Wall Street’s main indices edged lower on Thursday, erasing gains from the previous trading day that was buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep rates unchanged.
Among the major indices, the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the drop, losing 0.33 percent. The S&P 500 declined by 0.22 percent, while the Dow Jones dipped by 0.03 percent.
Ten companies, predominantly under the micro- and small-cap sectors also mirrored losses. In this article, we have identified Thursday’s 10 worst performers and detailed the reasons behind their gains.
We classify micro-cap companies as those between $50 million and $300 million in market capitalization and small-cap firms as those between $300 million and $2 billion in market capitalization.
A man in long sleeves looking at stock market data. Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
D-Wave Quantum fell for a third straight day on Thursday, losing 18.02 percent to end at $8.69 each as investors sold off positions during Nvidia Corp.’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) Quantum Computing day which occurred on the same day.
During the discussion, NVDA CEO Jensen Huang walked back comments he made in January when he cast doubt on the quantum computing industry, saying that he does not expect the sector to be very useful in the next 15 to 30 years. His earlier comments resulted in investors selling off positions in quantum computing stocks.
“This is the first event in history where a company CEO invites all of the guests to explain why he was wrong,” Huang said.
“Of course, quantum computing has the potential and all of our hopes that it will deliver extraordinary impact. But the technology is insanely complicated,” he added.
However, his remarks failed to bolster investing appetite in quantum computing stocks, with firms under the sector remaining in the red on Thursday.
9. Alumis Inc. (NASDAQ:ALMS)
Alumis fell for a second day on Thursday, losing 18.31 percent to end at $3.57 each as investors resorted to profit-taking as investors sold off positions following disappointing earnings performance.
In its latest earnings release, ALMS said its net loss widened by 89.7 percent to $294 million last year from $154.99 million in 2023 as operational loss dived by 90 percent to $300.75 million from $158.17 million.
“Alumis concluded a strong 2024, continuing to establish our late-stage pipeline of next-generation oral TYK2 inhibitors that have the potential to address significant unmet patient needs in immune-mediated diseases around the world,” said ALMS President and CEO Martin Babler.
Over the next 12 to 18 months, ALMS expects to bring major milestones, including topline data from the pivotal Phase 3 program for ESK-001 in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in the first quarter of 2026, the start of Phase 2 trial of A-005 in multiple sclerosis in the second half of 2025, and expect data from ESK-001’s Phase 2b clinical trial in systemic lupus erythematosus in 2026.
8. Yiren Digital Ltd. (NYSE:YRD)
Shares of Yiren Digital fell by 20.44 percent on Thursday to end at $6.85 each as investors disposed of shares in the company following a dismal earnings performance last year.
In its latest earnings release, YRD said net income dropped by 42 percent to RMB331 million from RMB571 million in the same period a year earlier, while revenues increased by 13.9 percent to RMB1.452 billion from RMB1.274 billion.
Meanwhile, net income in full year 2024 decreased by 23.9 percent to RMB1.582 billion from RMB2.080 billion in 2023, while revenues increased by 18.5 percent to RMB5.805 billion from RMB4.895 billion.
For this year, the company said it expects to book revenues between RMB5.5 billion and RMB6.5 billion, coupled with a healthy net profit margin.
YRD is a financial technology services company based in China, providing both credit and wealth management services.
7. Rockwell Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:RMTI)
Rockwell Medical declined by 20.45 percent on Thursday to end at $1.4 each as investors shunned the company’s improved earnings performance and instead digested its soft outlook guidance for 2025.
In the fourth quarter of last year, RMTI said it narrowed its net loss by 50 percent to $800,000 from $1.5 million in the same period a year earlier. Net loss for the full-year period stood at $500,000, representing a 94 percent improvement from the $8.4 million reported in 2023.
Meanwhile, net sales for the quarter grew by 11.76 percent to $24.7 million from $22.1 million, while net sales for the full-year period increased by 21 percent to $101.5 million.
For this year, RMTI said it would continue to focus on achieving sustained profitability and growing its hemodialysis concentrates base business by adding new customers.
The company said it was targeting additional customers that represent an estimated 14.5 million gallons of potential available business within the company’s distribution footprint.
6. USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR)
USA Rare Earth dropped for a second straight day on Thursday, losing 22.66 percent to finish at $12 each as investors booked profits following a surge in its stock price over the past trading days of the week.
The company is a magnet technology company that aims to become a leading domestic supplier of rare earth magnets and elements. It currently operates facilities in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas, and mining rights to the Round Top deposit in West Texas.
Just recently, USAR concluded the acquisition of Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. II, a special purpose acquisition company.
“The recent news on tariffs and rising global geopolitical tensions are a wake-up call for America—we must build a domestic rare earth mineral and magnet supply chain here at home to support a wide range of critical technologies, including our national defense,” said USAR CEO Joshua Ballard.
“I’m incredibly proud of this team as the closing of this transaction and our listing on Nasdaq is another key milestone in our evolution in building this supply chain,” he added.
5. COSCIENS Biopharma Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCI)
Cosciens Biopharma slashed its share prices by 21.15 percent on Thursday to finish at $3.43 each as investors sold off positions to mitigate the risks following indications that there might be a delay in the filing of its year-end financial results.
“The potential delay in filing of the Required Filings is a result of additional time that may be required to address certain matters related to the 2024 all-stock merger transaction (the “Transaction”) between the company and Ceapro Inc. (“Ceapro”),” it said.
In connection with the transaction, Ceapro was required to undergo a conversion of its accounting procedures to ensure compliance with the company’s existing SEC reporting obligations and internal control requirements.
“This is the first audit of the combined entity that has been required since the transaction, which has not only added additional complexity to the audit process but also required additional time to complete the review of Ceapro’s internal controls,” CSCI said.
4. FST Corp. (NASDAQ:KBSX)
FST Corp. declined by 28.4 percent on Thursday to end at $2.9 apiece as investors resorted to profit-taking following a surge in Tuesday’s share price.
According to InvestingPro analysis, KBSX’s relative strength index suggests that the company is now trading in oversold conditions.
The price level reflects a significant downturn for the company which has been navigating challenges over the past year.
Since the start of 2025, KBSX’s stock price already fell by 69.8 percent and declined by 57 percent from $6.78 at the start of the month. On Monday, the company also touched a new low of $1.26.
KBSX is a Taiwan-based company mainly engaged in the research and development, production, and sales of golf shafts. Its customers cover the world’s major golf brand manufacturers and distributors.
3. Akebia Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:AKBA)
Akebia Therapeutics saw its share prices decline by 28.17 percent on Thursday to finish at $2.04 each as investors soured on the disappointing price of its $50 million follow on offering.
Under the offer, AKBA would sell 25 million common shares at a price of $2 apiece, a discount from its $2.04 finish on Thursday and this week’s highest of $2.84.
In addition, AKBA granted its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 3.75 million shares at the same public offer price.
The offer is expected to close on Friday, March 21, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.
AKBA said the shares on offer are pursuant to a shelf registration statement that was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 3, 2024 and declared effective by the SEC on September 12, 2024.
2. Leishen Energy Holding Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ:LSE)
Leishen Energy dropped its share prices by 33.84 percent on Thursday to finish at $8.27 each as investors resorted to profit-taking following a 92.9-percent surge in the previous trading day.
On Wednesday, LSE soared as high as 92 percent at intra-day trading at $14.99 from its previous close of $7.77 as investors cheered news that the Chinese government issued a guideline on promoting the high-quality development of renewable energy and the green electricity certificate (GEC) market.
LSE, a clean energy equipment and integrated solutions provider for the oil and gas industries, is expected to benefit from the said government initiative.
The guidelines specify that China’s green certificate market trading system will be basically complete over the next two years, with further improvements expected in 2030.
According to analysts, the guideline will improve the market competitiveness of China’s clean energy and significantly expand the relevant market’s trading scale.
1. TEN Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:XHLD)
TEN Holdings fell by 37.27 percent on Thursday to end at $0.9974 apiece as investors took profits following a 172-percent jump in Wednesday’s price.
Based on its historical price data, XHLD is struggling to crawl back to the $1 level, which it is required to maintain to remain listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The Nasdaq requires firms to stay afloat at the $1 level, or they can face a potential delisting.
However, the company has been trading below the minimum bid price requirement for already 11 consecutive days beginning March 4, 2025.
As part of its corporate initiatives, XHLD announced on Thursday that it embarked on a $1 million share repurchase program on March 17.
The buyback will be executed under a Rule 10b-18 plan, funded through cash from operations, and will be governed by market conditions and legal requirements.
XHLD said the program can be discontinued at any time, with no obligation to repurchase any specific amount of shares.
While we acknowledge the potential of XHLD 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 XHLD 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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