out, soaring more than 300 percent during the session.

To come up with Thursday’s top performers, we considered the stocks with the highest day change performance.

The New York Stock Exchange building. Photo by Дмитрий Трепольский on Pexels

10. LendingTree Inc. (NASDAQ:TREE)

Shares of LendingTree rose for a third day on Thursday, jumping 22.52 percent to end at $49.34 apiece as investors gobbled up shares following the release of its full-year earnings performance.

While TREE posted a 41-percent drop in net income for the last quarter of 2024 at $7.5 million versus $12.7 million, revenues surged by 95 percent to $261.5 million from $134.4 million.

For full year 2024, net loss narrowed by 66 percent to $41.7 million from $122.4 million year-on-year.

According to TREE Chairman and CEO Doug Lebda, its insurance business delivered an outstanding quarter with revenue growth of 188 percent compared with the same period a year earlier.

“Looking forward, we expect another solid year of AEBITDA growth in 2025 on continued revenue strength and operating expense discipline,” he said.

9. iHeartMedia Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT)

iHeartMedia snapped a five-day losing streak on Thursday, rising 23.18 percent to finish at $1.86 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting to take advantage of its cheap valuation.

Investor sentiment was helped by the company’s CEO Robert Pittman purchasing 200,000 in IHRT’s shares at a price of $1.6002 apiece for a total amount of $320,000. Including its latest acquisition, Pittman’s direct ownership in the company now stands at 4.2 million.

In other news, IHRT recently partnered with Kidde, a company that has specialized in fire safety for more than 100 years, to promote home safety.

The collaboration aims to close the fire and CO safety education gap and help keep communities safe through local events hosted at designated Home Depot stores and promotional support from iHeartMedia across the country.

The campaign also includes donations to local fire departments for distribution to those in need.