Ten stocks stood firmer on Thursday, outperforming Wall Street’s major indices, as investors digested a flurry of catalysts, including more corporate earnings and higher growth outlooks, among others.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq led the gains, growing 0.53 percent, followed by the S&P 500 followed with a 0.32-percent gain, and the Dow Jones, at 0.16 percent.
In this article, we focus on the companies that led Thursday’s charge and break down the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we considered the stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and 5 million shares in trading volume.
The New York Stock Exchange building. Photo by Дмитрий Трепольский on Pexels
10. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO)
Shares of Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) jumped by 6.41 percent on Thursday to close at $77.89 apiece, as investors continued to seek path from an analyst’s bullish rating and higher price target for its stock.
In its initial coverage of the stock, Bank of America gave a “buy” recommendation on Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) with a price target of $92, on expectations that the company will continue to benefit from the booming artificial intelligence sector. The figure marked an 18-percent upside from its latest closing price.
According to the investment firm, while Oklo Inc.’s (NYSE:OKLO) “build-own-operate” model is more capital-intensive than its peers, it remains advantageous given its capability to deliver fully wrapped and bankable power purchase agreements while retaining full independent power producer economics.
BofA said it expects Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) to achieve 13 percent of unlevered IRR for its first 75 MW projects, while next deployments could hit 26 percent IRRs through supply chain scale and cost efficiencies.
Looking ahead, BofA expects the nuclear firm to deliver 60 percent in EBITDA margins, far beyond the mid-teen levels typical across the sector.
9. Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)
Rigetti Computing grew its share prices by 7.73 percent on Thursday, a third day, to close at $16.58 apiece as investors continued to price in the benefits of looming Fed rate cuts.
The quantum computing industry, which includes Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI), remains in pre-revenue stages and often relies on debt to finance growth and expansion plans. Following the central bank’s announcement, investors gobbled up positions in stocks expected to benefit from lower borrowing costs.
In other developments, Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) recently sealed a partnership with the Montana State University to advance quantum computing research and innovation.
Under the agreement, Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) and Montana State University will collaborate on various initiatives, including research projects related to quantum hardware and hybrid quantum systems, workforce development activities, and co-development and testing of enabling technologies and quantum system components.
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