Ten stocks capped off the trading week with notable gains, mirroring the rally in the broader market as investors continued to digest a flurry of earnings in the past quarter of the year.
The Dow Jones led the rally among major indices, up 0.47 percent, followed by the S&P 500 at 0.40 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq at 0.24 percent.
Meanwhile, the 10 individual stocks—the best performers on Friday—boasted mostly impressive earnings performance and better outlook for the rest of the year.
In this article, we highlight the 10 big names and break down the reasons behind their gains.
To compile the list, we focused exclusively on stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and over 5 million shares in trading volume.
10. Columbia Banking System Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB)
Shares of Columbia Banking increased by 6.30 percent on Friday to close at $24.82 apiece as investors loaded positions following an impressive earnings performance in the first half of the year.
In its earnings release, Columbia Banking System Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) said its net income rose by 27 percent to $152 million from $120 million in the same period last year.
Net interest income grew by 4 percent to $446 million from $427 million year-on-year amid higher interest income from loans and investment securities and relatively stable funding costs.
On the other hand, non-interest income climbed by 44 percent to $64.46 million from $44.7 million in the same period last year.
“Commercial loan growth outpaced runoff in transactional portfolios while the net interest margin benefited from loan repricing, controlled deposit pricing, and a rebound in securities yields. Continued expense discipline further supported our strong performance, even as we continue to reinvest in our growing franchise—opening three new branches and planning for the closing of our Pacific Premier acquisition,” said Columbia Banking System Inc. (NASDAQ:COLB) President and CEO Clint Stein.
“While customer deposits declined due to normal seasonal activity and increased cash usage, our Business Bank of Choice strategy continues to attract new relationships. We remain laser focused on delivering top-quartile performance and enhancing long-term tangible book value while returning excess capital to our shareholders,” he added.
9. The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO)
The GEO Group grew its share prices by 6.31 percent on Friday to close at $26.10 apiece as investors gobbled up shares ahead of the results of its second-quarter earnings performance.
According to the company, it is scheduled to release its financial and operating highlights at 11 AM on Wednesday, August 6. An investor call will be held at the same time to elaborate on the results.
Earlier this year, The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) said that it was targeting diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of the year to settle within the range of $0.15 to $0.17 on quarterly revenues of $615 million to $625 million.
Adjusted EBITDA was also pegged at $110 million to $114 million.
In other recent news, The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE:GEO) announced the $60 million acquisition of a 770-bed Western Region Detention Facility in San Diego, which it currently leases for $5.1 million annually.
Its original lease contract was supposed to expire in March 2029.
The facility alone generates $57 million in revenues yearly.
8. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM)
Newmont rallied for a second day on Friday, jumping 6.89 percent to close at $65.75 apiece as investor sentiment was bolstered by an impressive earnings performance and news that it will distribute cash dividends to its shareholders.
In its earnings release, Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) said net income attributable to shareholders in the second quarter of the year jumped by 142 percent to $2.06 billion from $853 million in the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA also rose by 52 percent to $2.997 billion from $1.966 billion.
Additionally, attributable gold production ended lower by 8 percent during the period at 1.48 million ounces versus 1.61 million ounces year-on-year, driven by the previously announced closing of non-core asset sales. However, the closure was partially offset by higher production from four other sites.
The average realized gold price increased by 41 percent to $3,320 from $2,347 year-on-year.
In other news, Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) also declared a $0.25 cash dividend to each common shareholder as of September 4. The dividends will be payable on September 29.
7. Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)
Veracyte grew its share price by 7.04 percent on Friday to close at $25.25 apiece following announcements that it was set to join the S&P SmallCap 600 beginning on Tuesday, July 29.
This followed the removal of the Triumph Group following its planned merger with Warburg Pincus LLC and Berkshire Partners LLC.
Companies joining market indices typically see their share prices rise as investment firms begin adding them to the portfolios tracking the said indices. Additionally, index memberships bolster a stock’s visibility among institutional and retail investors.
In other news, Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) said that it will announce the results of its financial and operating highlights for the second quarter of the year after market close on August 6. A conference call will be held at 4:30 PM to discuss more details about the performance.
Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) is a global diagnostics company seeking to advance and transform cancer care for patients all over the world.
6. Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW)
Genworth Financial saw its share prices rally by 8.99 percent on Friday to end at $8 apiece as investors cheered a UK court’s favorable ruling to insurance giant AXA that could help the former recoup $750 million in cash payments.
The case stemmed from the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) before 2005 by GE Capital Bank, which was acquired by Santander in 2009, that resulted in AXA’s losses related to more than 650,000 individual customer complaints about PPI policies.
AXA, which inherited the liabilities for its acquisition of two subsidiaries of Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW), paid almost 5700 million pounds worth of redress to consumers and compensated complaints.
The UK judge eventually ruled that AXA “has a valid claim for an indemnity” against Santander in relation to the redress payments and ombudsman fees.
For its part, Genworth Financial, Inc. (NYSE:GNW) is entitled to receive $750 million as part of its agreement with AXA as soon as the latter recovers losses.
“Genworth plans to deploy any recoveries in line with our stated capital allocation priorities: investing in growth through CareScout, returning cash to shareholders through our buyback program, and opportunistically paying down debt,” the company said.
5. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)
Avidity Biosciences saw its share prices increase by 9.21 percent on Friday to end at $36.27 apiece as investor sentiment was bolstered by the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) breakthrough therapy designation for its drug candidate for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in people with mutations amenable to exon 44 skipping (DMD44).
In a statement earlier this week, Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) said that its treatment candidate delpacibart zotadirsen (del-zota) is undergoing a phase 2 trial to test it in patients with DMD44.
DMD is a rare genetic condition that is characterized by progressive muscle damage and weakness due to the loss of dystrophin protein that typically starts at a very young age. Del-zota is designed to deliver phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomers (PMOs) to skeletal muscle and heart tissue to specifically skip exon 44 of the dystrophin gene and enable production of near-full-length dystrophin.
According to Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA), it remains on track to submit a biologics license application by the end of the year.
Additionally, it is underway with preparations for a potential US launch following FDA approval.
4. Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK)
Deckers Outdoor jumped by 11.35 percent on Friday to end at $116.85 apiece following the release of an impressive earnings performance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.
During the period ending June 30, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) said net income increased by 20.2 percent to $139 million from $115.6 million in the same period last year, while net sales jumped by 16.8 percent to $964 million from $825 million.
In terms of brands, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) said HOKA contributed $653.1 million of the total net sales, followed by UGG with $265.1 million, and the balance from other brands.
For the second quarter ending September 2025, Deckers Outdoor Corporation (NYSE:DECK) said it targets net sales between $1.38 billion and $1.42 billion, with diluted earnings per share of $1.50 to $1.55, excluding the impact from additional share repurchases.
3. Accelerant Holdings (NYSE:ARX)
Accelerant Holdings extended its winning streak to a second day on Friday, adding 12.42 percent to close at $29.79 apiece on strong confidence for its products.
The insurer is a newly listed company, having debuted on the stock market only on Thursday, July 24.
From its initial public offering price of $21, the stock has already jumped by as much as 48 percent to touch $31.18 on Friday before paring gains to end slightly lower.
Accelerant Holdings (NYSE:ARX) was able to sell $724 million shares from its IPO, covering 34.5 million of combined new and existing shares.
The new shares consisted of 20.28 million common stocks, while some 14.18 million were sold by existing stockholders.
Accelerant Holdings (NYSE:ARX) said it will not receive any proceeds from the shares sold by existing stockholders.
Founded in 2018, Accelerant Holdings (NYSE:ARX) operates as an insurance marketplace connecting niche sellers with institutional investors.
2. Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX)
Gentex Corp., an automotive technology company, surged by 16.19 percent on Friday to close at $27.42 apiece as investor sentiment was boosted by its impressive earnings performance in the second quarter of the year despite a cautious outlook for the remainder of 2025.
In its earnings statement, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) said attributable net income grew by 11.6 percent to $96 million from $86 million in the same period last year, excluding the impact of its acquisition of VOXX International Corp.
Meanwhile, net sales increased by 14.8 percent to $657.86 million from $572.92 million year-on-year.
Looking ahead, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ:GNTX) said it expects global light vehicle production for the third quarter of the year to end relatively flat versus the same period last year, while light vehicle production in its primary markets is expected to dip by 1 percent year-on-year.
For the fourth quarter, global light vehicle production is predicted to drop by 6 percent year-on-year across its primary markets, including China.
For the full year, production is targeted to decline by 3 percent year-on-year while production in North America alone is expected to fall by 4 percent.
1. Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR)
Coursera extended its winning streak to a third straight day on Friday, soaring 36.23 percent to close at $12.37 apiece as investor sentiment was bolstered by its upgraded revenue outlook and impressive earnings performance in the second quarter of the year.
In a statement, Coursera, Inc. (NYSE:COUR) said it narrowed its net loss by 66 percent to $7.8 million from $22.9 million in the same period last year, while revenues grew by 10 percent to $187.1 million from $170.3 million year-on-year.
“Coursera’s market opportunity continues to expand with the global demand to embrace new technology and skills. This quarter, we attracted more than seven million new learners looking to master emerging skills that can advance their careers,” said CEO Greg Hart.
Following the promising results, the company raised its growth outlook for the third quarter and full-year 2025. Revenues for the current quarter are expected to settle between $188 million and $192 million, with adjusted EBITDA at $10 million to $14 million, while revenues for the full-year period were targeted at $738-$746 million.
While we acknowledge the potential of COUR 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 COUR and that has 100x upside potential, 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.
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email below.
