In this article, we will look at the 5 Stock Winners in a Brutal Market. For a deeper discussion and an extended list, please see 10 Stock Winners in a Brutal Market.

5. LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB)

LyondellBasell soared by 10.33 percent on Thursday to close at $74.33 apiece, as investors took heart from Citigroup’s bullish stance for its stock, having upgraded its rating and price target by 55 percent.

In a market report, Citigroup issued a new price target of $76 for the company, a marked increase from the $49 previously. It also recommended investors to “buy” versus staying “neutral” prior.

The report reflected the investment firm’s optimism for LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) 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.

According to Citi, it expects LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE:LYB) to grow its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization by 32 percent, to be driven by stronger polyolefins margins and higher derivative spreads.

aiDespite the outlook, Citi underscored the uncertainty in the duration of the conflict, but noted that several factors such as logistics bottlenecks, supply disruptions, and low inventories, will continue to drive chemical prices higher over the next several quarters even if tensions subside.

4. Firefly Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ:FLY)

Firefly saw its share prices jump by 12.77 percent on Thursday to close at $23.23 apiece, as investor sentiment was boosted by the successful launch of its Alpha Flight 7 into space.

“Alpha Flight 7 was flawlessly executed with all mission requirements completed, further proving the resiliency, innovation, and passion of the Firefly team,” Firefly Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ:FLY) CEO Jason Kim said.

“Over the last several months, we took a hard look at our processes across engineering, production, test, integration, and operations and invested the time required to make a series of improvements to ensure a higher level of quality and reliability in every Alpha we deliver and launch as we move to our Block II upgrade,” he noted.

The Alpha Flight 7 supported the Stairway to Seven mission to deliver a demonstrator payload for Lockheed Martin.

The rocket lifted off Firefly Aerospace Inc.’s (NASDAQ:FLY) Space Launch Complex 2 at the Vandenberg Space Force Base at 8:50 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, March 11, before completing an orbital insertion.

The launch vehicle also performed a stage two engine relight and validated key Alpha Block II upgrades, including a new in-house avionics suite and enhanced thermal protection system, ahead of the full Block II configuration upgrade planned for Flight 8.

Firefly Aerospace Inc. (NASDAQ:FLY) said that it is now underway with the completion of the final milestones for the Alpha Flight 8 which is set to launch the full Block II configuration upgrade designed to enhance reliability and manufacturability.

3. CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF)

CF Industries soared to a new all-time high on Thursday, as investors snapped up shares in fertilizer stocks amid expectations that they would benefit from the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

At intra-day trading, the stock climbed to its highest price of $137.42 before paring gains to finish the session just up by 13.21 percent at $136 apiece.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF) rallied alongside other chemical producers, with their upgraded ratings and price targets from Citigroup spilling over to its stock.

According to Citi, North American chemical producers with access to low-cost natural gas feedstocks are expected to benefit from higher profit margins amid ongoing supply disruptions and higher oil prices.

This, in turn, could support Illinois-based CF Industries Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CF), being one of the leading manufacturers of hydrogen and nitrogen products for clean energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial applications.

Additionally, the outlook was supported by CF Industries Holdings Inc.’s (NYSE:CF) statement last month that it expects nitrogen demand in North America to turn positive through the spring 2026 application season.

“Based on the fall 2025 ammonia application season and strong corn demand, the company expects another year of high planted acres of corn in the United States in 2026. Management believes that nitrogen channel inventory remains lower than historical averages. Globally, Brazil and India are expected to remain the world’s largest importers of urea driven by increased domestic demand,” it said earlier.

2. PayPay Corp. (NASDAQ:PAYP)

Financial technology firm PayPay Corp. ended its first trading day as a publicly listed company soaring by double digits, defying a lackluster performance in the broader market, thanks to strong investor confidence for its stock.

During the session, the stock opened at $19 and soared by as high as 20.6 percent at $19.29, versus its $16 initial public offering (IPO) price.

Meanwhile, Wall Street’s three major indices ended in a bloodbath during the day, all recording losses more than 1 percent.

PayPay Corp. (NASDAQ:PAYP), a subsidiary of the SoftBank Group, was able to raise as much as $880 million in fresh funds from its IPO through the successful sale of more than 54.98 million American depositary shares, representing its common shares.

Of the total, more than 31 million shares were offered by PayPay Corp. (NASDAQ:PAYP) while the other 23.9 million shares were sold by its existing shareholder, SVF II Piranha (DE) LLC, an investment fund also controlled by the SoftBank Group.

PayPay Corp. (NASDAQ:PAYP) is one of the leading financial technology companies in Japan, having registered 72 million users since it was launched by SoftBank and Yahoo Japan in 2018.

1. Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE)

Celanese soared by 14.75 percent on Thursday to finish at $59.60 apiece as investors took heart from an analyst upgrade on optimism that it would benefit from the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, with the investment firm naming it as the top pick in the chemical sector.

In a market report, Citigroup raised its price target for Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE) to $81 from $75 previously, while maintaining its “buy” recommendation.

The coverage reflected its optimism that the company would benefit from higher profit margins as a result of the ongoing tensions in the Middle East that are disrupting global supply and propelling oil prices higher.

Citigroup said that such factors could boost margins for North American chemical producers with access to low-cost natural gas feedstocks.

Apart from Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE), Citigroup also raised its ratings and price targets for Dow Inc., LyondellBasel Industries, Olin Corp., Westlake, and Eastman Chemical.

Celanese Corp. (NYSE:CE) is a global chemical and specialty materials company producing high-performance polymers, acetyl products, and emulsion polymers for various industries such as automotive, electronics, and consumer goods.

Last year, the company narrowed its attributable net loss by 25 percent to $1.16 billion from $1.54 billion in 2024. Net sales decreased by 7.5 percent to $9.5 billion from $10.27 billion.

In the fourth quarter alone, it swung to an attributable net income of $19 million from a $1.9 billion net loss in the same period in 2024. Net sales dropped by 6.8 percent to $2.2 billion from $2.3 billion.

While we acknowledge the potential of CE 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 CE and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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