While the wider market capped off the trading week in a lackluster note, ten stocks notably boasted strong gains, thanks to company-specific developments that sparked buying appetite. Brokerage companies notably dominated the top performers, while the rest were firms capitalizing on the booming artificial intelligence.
In this article, we highlight the names of the 10 stocks and break down the reasons behind their gains.
To compile the list, we focused exclusively on stocks with at least $2 billion in market capitalization and over 5 million shares in trading volume.
10. Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU)
Futu Holdings ended the last trading day of the week gaining 7 percent to close at $160.57 apiece as investors took heart from an investment firm’s bullish rating for the company.
In its initial coverage, Barclays assigned an “overweight” rating on Futu Holdings Limited’s (NASDAQ:FUTU) stock with a price target of $176 or a 9.6-percent upside from its latest closing price.
Barclays underscored Futu Holdings Limited’s (NASDAQ:FUTU) strong position in the Asian market, and that its 20-25 percent growth in client base, assets under management (AUM), and revenues could continue and accelerate in the coming years, especially with its rapid expansion in Malaysia and Japan.
According to Barclays, Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) is comparable to brokerage giants namely Robinhood, Coinbase, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.
Futu Holdings Limited (NASDAQ:FUTU) currently serves 2.7 million retail investors with AUM exceeding $100 billion.
9. NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR)
NuScale Power extended its winning streak to an eighth straight day on Friday to hit a new all-time high, as investors continued to place bets on stocks benefitting the AI boom, thanks to strong backing from President Donald Trump.
At intra-day trading, NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) rallied to a new record of $50.88 and maintained in the $50 level toward the end.
Year-to-date, the company has already grown by 184 percent from its $17.93 closing price on the last trading day of December 2024.
On August 8, NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) is set to release the results of its earnings performance for the second quarter of the year, where investors will be closely watching for any cues of deals with companies following Trump’s signing of an executive order in May that aims to quadruple the nuclear power industry in the US to 400 GW by 2050.
8. QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS)
The rally in shares of QuantumScape showed no signs of stopping on Friday, extending gains to a ninth consecutive day to hit another all-time high, as investors continued to place bets ahead of its upcoming earnings performance.
Continued investor confidence was primarily driven by the company’s announcement last month of a new milestone that would scale up its production capabilities.
Called the Cobra separator, the new process is designed to enable faster, more energy-efficient production with a smaller equipment footprint compared to earlier processes.
As compared with the prior generation Raptor process, QuantumScape Corporation (NYSE:QS) said Cobra offers a ~25x improvement in heat treatment speed and occupies a fraction of the physical space per film start—both of which are key advantages in the design of a scalable gigafactory production line.
Investors will be closely watching out for QuantumScape Corporation’s (NYSE:QS) updated outlook for the rest of the year, with a new production process now in full swing. The company is set to release its second quarter earnings results and hold an investor call on Wednesday, July 23, after the market close.
7. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR)
Interactive Brokers jumped by 7.77 percent on Friday to close at $64.05 apiece as investors took heart from two analysts’ higher price target for its stock following an impressive earnings performance in the second quarter of the year.
In a market note after the earnings results, BofA Securities raised Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR) to $71 from $69 previously and reaffirmed its “buy” recommendation for its stock. The new figure represents a 10.8-percent upside from its latest closing price.
For its part, Citi upgraded its stock price to $65 from $60, but maintained a “neutral” rating.
The analyses followed Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:IBKR) strong earnings during the quarter on the back of an expansion in net interest income, with net income attributable to shareholders ending at $224 million, or 25 percent higher than the $179 million registered in the same period last year.
Total revenues increased by 20 percent to $1.48 billion from $1.23 billion year-on-year.
6. Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)
Plug Power saw its share prices increase by 8.48 percent on Friday to finish at $1.79 apiece as investors took path from research studies that the fuel cell market is expected to expand at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.2 percent through 2029.
In a report released by research firm BCC Research LLC, the fuel cell generator market is projected to increase to $3.1 billion over the next four years from $1.4 billion in 2024 amid the growing demand for uninterrupted power supply from businesses and critical services like hospitals and data centers.
“Fuel cell generators provide a steady and dependable power source, especially during grid outages, making them a smart choice for backup or even main power,” it said.
Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), one of the leading fuel cell companies in the US, is among the companies that stand to benefit from the projected expansion, to be supported by the ongoing AI expansion in the US.
For the second quarter of the year, Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) expects to book revenues between $140 million and $180 million, with additional improvement from the first quarter in gross margin and working capital performance anticipated throughout the year.
5. Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)
Applied Digital rallied for a fifth consecutive day, jumping 9.35 percent to close at $11.93 apiece as investors continued to snap up shares ahead of the release of its earnings performance for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025.
According to the company, it will announce the results of its financial and operating highlights in an investor briefing on July 30 at 5 PM Eastern Time. A press release detailing its financials will follow on the same day.
At present, Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) carries an overall optimistic rating from analysts amid its strong historical earnings.
Investor confidence was further supported by two newly clinched 15-year leases with CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV) where Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) committed to deliver 250 megawatts of critical IT load to host the former’s artificial intelligence and high-performance computing infrastructure at its Ellendale, North Dakota data center campus.
4. Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC)
Sable Offshore rallied for a second day on Friday, adding 11.82 percent to close at $31.69 apiece as investor sentiment repositioned portfolios amid reports that it was nearing the restart of its Las Flores pipelines.
Roth Capital in a market note earlier this week claimed that Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC) was set to receive in the “very near future” the final affirmative ruling in relation to the restart of its Las Flores pipelines.
News reports also added that the court decision allowed Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC) to move forward with certain preparatory steps for restarting the pipelines, but prohibited the actual restart pending the receipt of a signed notice of compliance.
Connected to the Santa Ynez offshore platforms, the Las Flores pipelines have been subject to legal and environmental scrutiny since 2015 that led to a temporary shutdown.
Upon commercial operations, Sable Offshore Corp. (NYSE:SOC) is expected to ride the booming AI wave, an industry heavily hungry for more energy sources to power demand.
3. Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ)
Invesco extended its winning streak to a third consecutive day on Friday, jumping 15.28 percent to close at $19.92 apiece amid plans to convert one of its profitable offerings—the QQQ ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq 100—to an open-traded fund.
Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) filed its preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking the consent of QQQ shareholders to operate the ETF and convert it from a “unit investment trust” to that of a “management company.”
Under current circumstances, QQQ’s $355-billion in assets and 0.2-percent expense ratio currently generates $711 million in annual fee revenues, more than any other ETF, but leaves nothing to Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) as the current setup gives the bulk divided between the fund’s trustee, Bank of New York Mellon, and Nasdaq, which provides the index. As mandated by the fund’s prospectus, any remaining revenues must be spent on marketing QQQ.
According to Bloomberg, the dynamics will change upon approval of the shareholders of its intent, and will also see lower expense ratios of 0.18 percent.
2. Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL)
Webull Corp. jumped for a third straight day on Friday, adding 17.05 percent to close at $16.89 apiece as investors gobbled up shares following plans to reintegrate cryptocurrency trading into its group platform.
In a statement, Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL) said the move would support its plans to reintroduce cryptocurrency trading to its global customer base following its launch in Brazil last month.
Additional markets are also expected to take place, including making cryptocurrency trading available to its US customers through the Webull app by the end of the third quarter.
“The improving clarity of cryptocurrency regulations, both in the United States and internationally, underlies our decision to bring crypto trading back to our platform,” Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL) President and CEO Anthony Denier said.
“With this consolidation, the company will be better positioned to meet the needs of our customers. We are excited about the evolution of the financial services industry as it begins to adopt blockchain technology, and we’ve already seen great success with our rollout in Brazil. We look forward to tapping additional markets this year,” he added.
1. CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)
CRISPR Therapeutics soared by 18.22 percent on Friday to close at $65.13 apiece to hit a new all-time high as investors took path from a recent insider trading that gobbled up shares worth more than $51 million in the company.
In a regulatory filing, CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) said its director, George Simeon, snapped up 989,812 shares of the company at a price of $52.03 apiece. The shares were all bought on Wednesday, July 16.
Based on its historical earnings performance, CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) is set to release the results of its second quarter earnings performance in the first week of August 2025.
In the first quarter of the year, CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) widened its net loss by 17 percent to $136 million from $116 million previously.
Revenues, however, jumped by 71.6 percent to $865 million from $504 million year-on-year.
While we acknowledge the potential of CRSP 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 CRSP and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email below.
