Why Pony AI Inc. (PONY) Skyrocketed on Friday

We recently published a list of 10 Surprising Stocks That Skyrocketed Today. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) stands against other Friday’s top performers.

The stock market finished the trading week in the green territory as investors looked past the series of mixed corporate earnings performance and inflation worries, amid the easing trade tensions between the US and China.

The Dow Jones climbed by 0.78 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq grew by 0.70 percent and 0.52 percent, respectively.

Beyond major indices, 10 companies—predominantly Bitcoin miners and quantum computing firms—registered a strong finish, thanks to fresh corporate developments boosting investor appetite.

In this article, we name Friday’s 10 top performers and detail the reasons behind their gains.

To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2 billion market capitalization and $5 million in trading volume.

An assembly line filled with the latest model of an automobile, ready to go to consumers.

Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY)

Pony AI snapped its three-day losing streak on Friday, jumping 13.94 percent to finish at $18.43 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting following the previous days’ drop.

Earlier this week, Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) took a beating from news that one of its robotaxis caught fire during a routine test in Beijing, sparking investor concerns about the safety of autonomous driving technologies.

The robotaxi reportedly left the roadway and was later captured blazing.

According to Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY), the fire detected an “abnormal status” during operation and immediately triggered its safety protection mechanism, leading the vehicle to a full stop.

Meanwhile, the company officially filed its intention to list publicly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, as Chinese firms seek to find a backup plan over fears that the trade war between the US and China could force their delisting from US stock exchanges.

Overall, PONY ranks 3rd on our list of Friday’s top performers. While we acknowledge the potential of PONY as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PONY but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, 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. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.