The stock market regained momentum on Wednesday, with all main indices ending in the green, as investors cheered the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the gains, rallying 1.41 percent, followed by the S&P 500 with a 1.08 percent gain, and the Dow Jones, by 0.92 percent.
Optimism spilled over into companies, with 10 particularly leading the charge. In this article, we have identified Wednesday’s 10 best performers and detailed the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we considered only the companies with a $2-billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.
A woman reading and analyzing stock market data. Photo by Artem Podrez on Pexels
10. Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NYSE:HIMS)
Shares of Hims & Hers rose 7.59 percent on Wednesday to finish at $33.88 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting following losses from the previous trading day, weighed down by a disappointing rating from an investment bank.
In its latest report, Bank of America assigned an “underperform” rating on HIMS stock as a spike in advertising spending on the Super Bowl event last month would not seem to prop up sales for the company.
This is as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced recently that the bestselling Wegovy and Ozempic, manufactured by Novo Nordisk and which HIMS has been making knockoff versions of, are said to be back in sufficient supply. The FDA pulled the two drugs out of the shortage list.
Meanwhile, Bank of America raised HIMS’ price target by $1 to $22 apiece, a figure that represented a 35-percent downside from its latest closing price.
9. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)
Shares of Oklo grew by 7.8 percent on Wednesday to close at $28.05 apiece, tracking the overall rally in the broader market and energy industry.
Investor sentiment was boosted by ongoing efforts from the Trump administration to prop up energy demand in the country, coupled with an expected spike in energy demand from the Artificial Intelligence industry.
Just recently, OKLO sealed a deal with RPower to deploy a phased power model for data centers. The model combines immediate energy deployment using RPower natural gas generators with a transition path to clean, reliable energy from Oklo’s Aurora powerhouses, eliminating reliance on diesel generators and supporting scalable, sustainable operations.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy on Monday approved the disbursement of a loan for the Palisades Nuclear Plant, signaling the dawn of the nuclear sector and further benefiting nuclear technology companies.
8. PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS)
PagSeguro Digital saw its share prices grow by 7.98 percent on Wednesday to finish at $8.52 apiece as investors gobbled up shares buoyed by a consistent positive outlook for the company.
PAGS, a financial technology firm, currently carries a “strong buy” rating from Zacks Research and consistently earns bullish outlooks from other analysts.
According to Zacks, PAGS carries a #1 rank on its list and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current year earnings has increased by 5.9 percent over the last 60 days.
Moreover, analysts assigned PAGS a consensus “moderate buy” rating.
PAGS is a financial technology services company based in Brazil. It offers payment processing software for e-commerce websites, mobile applications, point-of-sale terminals, and payment terminals.
7. Shopify Inc. (NYSE:SHOP)
Shopify rallied by 8.01 percent on Wednesday to close at $101.54 apiece as investor sentiment was fueled by news that the e-commerce platform is transferring its US listing to the Nasdaq Global Market from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
On Tuesday, SHOP said it expects its Class A Subordinate Voting Shares will end trading at market close on March 28, while listing on the Nasdaq is expected to commence on March 31.
The sentiment was further boosted by news that it acquired AI startup Vantage Discovery as it seeks to expand its artificial intelligence capabilities.
Founded in 2023, Vantage leverages large language models to help retailers enhance their on-site search tools, which in turn would deliver more personalized and relevant results for shoppers.
6. Core Scientific Inc. (NASDAQ:CORZ)
Core Scientific rallied by 8.23 percent on Wednesday to end at $8.68 each as investors resumed buying on news that it was set to expand its existing footprint in Dalton, Georgia.
Last week, reports said that the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners gave the green light for CORZ to develop over 170 acres of land along Old Titan Road from general agriculture and rural residential to heavy manufacturing.
The company is looking to build an AI data center called Dalton 4 in the area, close to its existing facilities, which it expects to open by July 2026.
According to reports, another facility is expected to be built in the future.
At present, CORZ boasts a 195MW footprint, with one of its data centers housing Nvidia Corp.’s DGX hardware.
5. Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT)
Sarepta Therapeutics bounced back by 8.74 percent on Wednesday to close at $79.97 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting following the prior day’s steep drop, caused by news that a young man succumbed to its treatment Elevidys.
In a news release, SRPT said the patient succumbed to acute liver failure after receiving the Sarepta Elevidys therapy, the only FDA-approved gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
While the risk has already been flagged on the Elevidys label, acute liver injuries leading to death have not been previously reported in clinical testing or real-world use of Elevidys.
SRPT said that the patient had a recent cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection which allegedly contributed to the death. The infection can damage the liver, leading to CMV hepatitis, which is fatal to those with weak immune systems.
4. Affirm Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:AFRM)
Affirm rebounded by 9.18 percent on Wednesday to end at $47.71 apiece as investors hunted for bargains following a two-day losing streak, dampened by news that it was unseated by a Swedish firm as the exclusive provider of installment loans at Walmart stores in the US.
On Monday, Swedish AI-powered payments and commerce network firm Klarna said that it bagged a partnership agreement with Walmart to provide Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) promotions to its customers, a program that AFRM has been offering to the retailer since 2019.
Klarna said it would partner with OnePay, a leading consumer finance app, to exclusively offer installment loans for purchases for Walmart stores in the US.
Following the agreement, customers will expect to see Klarna installment loan options in Walmart’s checkout channels in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile, AFRM said that it was expanding its credit reporting to Experian beginning April 1, 2025, to include all of AFRM’s pay-over-time products as it seeks to help drive greater transparency and responsible lending.
“The industry-leading move will enable consumers and lenders to make more informed decisions and help consumers build their credit histories,” it said.
3. ADMA Biologics Inc. (NASDAQ:ADMA)
ADMA Biologics extended its winning streak for a fourth straight day on Wednesday, adding 10.16 percent to finish at $20.61 apiece in line with the overall market rally, further supported by a bullish outlook and impressive earnings performance last year.
In its latest earnings results, ADMA said it swung to a net income of $112 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 from a $17.6 million net loss in the same period a year earlier. Revenue, on the other hand, spiked by 58 percent to $117 million from $73.9 million year-on-year.
For the full year, ADMA registered a $197.67 million net profit, reversing a $28.2 million net loss in 2023, as revenues jumped by 79.8 percent to $426 million from $258 million.
For this year, ADMA expects revenues to end at $490 million and increase to $605 million in 2026, with adjusted net income targeted at $175 million and $235 million, respectively.
2. NuScale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR)
NuScale Power grew its share prices by 11.76 percent on Wednesday to end at $18.53 each as investors reacted positively to the general optimism on the nuclear industry, supported by a state’s warm welcome to new nuclear technology investments.
Last week, Colorado passed on final reading a new bill seeking to classify nuclear investments as clean energy.
If approved by Governor Jared Polis, the proposal still would not greenlight the construction of new power plants, but it would allow future nuclear projects to contribute to Colorado’s renewable energy goals and receive grants previously only enjoyed by solar, wind, and geothermal projects.
While the bill does not have a direct impact on SMR, it signaled further progress in nuclear energy adoption in the US. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy on Monday approved the disbursement of a loan for the Palisades Nuclear Plant. Both developments signaled the dawn of the nuclear sector and benefit nuclear technology companies.
1. StoneCo. Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE)
StoneCo jumped by 15.53 percent on Wednesday to end at $11.38 each as investors cheered the company’s 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.
While we acknowledge the potential of STNE 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 STNE but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
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