Ten stocks stood firmer on Thursday, outperforming a mixed broader market, as investors took heart from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut, while cheering more corporate earnings and upbeat outlooks, among others.
Of the firms, four companies notably surged to new record highs.
In this article, we spotlight the names of the 10 top performers and detail the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we focused on the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and 5 million shares in trading volume.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. New Gold Inc. (NYSEAmerican:NGD)
New Gold jumped to a 12-year high on Thursday, as investors continued to load up portfolios after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in its last committee meeting for the year.
At intra-day trading, the stock jumped to its highest price of $8.77 before trimming a few cents to finish the session just up by 9.20 percent at $8.55 apiece.
On Wednesday, the central bank announced that it slashed the benchmark rates by 25 basis points, marking the third and final rate cut for the year.
Mining companies such as New Gold Inc. (NYSEAmerican:NGD) stand to benefit from the move, as lower rates typically weaken the US dollar, thus making it cheaper for foreign and local investors to purchase precious metals like silver and gold.
New Gold Inc. (NYSEAmerican:NGD) is a Canada-based gold, silver, and copper miner that owns the Rainy River mine in Ontario as well as the New Afton mine in British Columbia.
Last month, the company announced that it was set to be acquired by Coeur Mining, Inc. for $7 billion, under which, the latter, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, would acquire all its outstanding shares.
Under the terms of the agreement, New Gold Inc. (NYSEAmerican:NGD) shareholders are set to receive an equivalent of 0.4959 Coeur shares for every NGD they own.
9. Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN)
Ciena Corporation extended its rally to a 6th day on Thursday to hit a new 24-year high as investors cheered its impressive earnings performance in the full fiscal year of 2025, alongside an upbeat outlook for next year.
At intra-day trading, Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) jumped to its highest price of $248 before trimming gains to finish the day just up by 9.25 percent at $242.37 apiece. The last time the stock touched the said level was in July 2001.
In an updated report, Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) said that net income for the full fiscal year expanded by 47 percent to $123 million from $83.9 million in the same period last year. Revenues jumped by 18.9 percent to $4.77 billion from $4.01 billion year-on-year.
For the fourth quarter, however, net income declined by 47 percent to $19.5 million from $37.03 million, despite revenues jumping by 20 percent to $1.35 billion from $1.12 billion.
“Our results reflect Ciena’s market momentum within a strong demand environment and our commitment to financial discipline, delivering strong top and bottom line performance that exceeded our guidance for the fourth quarter,” Ciena Corporation (NYSE:CIEN) Chief Finance Officer Marc Graff said.
“With our growing operating leverage and strong cash generation and balance sheet, we are well-positioned to deliver value for our customers and shareholders in 2026,” he added.
For the 2026 fiscal period, the company expects revenues to be at $5.7 billion to $6.1 billion, or an implied growth of 19.5 percent to 28 percent from fiscal year 2025.
For the first quarter, revenues are targeted at $1.35 billion to $1.43 billion.
8. Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE)
Coeur Mining rebounded by 9.46 percent on Thursday to finish at $17.48 apiece as investors took heart from the jump in spot prices of silver and gold during the day, supported by the Federal Reserve’s official decision to cut interest rates.
Typically, rate cuts favor precious metals as they weaken the US dollar, making it cheaper for foreign investors to buy silver and gold, and thus benefitting mining companies like Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE).
The rally was likewise buoyed by the successful exploration of resources at its Palmarejo gold-silver complex in Chihuahua, Mexico.
In a statement, Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE) said that the ongoing drilling program successfully identified numerous resource growth opportunities, particularly strong gold and silver grades, particularly at the San Juan vein along the Hidalgo corridor.
According to the company, it has so far drilled only 3 percent of the 300-square-kilometer land area, and the initial drilling results suggest that the site still holds a significant untapped resource potential.
Coeur Mining, Inc. (NYSE:CDE) is underway with an aggressive expansion program through a combination of mining site expansion and acquisition initiatives.
Last month, the gold miner said that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire New Gold Inc. for $7 billion, paving the way for an expansion in Canada.
Under the agreement, Coeur, through a wholly-owned subsidiary, would acquire all of New Gold’s outstanding shares in an all-stock deal.
Under the terms of the agreement, New Gold Inc. (NYSEAmerican:NGD) shareholders are set to receive an equivalent of 0.4959 Coeur shares for every NGD they own.
7. Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSEAmerican:UEC)
Uranium Energy jumped by 9.52 percent on Thursday to finish at $14.15 apiece as investors poured funds back in on strong confidence for the overall uranium industry, despite a mixed earnings performance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.
Based on its financial statement, Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSEAmerican:UEC) said that it narrowed its net loss by 48.7 percent to $10.34 million from $20.16 million in the same period last year. However, it failed to rake in any revenues during the period, as compared with $17.09 million in revenues in the same period last year. Operating loss also more than doubled to $29.8 million from $13.2 million.
Despite the results, Uranium Energy Corp. (NYSEAmerican:UEC) remained upbeat about its outlook for the full fiscal year of 2026.
“This quarter represented a step change for UEC. With the launch of United States Uranium Refining & Conversion Corp., we added a new business line that positions the Company to become the only US supplier with both uranium and UF production capabilities. In parallel, we maintained and expanded low-cost ISR (In-Situ Recovery) production and continued to advance our growth projects in Wyoming and South Texas, supporting projected higher output for the balance of fiscal 2026,” said President and CEO Amir Adnani.
“Taken together, these developments strengthen our platform as the leading American nuclear fuel supply chain provider aligned with US policy,” he added.
6. Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB)
Rocket Lab extended its winning streak to a 4th straight day on Thursday, jumping 10.45 percent to finish at $63.53 apiece as investors took heart from an upcoming launch this weekend.
In an update on its social media account, Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) said that it is set to launch a new Electron mission called “RAISE and Shine” at 10 PM EST on Saturday, December 13, for its customer, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
The RAISE and Shine mission marks the first of two launches for JAXA, and is intended to deploy its rapid innovative payload demonstration satellite-4 (RAISE-4) spacecraft, a single satellite that will demonstrate eight technologies developed by private companies, universities, and research institutions throughout Japan.
The launch was originally scheduled on Friday, December 12 EST, but was rescheduled due to strong ground winds at Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, the second launch for JAXA is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2026.
Also last Wednesday, Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) scrapped a plan to launch an Electron rocket for the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) due to a sensor issue. The company has yet to announce the new schedule for the launch.
5. Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:EOSE)
Eos Energy snapped a two-day losing streak on Thursday, jumping 11.16 percent to end at $16.44 apiece as investors poured funds back, having priced in the looming deadline for clean energy tax credits.
The Trump administration, under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed in July, imposed a December 31 deadline for the 30 percent tax credits for all clean energy customers. Under the new rules, installations completed after the deadline would no longer qualify for the tax credits.
However, the rally was primarily buoyed by expectations that clean energy companies, including Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:EOSE), would benefit from higher installations prior to the expiry date as customers scramble to get their solar and battery installations done.
Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:EOSE) is a battery energy storage system company.
In the third quarter of the year, Eos Energy Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:EOSE) widened its net loss attributable to shareholders by 87 percent to $641.39 million from $342.87 million in the same period last year, primarily due to a $572.3 million cumulative non-cash impact from the changes in fair value tied to mark-to-market adjustments.
4. USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR)
USA Rare Earth rebounded by 12.13 percent on Thursday to finish at $18.77 apiece as investors cheered plans to accelerate the commercial production of its Round Top heavy rare earth deposit in Texas two years earlier than projected.
In a statement, USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR) said that it now plans to kick off commercial operations of the said deposit in 2028 in a bid to capture the rapidly growing demand for the said metals.
“Beginning commercial production at Round Top two years earlier than anticipated would be an exciting milestone made possible by the team’s technical capabilities, process knowledge, and ingenuity. As global demand for rare earth magnets continues to rise and geopolitical risks escalate, accelerating domestic production is essential for securing the long-term competitiveness of US manufacturing,” said USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR) CEO Barbara Humpton.
Additionally, the company is set to start the operations of its Hydromet demonstration facility in Colorado early in 2026, based on the promising results of its recent and ongoing solvent extraction piloting.
The Hydromet facility will operate five solvent-extraction (SX) circuits continuously, for 2,000 to 4,000 hours, to generate the operational data required to proceed with commercial plant design. These circuits will target heavy rare earth elements, particularly dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), which are essential for high-performance permanent magnets, while also extracting additional critical minerals including hafnium and zirconium.
“This novel parallel-process approach is expected to save the Company tens of millions of dollars, while enabling USAR to complete its definitive feasibility study (DFS) by early 2027. Earlier completion of the DFS would allow USAR to move into commercial production at Round Top by late 2028,” USA Rare Earth Inc. (NASDAQ:USAR) said.
3. Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL)
Hecla Mining extended its winning streak to a third consecutive day on Thursday, to hit its highest price in nearly four decades, as investors took heart from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut.
At intra-day trading, the stock surged to its highest price of $19.67 before paring gains to finish the day just up by 12.57 percent at $19.35 apiece. The last time it touched the said level was in September 1987, when it closed at $19.63 apiece.
The rally was bolstered by the US central bank’s decision to slash the benchmark rates by 25 basis points, marking the third cut for the year.
Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL)—one of the largest silver producers in North America—stands to benefit from the rate cut, as lower interest rates typically weaken the US dollar, thus much cheaper for foreign investors to buy precious metals such as silver and gold.
In other news, the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced on Monday that it added Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) to the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The recomposition would take effect on December 22, 2025.
The S&P MidCap 400 is designed to measure the performance of a subset of US equities with market capitalizations between $8 billion and $22.7 billion, providing Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE:HL) more exposure to the investing community.
2. Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ:PPTA)
Perpetua Resources soared by 13.42 percent on Thursday to close at $29.15 apiece as investors continued to load up portfolios following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut.
On Wednesday, the US central bank slashed its benchmark rates by 25 basis points, the third time for the year, sparking a rally across various industries, including mining.
Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ:PPTA) rallied alongside its counterparts, as they stand to benefit from the rate cut.
Lower interest rates tend to weaken the US dollar, making the dollar-denominated precious metals such as silver and gold much cheaper.
In other news, Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ:PPTA) joined forces with the Idaho National Laboratory for the commissioning and operations of a flexible, modular pilot processing plant capable of recovering various critical and defense-related minerals, including antimony, from the company’s ores.
The initiative is intended to demonstrate the feasibility of producing high-quality, military specification antimony trisulfide using material from Perpetua’s Stibnite Gold Project, as well as provide opportunities to advance domestic defense mineral processing capabilities and strengthen workforce training in Idaho.
The plant forms part of a broader partnership between Perpetua Resources Corp. (NASDAQ:PPTA) and the US Army through the Defense Ordinance Technology Consortium to secure domestic sources of critical minerals, under which it was awarded additional $6.9 million in DOTC funding, bringing the total awards from the said agency to $22.4 million.
1. Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL)
Planet Labs soared to an all-time high on Thursday, as investors took heart from its higher growth outlook for the full fiscal year of 2026.
At intra-day trading, the stock climbed to its highest price of $17.98 before paring gains to end the day just up by 35.01 percent at $17.47 apiece.
In an updated report, Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) said that it now expects revenues for the full fiscal year to be at $297 million to $301 million, versus the $281 million to $289 million forecast earlier. The official figures beat its earlier guidance of $71 million to $74 million for the third quarter.
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) is also targeting to book a positive adjusted EBITDA of $6 million to $8 million, versus an earlier outlook of adjusted EBITDA loss amounting to $7 million.
The updated outlook was bolstered by its strong revenue performance in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, which jumped by 32.4 percent to $81.2 million from $61.3 million in the same period last year.
However, net loss nearly tripled to $59 million from $20 million in the same comparable period.
“We delivered a strong third quarter, marked by continued momentum in the business, accelerated revenue growth, and excellent progress on our profitability goals,” said Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL) Chairman and CEO Will Marshall said.
While we acknowledge the potential of PL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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