Last week saw a strong trading finish with Wall Street’s main indices all settling in the green territory ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Week-on-week, the Dow eked out a 3.81-percent gain, the S&P rallied 3.79 percent, while the Nasdaq increased by 3.84 percent.
Last week, 10 companies from diverse sectors outpaced their peers. Let’s take a closer look at which publicly-listed firms led the charge and what fueled their impressive performance.
For this week’s list of the 10 biggest advancers, we focused exclusively on companies with a market capitalization of at least $2 billion and a minimum trading volume of $5 million.
A trader cheers on gains. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK)
Bitcoin miner CleanSpark Inc. (CLSK) saw its share prices increase by 25.01 percent over the past five trading days to finish at $11.87 apiece as hopes were fueled by the incoming administration’s promising plans for the cryptocurrency industry.
President-elect Donald Trump, who was previously a firm critic of the cryptocurrency industry, signaled a robust crypto market under his administration, an asset that his family is directly invested in.
A report said that Trump is set to release a new executive order that would make cryptocurrency a national priority as soon as his first day in office. The new order is expected to provide people with influence in the industry a voice in his administration.
CleanSpark (CLSK) stands to benefit from any potential plan, having held more than 10,000 Bitcoins in its treasury which are all self-mined from its US-based operations. Year-on-year, CleanSpark’s total holdings in Bitcoin represent a 236-percent increase.
9. Rumble Inc. (NASDAQ:RUM)
Shares of Rumble Inc. (RUM), an online video-sharing platform, grew by 14.01 percent week-on-week to end at $12.90 apiece as investor confidence was fueled by the US government’s plan to ban TikTok in the country.
ByteDance, operator of TikTok which boasts as many as 170 million American users, was forced by the government to sell its US operations to an American company or face a ban over fears that its being operated by a Chinese company could pose a threat to US citizens’ sensitive information.
Last year, Rumble (RUM) offered to buy TikTok, saying it was open to joining a consortium with other parties, albeit the details of the plans were not disclosed.
Regardless of whether Rumble (RUM) acquires TikTok, it stands to benefit from a potential surge in advertising payments that would have otherwise gone to TikTok. As of Sunday, January 19, TikTok is no longer active in the US.
8. JD.Com (NASDAQ:JD)
China-based e-commerce JD.Com (JD), also known as JingDong, booked an 18.07-percent rise in its stock price last week over a series of positive news and developments surrounding the company.
Last week, JD.Com (JD) earned a rating upgrade from investment banking firm Jefferies Group, buoyed by its strong performance in the fourth quarter of the year. Jefferies also raised its price target for JD.Com by 33 percent to $60 from $45 previously.
In other news, JD.Com (JD) recently sealed a partnership with a government-run technology company for the launch of an aquaculture farm in the southeast province of Guangdong.
Called the Jingdong Intelligent Fishery Industry Park, the two firms aim to produce 5,000 metric tons of output in 2025 worth $60.2 million with profits expected to be at $19.6 million.
Lastly, it introduced a gifting feature on its mobile application that would allow its users to pay and send products to one another.
7. Terawulf Inc. (NASDAQ:WULF)
Terawulf Inc. (WULF), one of the heavyweights in Bitcoin mining, increased its share prices by 24.51 percent in just a week, finishing at $6.40 on Friday.
Terawulf (WULF) rallied in line with its Bitcoin mining counterparts ahead of president-elect Donald Trump’s return to office on Monday.
Trump—previously a crypto market critic—signaled last year a robust cryptocurrency market under his administration, an asset that his family is directly invested in.
A report from Bloomberg earlier this month said that Trump is set to release a new executive order as soon as his first day in office, which would make cryptocurrency a national priority. The new order is expected to give people with influence in the industry a voice in the incoming administration.
As of January 3, 2025, Terawulf’s (WULF) total ownership in Bitcoin stands at 2,728, of which 158 were self-mined last month alone.
6. Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD)
Online trading firm Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) saw its share prices rally by 23.07 percent week-on-week following twin news that its subsidiaries officially paid $45 million in penalties to settle a case filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The penalties stemmed from violations of record keeping, and trade reporting, among other rules.
According to the SEC, Robinhood Securities LLC and Robinhood Financial LLC violated numerous requirements such as accurately reporting trading activity; filing timely reports of suspicious activity; maintaining records, and complying with short sale rules.
In other news, investment bank Morgan Stanley raised its price target for Robinhood Markets (HOOD) by 16 percent to $64 apiece from $55 previously, indicating a positive outlook for the company. The brokerage firm also gave Robinhood Markets an “overweight” rating.
5. IonQ Inc. (NYSE:IONQ)
Despite suffering a sell-off on Friday, share prices of IonQ Inc. (IONQ) remained higher by 32.91 percent week on week, with investor sentiment buoyed by statements from Microsoft’s strategic missions and technologies chief Mitra Azizirad, who highlighted the emergence of a dependable era in quantum computing.
Earlier last week, Azizirad urged the sector to get ready because “we are right on the cusp of seeing quantum computers solve meaningful problems and capture new business value.”
Azizirad’s statement bucked a bearish comment from Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg who shares the same view that the practical use of quantum computers will only be felt 15 to 30 years away. Their statements both took a toll on quantum computing firms’ share prices, including IonQ.
4. MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR)
MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR) saw its shares surge by 27.97 percent week-on-week to end at $396.60 apiece, as investor sentiment was buoyed by a broader crypto market optimism under the incoming Trump administration.
The company traded higher alongside its Bitcoin mining peers amid earlier signals from President-elect Donald Trump that he would soon release an executive order making cryptocurrencies a national priority.
Additionally, Trump is setting his sights on creating a crypto advisory council to give the industry a voice within his administration. A bitcoin stockpile is part of discussions about a possible executive order that would cover several areas of crypto policy.
In other news, MicroStrategy Incorporated (MSTR) recently added 2,530 Bitcoins for $243 million, bringing its total holdings to 450,000 Bitcoins.
3. ImmunityBio Inc. (NASDAQ:IBRX)
ImmunityBio Inc. (IBRX) saw a surge in its share prices last week, closing higher by 21.49 percent at $2.94 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting after touching a 52-week low the week prior.
Earlier this week, the company announced plans to submit multiple treatments for approval by the Food and Drug Administration in 2025. It said it would submit a supplemental biologics license application (BLA) for the treatment of bladder cancer. If approved by the FDA, the BLAs will allow the company to sell its products across the US.
In addition, it would also submit another BLA for the treatment of patients with a certain type of lung cancer.
ImmunityBio Inc. (IBRX) said that a Phase 2B study had already indicated positive results for patients whose first and second treatment attempts ended unsuccessfully after using the company’s Anktiva drug in combination with other inhibitors.
2. Compass Inc. (NYSE:COMP)
Property brokerage firm Compass Inc. (COMP) registered a 28.76-percent jump in its share prices last week at $6.76 versus the week prior, with investor sentiment buoyed by the company’s boosting of its earnings guidance for the fourth quarter and full year 2024.
According to Compass (COMP), it now expects fourth-quarter revenues to settle between $1.36 billion to $1.39 billion and adjusted EBITDA between $15 million to $18 million. It previously anticipated revenues of $1.225 billion to $1.325 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $0 to $10 million.
In addition, Compass (COMP) expects full-year revenues to end between $5.61 billion to $5.64 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $124 million to $127 million. Its earlier outlook was for revenue of $5.47 billion to $5.57 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $109 million to $119 million.
1. Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (NASDAQ:ITCI)
Shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. (ITCI) rallied by 33.02 percent week-on-week to close at $126.2 versus the $94.87 registered the week prior as investors snapped up its shares after news on Monday that Johnson & Johnson is set to acquire the neurological drugmaker for $14.6 billion.
On Monday, January 13, shares of Intra-Cellular Therapies (ITCI) surged 34 percent alone versus Friday’s stock price, indicating a bullish sentiment among investors.
Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of the company marks the latest in its string of acquisitions in a bid to drive growth beyond 2025, amid cut-throat competition with other drugmakers for its psoriasis drug Stelara.
With the latest deal, Johnson & Johnson will gain access to Intra-Cellular’s oral drug Caplyta, which was approved to treat schizophrenia and depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder. The treatment brought in $481.3 million in sales in the first nine months of 2024.
While we acknowledge the potential of ITCI as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that 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 more promising than ITCI but that 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 Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
