- Wall Street closed out the week with a mixed performance on Friday, but Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was able to record a standout gain. The stock built on recent momentum in the wake of its earnings release to set a new high.
- A Trump-related rally continued on Friday as well, at least for a few stocks. Shares of the SPAC taking the former president's new media company public saw another day of gains. Meanwhile, a halo effect from the deal also gave a massive pop to shares of Phunware (NASDAQ:PHUN), which flirted with quadruple-digit percentage gains at times during the day.
- Friday saw its share of standout losers as well. Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) lost more than a third of its value on disappointing clinical trial results.
- Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) also posted a double-digit percentage decline, dragged lower by a sales warning.
Sector In Focus
- After a substantial run-up over the previous couple of weeks, fuel cell stocks suffered a bout of profit-taking on Friday. FuelCell Energy (NASDAQ:FCEL) led the way lower, dropping 10% and extending weakness seen throughout most of the week.
- FCEL had risen dramatically earlier in the month, climbing from a close of $6 on Oct. 4 to a finish of $8.74 on Monday.
- Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) dropped nearly 3% on the session. Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) fell 4%.
- The same dynamics were seen in the solar space. Momentum headed into this week has slowed recently, culminating in a sharp drop in some names during Friday's session.
- Increased renewable investments in China and conviction that Congress will include a federal tax credit in its pending budget bill helped drive gains in the sector over the past couple of weeks.
- On Friday, select players in the space saw dramatic percentage slides, as traders booked profits earned during the recent upswing.
- Sunworks (NASDAQ:SUNW) was one of the leaders to the downside, falling by 11%. Array Technologies (NASDAQ:ARRY) slipped 6%, while Solaredge Technologies (NASDAQ:SEDG) dropped nearly 2%.
Standout Gainer
- Digital World Acquisition (NASDAQ:DWAC) has seen a massive rally in wake of news that it has will take former President Donald Trump's new media company public via a SPAC merger. The stock gained more than 350% when the news was announced on Thursday and followed that up by doubling again in Friday's session.
- The strength of DWAC's rally wasn't limited to the stock alone. Other securities saw a wave of buying interest, as a Trump halo gave them a lift.
- Phunware (PHUN) represented a prime example of this. Shares of application software company surged more than 470% on Friday, thanks to online chatter highlighting its ties to Trump's campaign.
- At one point, the stock showed a gain of as much as 1,600%.
- PHUN eventually closed at $8.74, a gain of $7.21 on the day. Shares also set an intraday 52-week high on the session of $24.04. PHUN had established a 52-week low of $0.60 earlier this year.
- Meanwhile, investment vehicles tied to DWAC-affiliated companies also saw strength. This included Benessere Capital Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:BENE)(NASDAQ:BENEU)(NASDAQ:BENEW) and Yunhong International (NASDAQ:ZGYH)(NASDAQ:ZGYHU)(NASDAQ:ZGYHW).
Standout Loser
- Shares of Ocular Therapeutix (OCUL) fell off a cliff on Friday, ending lower by more than 36%. The slide followed disappointing results from a clinical trial of its treatment of dry eye disease.
- The company revealed that a mid-stage study of its OTX-CSI product did not show a statistically significant improvement using the treatment compared to another therapy. The trial was meant to show increased tear production after 12 weeks of treatment.
- "We will continue to review the data for additional information that may inform future development of this program," CEO Antony Mattessich said.
- OCUL dropped $3.92 on the session to end at $6.91. The stock also set an intraday 52-week low of $6.72 earlier in the day.
- Shares reached a 52-week high last December but have generally trended lower since. OCUL has lost nearly two-thirds of its value since the end of 2020.
Notable New High
- Tesla (TSLA) showed signs of renewed upward momentum on Friday, surging to a fresh all-time high after a stumble earlier this week.
- Late Wednesday, TSLA reported record quarterly earnings and revenue, topping analysts' expectations.
- Ahead of the report, TSLA paused a recent upswing, dipping on Tuesday and moving sideways ahead of Wednesday's report. Shares also showed some profit-taking in Thursday's pre-market trading, as shares dipped in the immediate aftermath of the report.
- Despite the strong headline numbers, some members of the Wall Street community were underwhelmed by the financial figures. For instance, GLJ Research's Gordon Johnson chided the company for its slowing unit growth and worried that the company's prospects would dim in a more competitive EV space.
- However, shaking off the scattered institutional skepticism and some initial profit-taking, TSLA renewed its momentum during Thursday's trading. Swayed by its impressive report, investors moved into the EV bellwether, eventually finishing its post-earnings session with a gain of more than 3%.
- The rally continued on Friday. TSLA rose nearly 2% to finish the week at $909.68. Shares also set an intraday 52-week high of $910.
- TSLA has more than doubled over the past year, rising about 116% since October 2020.
Notable New Low
- Beyond Meat (BYND) tumbled nearly 12% on Friday after the company issued a disappointing revenue outlook.
- The maker of plant-based meat substitutes said it now expected a top-line result of about $106M for Q3. This was well below its previous forecast, which called for a total between $120M and $140M.
- Analysts were looking for the firm to post revenues at the upper end of its previous guidance range, with a consensus from the Wall Street community of about $133M.
- BYND blamed the reduced forecast on COVID disruptions and delays in its distribution expansion. A decrease in retail orders also contributed to the shortfall.
- With the weak forecast, BYND finished the session at $95.80, a decline of $12.82 on the day. This was off the intraday 52-week low of $91.55 set earlier in the session.
- Shares have been falling steadily since late June, when shares traded above $157. BYND has lost nearly 40% of its value since that time.
- To track more of Wall Street's biggest winners and losers, head over to SA's On The Move section.