Ten stocks kicked off the last trading week of the year on a strong note, bucking an overall market decline that was dampened by the lack of fresh company-specific and macroeconomic developments.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones led the drop, down 0.51 percent, followed by the Nasdaq, declining 0.50 percent, and the S&P 500, dipping 0.35 percent.
Indices aside, we spotlight the 10 top-performing stocks on Monday and break down the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we focused on the stocks with more than $300 million in market capitalization and 5 million shares in trading volume.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels
10. Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR)
Intuitive Machines bounced back by 2.95 percent on Monday to close at $15.70 apiece as investors took path from an investment firm’s 47 percent price target upgrade for its stock.
In a market report, Clear Street gave Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) a new price target of $25, a bump from $17 previously, while maintaining its “buy” recommendation.
The coverage reflected Clear Street’s optimism for the acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems, a spacecraft manufacturer with a strong record of delivering a highly reliable lineup for national security, civil, and commercial customers.
ClearStreet said that the transaction would create a next-generation space prime with an opportunity to capture multi-billion-dollar worth of space programs, especially with the United States’ aggressive lunar exploration.
Apart from Clear Street, Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) also received bullish coverage from B. Riley, with the latter raising its price target to $20 from $14 previously, alongside a “buy” recommendation.
The upgrade was based on optimism that Intuitive Machines Inc. (NASDAQ:LUNR) would benefit from President Donald Trump’s newly issued executive order on December 18, which aims to ramp up space exploration activities to ensure the United States’ superiority in the industry.
9. eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY)
Shares of eBay surged to a fourth straight day on Monday, adding 2.97 percent to close at $87.74 apiece, as investors placed bets on strong growth in the retail sector amid an expected spike in consumer spending during the holiday season.
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) rallied alongside its internet retail counterparts, namely Etsy Inc., Global-E Online Ltd., Chewy Inc., Coupang Inc., and MercadoLibre Inc., on expectations that the jump in consumer spending during the holiday would significantly boost their sales volume in the last quarter of the year.
For the fourth quarter alone, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) expects its revenues to hit $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion, or an implied growth of 8 to 10 percent year-on-year.
Meanwhile, it targets revenues for the full-year to end at $10.97 billion to $11.03 billion, or a projected year-on-year growth of 6 percent.
Last quarter, eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) posted mixed earnings results, with net income flat at $632 million. Total revenues, on the other hand, jumped by 9 percent to $2.82 billion from $2.58 billion year-on-year, with advertising revenues alone generating $525 million, or 2.6 percent of its gross merchandise value.
8. Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD)
Applied Digital snapped a four-day losing streak on Monday, jumping 3.16 percent to close at $24.81 apiece as investors took heart from a new corporate strategy, which will see the separation of its cloud computing and data center businesses.
In a statement, Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) said that it would spin off Applied Digital Cloud into a separate company through a merger with EKSO Bionics Holdings Inc., an exoskeleton technology firm for medical and industrial uses.
The proposed transaction would see the creation of a combined company called ChronoScale, which would focus solely on an accelerated compute platform for AI workloads. Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) would own 97 percent of the combined firm, while EKSO Bionics would explore potential buyers for the sale of all or a substantial chunk of its business.
“As enterprise and AI-native demand for GPU-accelerated cloud infrastructure continues to grow rapidly, the proposed transaction is intended to create a focused platform designed to deliver high-performance compute at scale in a capacity-constrained market,” Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) said.
“By separating the accelerated compute platform from Applied Digital’s data center ownership and development business, the proposed transaction will allow each business to scale independently, pursue distinct growth trajectories, and operate with greater strategic and capital flexibility,” it added.
7. Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI)
Bath & Body Works rallied for a third day on Monday, adding 3.23 percent to finish at $20.43 apiece as investors increased their positions in retail stocks amid an expected boost in the holiday season.
With strong investor confidence, Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) notably bucked the specialty retail sector’s decline and a mostly muted trading in the broader market.
Despite a typical spike in consumer spending during the holiday season, Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) earlier this year expected the fourth quarter of the year to be weaker than the same period last year amid the impact of tariffs.
In its last earnings call, Bath & Body Works, Inc. (NYSE:BBWI) said that it expects net sales in the fourth quarter to be down by high single digits as compared with the $2.79 billion in the same period last year, on expectations that higher tariffs would continue to dampen consumer spending.
Earnings per share (EPS) are also targeted at $1.70, lower than the $2.09 booked in the same period a year earlier.
For the full-year period, the company is targeting net sales to dip by low single digits, a revision from the previous 1.5 to 2.7 percent growth outlook. EPS is also pegged at $2.83 versus $3.61 last year.
6. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU)
Micron Technology bounced back on Monday to hit a new all-time high, as investors resorted to last-minute buying to qualify for the next dividend payout.
At intra-day trading, the stock surged to its highest price of $294.50 before trimming a few cents to end the day just up by 3.41 percent at $294.37 apiece.
As part of its quarterly dividend payment, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) said that all common shareholders as of December 29 record are set to receive $0.115 in cash on January 14, 2026.
The distribution followed Micron Technology Inc.’s (NASDAQ:MU) strong earnings performance in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, where it more-than-doubled its net income to $5.24 billion from $1.87 billion in the same period last year.
Revenues, on the other hand, climbed by 56 percent to $13.6 billion from $8.7 billion year-on-year, beating its earlier midpoint guidance of $12.5 billion. The cloud memory and mobile and client business units contributed the bulk of the revenues.
Following the results, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) said that it is now targeting revenues in the second quarter to climb even higher, at $18.7 billion at the midpoint.
Diluted earnings per share are also pegged at $8.19 at the midpoint.
5. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
D-Wave snapped a three-day losing streak on Monday, adding 3.40 percent to close at $26.15 apiece amid some window-dressing activities.
The practice is common among institutional investors, where they tweak their portfolios ahead of reporting periods by loading up on well-performing companies and disposing of underperforming ones to present a stronger portfolio to clients.
Year-to-date, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) has already seen its share price jump by 211 percent.
Separately, investors loaded portfolios ahead of its participation in two conferences next month, where they will be closely watching out for business updates and guidance.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS), alongside industry stakeholders, would join the two-day CES 2026 in Fontainebleau Las Vegas on January 7 and 8 to discuss and explore how AI, quantum computing, and blockchain are shaping the next era of technological innovation. It would also showcase its annealing quantum computing technology, hybrid quantum-classical solvers, and real-world customer use cases that demonstrate measurable performance benefits, often beyond classical computing alone.
Additionally, D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) CEO Alan Baratz would participate through a keynote in the Qubits26 on January 27 and 28 in Boca Raton, Florida, where he is expected to feature customer stories, live demonstrations, and a first look at the company’s latest technology roadmap in annealing, gate, hybrid-quantum solutions, and quantum-artificial intelligence.
4. Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON)
Peloton Interactive bounced back by 3.47 percent on Monday to finish at $6.27 apiece, as investors loaded portfolios amid an expected pickup in consumer spending during the holiday season, with sentiment supported by an earlier price target boost from an analyst.
Earlier this month, Guggenheim Securities issued a “hold” recommendation on Peloton Interactive, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:PTON) stock alongside a price target of $9.80. The figure marked a 56 percent upside potential from its latest closing price.
Guggenheim said that the coverage reflected its confidence in the overall retail sector amid the holiday cheer, adding that implemented tariffs have been manageable so far.
However, Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON) posted a weak outlook for the holiday quarter, with revenues only targeted at a range of $665 million to $685 million, or an increase of only $1 million or 0.2 percent year-on-year at the midpoint.
For the full year, however, total revenues are targeted to end at $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion, representing a decrease of 2 percent year-on-year at the midpoint.
In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 ending September 30, Peloton Interactive, Inc. (NASDAQ:PTON) swung to a net income of $13.9 million from a $900,000 net loss in the same period last year.
Revenues, however, dropped by 6 percent to $550.8 million from $586 million year-on-year, dragged by lower product and subscription revenues.
3. Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. (NYSE:OTF)
Blue Owl extended its winning streak to a fifth consecutive day on Monday, jumping 3.75 percent to close at $14.66 apiece as investors gobbled up shares ahead of the company’s ex-dividend date to qualify for its next quarterly payment.
Based on its website, investors have until December 31 to qualify for a $0.35 quarterly dividend to be paid on January 15, 2026.
In addition, common shareholders as of December 23, 2025 record are expected to receive $0.05 worth of special dividends on January 7.
Apart from the January dividends, Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. (NYSE:OTF) is also set to pay three more special dividends this year, amounting to $0.05, to its shareholders as of record dates March 23, June 22, and September 21, 2026.
For this year alone, Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. (NYSE:OTF) has already issued a total of $0.80 worth of dividends to its investors, comprising of two special dividends totaling $0.10 and two quarterly dividends amounting to $0.70.
Blue Owl Technology Finance Corp. (NYSE:OTF) is a business development company (BDC) formed primarily to originate and make loans to and make debt and equity investments in technology-related companies based primarily in the United States, with an emphasis on enterprise software investments.
2. NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO)
NIO Inc. extended its winning streak to a third consecutive day on Monday, jumping 4.71 percent to close at $5.34 apiece as investors cheered the company’s preliminary sales guidance for the fourth quarter of the year.
According to Chinese media 36kr, quoting NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) founder and Chief Executive Officer William Li as telling Chinese customers that the company is looking to register 30 billion yuan ($4.27 billion) in vehicle sales for the last quarter of the year.
In its latest earnings call earlier this year, NIO Inc. (NYSE:NIO) also provided an upbeat outlook for the fourth quarter of the year, with vehicle deliveries targeted at 120,000 to 125,000, or a 65.1 to 72 percent jump from the same quarter in 2024.
Total revenues are expected to hit $4.6 billion to $4.78 billion, marking an implied growth of 66.3 to 72.8 percent year-on-year.
In the third quarter alone, vehicle sales totaled $2.7 billion on 87,071 vehicle deliveries, bringing NIO Inc.’s (NYSE:NIO) total revenues to $3.06 billion.
1. DigitalBridge Group Inc. (NYSE:DBRG)
Digital Bridge extended its winning streak to a fourth straight session on Monday, jumping 9.70 percent to close at $15.27 apiece as investors gobbled up shares following announcements that it is set to be taken private for $4 billion.
In a statement on the same day, DigitalBridge Group Inc. (NYSE:DBRG) said that it entered into a definitive agreement with SoftBank Group Corp. for the latter’s acquisition of all its outstanding shares for $16 apiece, representing a 15-percent premium over its closing price of $13.92 on December 26 or prior to the announcement of the deal.
Upon closing of the transaction, DigitalBridge Group Inc. (NYSE:DBRG) would continue to operate as a separate entity and be led by its incumbent chief executive officer, Marc Ganzi.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and shareholder approvals. It is expected to close in the second half of 2026.
The acquisition forms part of the SoftBank Group’s aggressive expansion into AI.
It can be recalled that the company also partnered with OpenAI and MGX earlier this year for the massive $500 billion “Stargate” project, which aims to build vast data center infrastructure in the US.
“As AI transforms industries worldwide, we need more compute, connectivity, power, and scalable infrastructure,” said SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son
“DigitalBridge is a leader in digital infrastructure, and this acquisition will strengthen the foundation for next-generation AI data centers, advance our vision to become a leading ASI platform provider, and help unlock breakthroughs that move humanity forward.”
While we acknowledge the potential of DBRG 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 DBRG and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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