In this article, we will look at the 5 Stocks Grabbing Investor Attention Today. For a deeper discussion and an extended list, please see 10 Stocks Grabbing Investor Attention Today.
The New York Stock Exchange building. Photo by Дмитрий Трепольский on Pexels
5. Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTU)
Peabody Energy saw its share prices jump by 7.91 percent on Tuesday to finish at $38.19 apiece, as investors gobbled up shares on expectations of strong coal demand from industries looking to minimize their exposure to the surging oil and gas prices.
Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTU) rallied alongside its counterparts, as oil and gas prices continue to spike up on supply restrictions from the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.
Earlier this month, the stock earned a price target upgrade from UBS, albeit a mere 50-cent uptick from the $34 previously. The investment firm also maintained its neutral stance on its stock.
While originally a US-based company, Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTU) is a leading global producer and supplier of coal. It currently operates 17 mines globally.
Last year, Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE:BTU) swung to a net loss attributable to shareholders of $52.9 million from a $370.9 million attributable net income in 2024. Revenues declined by 8.9 percent to $3.86 billion from $4.24 billion year-on-year.
For the fourth quarter, however, the company registered a $10.4 million net income attributable to shareholders, reversing a $70.1 million net loss in the same period a year earlier. Revenues, on the other hand, finished flat at $1 billion.
4. Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW)
Corning rallied for a second day on Tuesday, jumping 8.43 percent to finish at $142.01 apiece, as investors loaded portfolios in technology stocks benefitting largely from the booming AI, while fleeing industries seen as vulnerable to the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
In other news, shareholders of Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW) on record as of February 27, 2026, are set to receive on Monday, March 30, amounting to $0.28 of cash per share held as part of its quarterly dividend payout.
This followed its strong earnings performance last year, with full-year net income more than tripling to $1.596 billion versus only $506 million in 2024. Net sales grew by 19 percent to $15.6 billion from $13.1 billion year-on-year.
In the fourth quarter alone, net income increased by 26 percent to $540 million from $310 million, while net sales inched up by 3 percent to $4.2 billion from $3.5 billion.
Looking ahead, Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW) is targeting higher net sales growth of $11 billion in incremental annualized sales over the next two years, versus $8 billion previously. For this year alone, incremental annualized sales are targeted at $6.5 billion, up from its $6 billion outlook earlier.
Both targets form part of what the company dubs as “Springboard plan”—a strategic multi-year initiative to drive growth between 2023 and 2028.
For the first quarter of the year, Corning Inc. (NYSE:GLW) is targeting core sales to a range of $4.2 billion to $4.3 billion, while earnings per share are pegged at $0.66 to $0.70.
3. Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE)
Lumentum Holdings soared to a new all-time high on Tuesday, as investors took heart from two analyst upgrades for its stock, having raised their price targets by 50 percent and 66 percent.
In intra-day trading, Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) soared to its highest price of $803.58 before trimming gains to finish the session just up by 10.02 percent at $801.99 apiece.
This followed twin coverage on Monday, with BNP Paribas issuing a new price target of $1,040 versus $625 previously, while Craig Hallum upgraded the stock to $900 from $600 prior.
The figures marked a 30 percent and 12 percent upside potential from Lumentum Holdings Inc.’s (NASDAQ:LITE) latest closing price.
BNP maintained its “outperform” rating, while Craig reaffirmed its “buy” recommendation.
BNP said that its upgrade reflected Lumentum Holdings Inc.’s (NASDAQ:LITE) recent design wins, which include the production acceleration of its 100G and 200G EML chipsets in 800G and 1.6T optical modules.
“We are raising our out-year estimates to account for the company’s new multi-year, multi-billion-dollar optical circuit switch win,” BNP said.
“Our estimates also include higher volume expectations of 400mW ultra-high-powered lasers following Nvidia’s recent $2B investment to secure multi-year capacity, as Nvidia seeks to ramp co-packaged optical switches in upcoming Vera Rubin AI infrastructure,” it added.
2. Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI)
Applied Optoelectronics rallied for a second day on Tuesday, jumping 18.94 percent to close at $113.90 apiece, as investors resumed buying positions after securing a new million-dollar deal for its data center transceivers.
In a statement on Monday, it said that it inked a $53-million supply deal with one of its major customers for the said transceivers, with more expected to come in line with the latter’s ongoing expansion program.
Shipments are expected to start in the second quarter of the year, with completion in the middle of the third quarter.
“AI infrastructure expansion is accelerating, and requires significantly higher bandwidth at scale,” Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) Chairman and CEO Thompson Lin said.
“Our customers are adopting 800G not just for capacity and performance, but to manage long-term operating costs. Deploying 800G now helps to prevent network bottlenecks, improves power efficiency and lowers cost per bit, reducing the need for frequent upgrades,” he noted.
Launched in September last year, the 800G optical transceivers are built for high-performance AI and cloud data center networks requiring superior port density and bandwidth efficiency. It is available in standard pluggable form factors and is essential for high-capacity spine switching and high-speed GPU cluster interconnects.
1. Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE:FOUR)
Shift4 Payments saw its share prices jump by 19.24 percent on Tuesday to close at $52.50 apiece, as investors resorted to bargain-hunting after the stock fell to a new low last week.
Last Friday, it can be recalled that Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) fell to $40.60, its lowest level in more than two years, mirroring the market bloodbath amid economic uncertainties from the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.
On Monday, investors turned buyers to take advantage of its low price, pushing its month-to-date price higher by 19 percent. However, its year-to-date shares remained lower by 35 percent.
Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) is a comprehensive payment processing firm that offers point-to-point encryption, tokenization, EMV technology, and point-of-sale (POS), among others.
Last year, it slashed its net income attributable to shareholders by 66 percent to $79 million from $230 million in 2024. Gross revenues increased by 25 percent to $4.18 billion from $3.33 billion year-on-year.
In the fourth quarter alone, net income attributable to shareholders fell by 78 percent to $25 million from $116 million, while gross revenues increased by 34 percent to $1.189 billion from only $887 million.
Looking ahead, Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) is targeting to grow its gross revenues for the first quarter of the year by 49 percent to $548 million, as well as its adjusted EBITDA by 38 percent to $233 million.
For the full-year period, gross revenues are expected to increase by 26 percent to 31 percent to a range of $2.5 billion to $2.6 billion, while adjusted EBITDA is targeted to grow by 20 to 25 percent to $1.165 billion to $1.215 billion.
While we acknowledge the potential of FOUR 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 FOUR and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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