Ten stocks joined Wall Street’s stellar performance on Friday, ending the week with impressive gains, thanks to solid US employment data and renewed hopes for US-China trade talks.
In this article, we compiled the names of the 10 best-performing stocks during the day, with the list notably dominated by Bitcoin stocks.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied the most among the three major indices, up 1.20 percent, followed by the Dow Jones at 1.05 percent, and the S&P 500 at 1.03 percent.
To come up with the list, we focused exclusively on stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and 5 million in trading volume.
10. IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN)
IREN Ltd. saw its share prices rise by 8.94 percent on Friday to close at $9.75 apiece as investors cheered its record Bitcoin mining performance last month.
In a statement, IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) said that it was able to mine 627 Bitcoins last month, raking in revenues of $64.8 million. The figure was higher than the 579 in April and the 533 mined in March, which both generated $50.1 million and $45.3 million, respectively.
IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) said that the higher Bitcoin production was supported by a higher average operating hash rate of 38.4 EH/s.
Looking ahead, the company was on track to install 50 EH/s by the end of the month, with more miners in the process of shipping from Southeast Asia.
In the third quarter of fiscal year 2025, IREN Ltd. (NASDAQ:IREN) grew its net income after tax by 181 percent to $24.2 million from $8.6 million in the same period last year.
Revenues from Bitcoin mining soared by 164 percent to $141.2 million from $53.4 million year-on-year.
9. Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)
Rocket Lab grew its share prices by 9.34 percent on Friday to finish at $28.92 apiece as investors loaded up portfolios ahead of its launch of a new mission on Tuesday.
Rocket Lab Corp. (NASDAQ:RKLB) is scheduled to launch The Mountain God Guards mission for the Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space, Inc. (iQPS), a Japan-based Earth imaging company, through “Electron,” the world’s most frequently launched orbital small rocket.
The mission will launch a single synthetic aperture radar imaging satellite called QPS-SAR-11 to a 575-kilometer circular Earth orbit, which will join the rest of the iQPS constellation in providing high-resolution images and Earth monitoring services globally.
The launch will take place at Rocket Lab Corporation’s (NASDAQ:RKLB) Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand.
Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB) said that The Mountain God Guards will mark its 8th mission for this year alone, its 4th out of the 8 missions dedicated to iQPS, its 66th Electron launch overall, and the 227th satellite delivered to space.
8. Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT)
Riot Platforms saw its share prices rise by 9.57 percent on Friday to close at $9.85 apiece, mirroring Bitcoin’s rally, supported by its improved production of the cryptocurrency last month.
As of writing, Bitcoin’s prices are up by 2.78 percent at $104,434.90 apiece, as traders cheered news of better-than-expected employment data.
Meanwhile, Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) announced earlier this week that it was able to mine 514 Bitcoins last month, or 11 percent higher than the 463 produced in April, and by 139 percent as compared with the 215 Bitcoins in the same month last year.
The company said the higher Bitcoin production was supported by an increased hash rate of 35.4 EH/s.
Bitcoin mining aside, Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) said it recently acquired 355 acres of land near its Corsicana site, intended for the development of data centers to serve high-performance compute, which typically require larger footprints than bitcoin mining to utilize the same power capacity.
“We will continue to look to strategically add additional land parcels to ensure that our Corsicana site is ideally suited to support designs for data centers that serve the needs of hyperscale and enterprise tenants,” said Riot Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIOT) CEO Jason Les.
7. NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR)
NuScale Power snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday, jumping 10.66 percent to finish at $34.36 apiece as investors cheered the unveiling of the largest energy exploration center in the US, which the company established in partnership with George Mason University.
Called the E2 center, the facility sits on a 345,000-square-foot facility within the university and features a state-of-the-art simulator that replicates a NuScale SMR control room.
Students at George Mason will have the unique opportunity to assume the role of a control room operator at the first full-scale 12-module simulator in the US, engaging with real-life scenarios that bridge theoretical knowledge with practical application.
NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) President and CEO John Hopkins said that the opening reinforces its mission to drive innovation in nuclear energy and inspire the next-generation leaders.
“Together, we are shaping a skilled nuclear-ready workforce and fostering a more informed public, providing a strong foundation for the future of clean, reliable energy in Virginia and around the world,” he added.
The E2 center was funded by the Virginia Clean Energy Innovation Bank, powered by the Virginia Department of Energy.
6. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
D-Wave Quantum grew its share prices by 13.05 percent on Friday to finish at $18.62 apiece as investors resumed buying following news that its new quantum computer, said to be capable of solving problems beyond the capabilities of a classical GPU-based supercomputer, is now generally available in the market.
Called the Advantage2, the new quantum computer features a 4,400+ qubit processor with improved coherence and connectivity. It targets real-world applications in optimization, materials simulation, and AI, and features a 75 percent reduction in noise and a 40 percent energy scale increase over the predecessor Advantage(TM) quantum system.
In other news, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) recently raised $95.8 million from the issuance of warrants.
Under the transaction, approximately 8.33 million warrants were exercised at a price of $11.50 apiece.
The warrants were assumed by D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) in connection with its merger with DPCM Capital Inc., which was completed on August 5, 2022.
5. QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO)
QXO Inc. surged by 13.43 percent to close at $19 apiece as investors snapped up shares following a bullish rating and higher price target from an investment firm.
In its market note, Wolfe Research gave QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) an “outperform” rating with a price target of $44, representing a 131-percent upside from the company’s last closing price.
According to Wolfe Research, QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) offers an exceptional organic EBITDA growth and a distinct opportunity to generate value through acquisitions.
Wolfe Research also believed that QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) is capable of doubling its organic EBITDA within the next five years, supported by its use of data-driven and technology-centric strategies.
In April this year, QXO, Inc. (NYSE:QXO) completed its acquisition of Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. for $11 billion. The acquisition made the former the largest publicly traded distributor of roofing, waterproofing, and related building materials in the US.
4. Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT)
Hut 8 saw its share prices rise by 13.79 percent on Friday to close at $18.57 apiece as investors gobbled up shares following an investment firm’s bullish rating on the company.
In its first coverage of Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ:HUT), Roth Capital gave a “buy” recommendation on the Bitcoin miner with a price target of $25, representing a 34.6 percent upside from its last closing price.
According to Roth Capital, the rating and price target reflected Hut 8 Corp.’s (NASDAQ:HUT) transformation into a power-focused digital infrastructure platform with significant growth potential.
“HUT sources and allocates power to the highest-return use cases…This enables strategic site selection, efficient capex ($400K/MW BTC builds), and faster speed-to-market. Its in-house design and energy optimization software allows cost control and scalability that peers often lack. ~430MW of HPC CITL and other sites in diligence support a highly scalable roadmap,” the investment firm said.
3. Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT)
Quantum Computing surged by 15.81 percent on Friday to end at $13.70 apiece as investors cheered the company’s upgraded rating from an investment firm.
In its market note, Ascendiant Capital Markets maintained its “buy” recommendation on Quantum Computing Inc.’s (NASDAQ:QUBT) stock, while raising its price target to $22 from $14 previously.
The new price target represented a 60.6 percent upside from the company’s latest closing price.
In the first quarter of the year, Quantum Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:QUBT) swung to a net income attributable to shareholders of $16.98 million from a $6.4 million net loss in the same period last year, primarily driven by a $23.6 million non-cash gain on the mark-to-market valuation of the company’s warrant liability as a result of its merger with QPhoton in June 2022.
Revenues, on the other hand, rose by 44 percent to $39,000 from $27,000 in the same period last year.
2. Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX)
Recursion Pharmaceuticals grew its share prices by 20.13 percent on Friday to close at $5.49 apiece following the unveiling of Boltz-2, touted as the next-generation AI model to predict binding affinity.
According to Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX), the new model is powered by its NVIDIA supercomputer for its training and validation, and represents the next step beyond existing biomolecular structure prediction models like AlphaFold3 and its predecessor, Boltz-1.
“Selecting the right molecules early is one of the most fundamental challenges in drug discovery, with implications for whether R&D programs succeed or fail,” said Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RXRX) Chief Commercial Officer Najat Khan.
“By predicting both molecular structure and binding affinity simultaneously with unprecedented speed and scale, Boltz-2 gives R&D teams a powerful tool to triage more effectively and focus resources on the most promising compounds. Collaborations like this, bridging academic innovation and industry application, play an important role in advancing the field and, ultimately, improving how we develop and deliver medicines for patients,” she added.
1. Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL)
Circle Internet Group soared by 29.40 percent on Friday to close at $107.7 apiece, reflecting a continued strong investor confidence during its second day as a publicly listed company.
Since its market debut on Thursday, June 5, the company’s share price has already surged by 247 percent from its initial public offering price of $31.
Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) joined Coinbase, MARA Holdings, and Riot Platforms in the US stock exchange’s few pure-play cryptocurrency companies.
Thursday also marked its second attempt at going public, after a merger plan with a special purpose acquisition company collapsed in late 2022.
“To realize our vision, we needed to forge relationships with governments, we needed to work with policymakers … because if you want this to work for mainstream, it’s got to work in mainstream society and you need to have those rules of the road,” said Circle Internet Group (NYSE:CRCL) CEO Jeremy Allaire in an interview with CNBC.
“We’ve been one of the most licensed, regulated, compliant, transparent companies in the entire history of this industry, and that’s served us well.”
While we acknowledge the potential of CRCL 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 CRCL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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