Ten stocks boasted strong gains on Wednesday, with five even hitting new record highs despite a broader market bloodbath, as investors mostly digested potential upsides from the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, alongside other factors.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones led the market decline, down 1.63 percent, followed by the tech-heavy Nasdaq, losing 1.46 percent, and the S&P 500, falling 1.36 percent.
In this article, we spotlight 10 of the top-performing companies on Wednesday and detail the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we only considered the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization.
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10. LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB)
LyondelBasell rallied to a new 52-week high on Wednesday, as investors took path from a 74 percent price target upgrade for its stock amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East that continue to propel prices of commodities and basic materials higher.
At intra-day trading, the stock jumped to its highest price of $76.10 before trimming gains to finish the session just up by 5.62 percent at $75.20 apiece.
In a market note, UBS upgraded its price for LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) to $73 from $42 previously, albeit remaining “neutral” for the stock. The rating, however, was a significant upgrade from its “sell” stance prior.
UBS said that the coverage was based on expectations that supply for the polyethylene and polypropylene markets would continue to tighten for most of 2026 amid the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. This, in turn, would support even higher prices for the commodities.
Additionally, the coverage reflected LyondellBasell Industries NV’s (NYSE:LYB) earlier announcement to cut its dividends by 49 percent year-on-year, which could support more free cash flow of roughly $9 per share this year.
Apart from UBS, LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) also last week earned a rating and price target upgrade from Citigroup, with the latter issuing a 55 percent price target hike of $76, alongside a “buy” recommendation for its stock.
Citigroup’s revision likewise reflected its optimism for the company and other North American chemical producers with access to low-cost natural gas feedstocks, saying that they are expected to benefit through higher profit margins from the ongoing tensions in the Middle East that continue to disrupt supply and propel oil prices higher.
9. Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG)
Cheniere Energy soared to a new all-time high on Wednesday, as investors loaded portfolios amid the ongoing supply disruptions for LNG globally, while cheering announcements of higher long-term orders from the Kingdom of Thailand.
At intra-day trading, Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG) jumped to its highest price of $267.24 before paring gains to finish the session just up by 5.85 percent at $266.22 apiece.
Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG) mirrored higher natural gas prices during the day, which jumped 5.59 percent at $3.20/MMBtu, as the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz—one of the most critical waterways for global trade—supported the spike in natural gas prices.
For this month alone, natural gas prices have already gone up by 6.90 percent.
Further adding to the sentiment were news earlier in the week that Thailand is currently in talks with Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG) to expand and expedite LNG deliveries under an existing long-term contract as the Kingdom aims to secure sufficient supply to support its power sector.
Energy Minister Auttapol Rerkpiboon said that the Southeast Asian firm is ramping up its LNG orders from Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG) to 1.3 million tons from 1 million tons previously, with the first delivery targeted in the second quarter of the year.
The increased orders are expected to run for the next 15 years through 2041.
8. DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DOCN)
DigitalOcean extended its winning streak to a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, to hit a new four-year high, as investors took path from Oppenheimer’s 17.6-percent price target upgrade for its stock.
At intra-day trading, DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DOCN) climbed to its highest price of $86.45 before trimming gains to finish the day just up by 6.30 percent at $82.48 apiece.
In a market note, Oppenheimer raised its price target for the software company to $100 from $85 previously, while reaffirming its “outperform” rating on expectations that it is capable of delivering $5.5 billion in revenues on a free cash flow margin of 24 to 25 percent by 2035.
DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DOCN) is currently focusing on the AI-optimized segment, which, according to the investment firm, is increasing at a compounded annual growth rate of 110 percent as compared with a slower growth rate of 25 percent in the wider Infrastructure-as-a-Service market.
It also projects DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DOCN) to expand its capacity by 209 percent to 136 megawatts by the end of 2028 from only 44 MW as of the end of 2025.
Last month, the company reported its earnings performance for 2025, with full-year net income attributable to shareholders more than tripling to $259 million from $84 million in 2024. Revenues also increased by 15.5 percent to $901 million from $780.6 million year-on-year.
7. Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET)
Cloudflare rallied for a second day on Wednesday, jumping 6.60 percent to finish at $225.48 apiece, as investors snapped up shares following reports that it is partnering with crypto exchange operator, Coinbase, for the establishment of a new stablecoin designed for AI agent transactions.
A report by The Information said that Coinbase and crypto infrastructure startup, Zerohash, are looking to issue a new stablecoin for Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET), as Coinbase bets big on artificial intelligence payments to look for other sources of growth amid a struggling brokerage business due to the market downturn.
The deal aims to leverage Cloudflare Inc.’s (NYSE:NET) critical role in managing web traffic and cybersecurity.
“It’s certainly one of our top priorities as a company,” Coinbase Chief Business Officer Shan Aggarwal was quoted as telling The Information.
Its approach to making money from agents differs from its consumer business, he said, adding that they “monetize it mostly by providing the infrastructure that agents use.”
The news builds on an earlier partnership between Coinbase and Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET) to develop an open Internet standard for digital payments.
Called the x402 Foundation, the service was aimed at simplifying the process of sending and receiving payments on the Internet for website owners, developers, and content creators globally.
6. Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)
Applied Optoelectronics snapped a four-day losing streak on Wednesday, jumping 7.30 percent to finish at $92.63, as investors welcomed its efforts to showcase its next-generation products and solutions designed for future AI systems.
At the ongoing Optical Fiber Communications Conference in Los Angeles, California, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) said that it is showcasing its comprehensive transceiver range—from 100G to 1.6T, alongside its next-generation 400mW laser Continuous Wave (CW) for 25dBm external laser small form-factor pluggable (ELSFP).
The 25dBm Ultra-High Power ELSFP alone provides a critical high-link-budget foundation required for CPO/NPO architectures, and features extreme power with a hot-swappable, highly serviceable design to ensure reliability for mission-critical GPU clusters.
“Reliability and performance are non-negotiable as the industry shifts toward more demanding GPU fabrics. Our 25dBm ELSFP solution addresses these needs by providing the unmatched power and mission-critical reliability required for complex AI networking, offering a high-performance, hot-swappable solution that is ready to scale hyperscale infrastructures today,” said Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) SVP and North American General Manager Fred Chang.
Additionally, Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) showcased its 6.4T On-Board Optics (OBO) and 800G and 1.6T Optical Interconnects through a live demonstration.
Powered by its 400mW external laser small form-factor pluggable (ELSFP), the 6.4T OBO provides an immediate, high-density solution for the signal integrity needs of hyperscale AI infrastructure, while the 800G and 1.6T Optical Interconnects provide the scalable bandwidth necessary to support evolving large language models and intensive AI training workloads.
While we acknowledge the potential of AAOI 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 AAOI and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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