The stock market kicked off the trading week on a negative note as investors sold off on a new round of uncertainties from President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
The Nasdaq fell by 0.74 percent, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.64 percent and the Dow Jones was down by 0.24 percent.
Over the weekend, Trump told reporters that the US was negotiating with many countries, “but at the end of this, I’ll set my own deals — because I set the deal, they don’t set the deal.”
He added that he had no intentions to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping, dampening hopes of a potential negotiation between the two of the world’s largest economies.
Beyond the major indices, 10 companies stood out with strong gains amid a flurry of fresh developments. In this article, we name Monday’s 10 best 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 trading volume.
Photo by George Morina on Pexels
10. IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG)
Shares of IAMGOLD Corp. rose by 3.57 percent on Monday to close at $6.96 apiece as investors repositioned their portfolios following the surge in gold prices, and ahead of the release of its first quarter earnings performance.
According to the company, it will release its key operational and financial highlights after the market closes on Tuesday, May 6. A conference call will follow to elaborate on the results at 8:30 AM on Wednesday, May 7.
Additionally, market sentiment was fueled by the surge in spot prices of gold, which as of this writing was up by 2.76 percent at $3,329.86 per ounce, as investors resorted to safer assets anew amid the weakness in the US dollar.
IAMGOLD Corporation (NYSE:IAG) is a leading gold producer with assets across Canada and West Africa. The company fully owns the Westwood project in Quebec, holds a 60 percent stake in the Côté Gold project in Ontario, and controls 90 percent of Essakane in Burkina Faso.
For this year, it targets gold production to hit between 735,000 and 820,000 ounces, focusing on maximizing Côté Gold’s potential.
9. BP PLC (NYSE:BP)
BP PLC extended its winning streak for a third straight day on Monday, adding 3.77 percent to close at $29.18 apiece following reports that it is being targeted for acquisition by its rival, Shell PLC.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Shell is currently in talks with advisers to evaluate its potential acquisition of BP PLC (NYSE:BP). However, it remains on the lookout for whether prices of oil and its stock will decline before it officially decides whether it will pursue a bid.
For several years, the two companies were almost equal in size until Shell outgrew BP PLC (NYSE:BP) by almost twice.
“As we have said many times before, we are sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline, and simplification,” Bloomberg quoted a Shell representative as saying.
BP PLC (NYSE:BP) declined to comment on the reports.
8. Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO)
Frontline PLC, a Cyprus-based oil shipping company, saw its share prices grow by 3.85 percent on Monday to close at $17.79 apiece, as investors snapped up shares following news that oil-producing countries agreed to ramp up production next month.
According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)+, members agreed to hike production by another 411,000 barrels per day after boosting production by the same amount this month.
Following the news, prices of Brent crude and WTI declined by 1.63 percent and 1.97 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, the move spelled good news for Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) as more oil production would result in further crude oil shipment orders.
Meanwhile, Frontline PLC (NYSE:FRO) is expected to release the results of its first quarter earnings performance on May 30.
Investment firm Zacks Research recently assigned the company a “strong buy” triggered by an upward trend in its earnings estimates.
7. Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART)
Maplebear Inc., operator of Instacart, grew its share prices by 4.14 percent on Monday to end at $47.09 apiece as investors cheered the company’s strong order volume in the first quarter of the year and optimism over its artificial intelligence adoption efforts.
Despite reporting disappointing profits in the first quarter of the year, investors cheered strong orders growth, jumping 14 percent to $83.2 million from $72.8 million year-on-year.
The figure helped propel the company’s revenues by 9.4 percent to $897 million from $820 million year-on-year, but failed to push its net income, which ended 18.5 percent lower at $106 million versus the $130 million registered in the same period last year.
Looking ahead, Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) said that its customers will see an AI-driven Instacart as the company continues to embrace the technology.
“Smart Shop, our new AI-powered personalization foundation, is another step in this direction. By combining proprietary shopping data, advanced machine learning, and LLM reasoning, we’re making shopping faster, easier, and more personal than ever,” it said.
6. Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAmerican:EQX)
Equinox Gold rallied by 3.99 percent on Monday to end at $6.52 each in line with the surge in gold prices and ahead of the release of its earnings performance on Wednesday, May 7.
According to the company, it is scheduled to announce the results of its operations after market close on Wednesday, followed by a conference call to elaborate on the highlights at 10:30 AM ET on Thursday, May 8.
Meanwhile, Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAmerican:EQX) surged in line with higher gold prices, which as of this writing were up by 2.76 percent at $3,329.86 per ounce.
In recent news, shareholders of Calibre Mining Corp. gave their green light for the company’s planned $1.8-billion merger with Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAmerican:EQX).
Under the transaction, Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAmerican:EQX) will acquire all of Calibre’s issued and outstanding shares.
Following the approval, Calibre will now seek a final order from the Supreme Court of British Columbia to approve the arrangement at a hearing expected to be held on Wednesday, May 6.
5. PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF)
PBF Energy, an oil refining company, saw its share prices rally by 5.19 percent on Monday to end at $18.44 apiece as investors cheered the company’s cost-saving measures to achieve profitability.
In its latest earnings release, PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) said it expects to save more than $200 million of annualized, run-rate sustainable cost savings by year-end 2025.
“Since then, we have generated over 500 cost savings ideas through more than 40 idea generation sessions. Our teams are building out these ideas with actionable, quantifiable, and measurable plans,” the company said.
As a result of the ongoing measures, PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) is now programming between $750 million and $775 million in capital expenditures. The amount excludes the costs to restore the fire damage to the Martinez Refinery last February.
In the first quarter of the year, PBF Energy Inc. (NYSE:PBF) swung to an attributable net loss of $401.8 million from a net income of $106.6 million in the same period last year. Revenues declined by 18 percent to $7.07 billion from $8.64 billion year-on-year.
4. Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL)
Hecla Mining grew its share prices by 5.51 percent on Monday to close at $4.79 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting following four straight days of decline, coupled with the surge in prices of precious metals.
As of this writing, spot prices of gold were up by 2.76 percent at $3,329.86 per ounce, while prices of Silver grew by 1.48 percent at $32.49 per ounce.
Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) is an Idaho-based company specializing in silver and gold production.
In recent news, Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL) entered into an agreement with Dolly Varden Silver Corporation for the latter’s plan to fully acquire the former’s Kinskuch property for $5 million.
According to Dolly Varden, it would issue more than 1.3 million shares to Hecla Mining Company (NYSE:HL), while the latter would retain a 2-percent net smelter return royalty on the property for acquisition.
3. Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN)
Lumen Technologies jumped by 11.9 percent on Monday to finish at $4.23 apiece as investors cheered the company’s bullish outlook and business recalibration, saying that it would now focus on growing and offering network services and officially dropping home internet, which does not sit well with its goals.
During the company’s shareholders meeting, Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) CEO Kate Johnson said that its network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform is gaining traction and disrupting the market.
“And when I say higher, like it’s an incredible rate,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “I don’t want to give it right now, but over the past 90 days, very, very significant growth. And what that suggests is that there’s a faster path to revenue for the cloud companies, partnering with Lumen to provide networking for their end customers.”
In the first quarter of the year, Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN) swung to a net loss of $201 million from a $57 million net income in the same period last year. Revenues dipped by 3.3 percent to $3.18 billion from $3.29 billion year-on-year.
2. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX)
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals jumped by 23.52 percent on Monday, a second straight day, ending the day at $11.03 apiece following its impressive earnings performance in the first quarter, coupled with a highly optimistic outlook for the rest of the year.
In a statement, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) said it swung to a net income of $32,000 from a net loss of $35.38 million in the same period a year earlier as revenues jumped by 57 percent to $145.5 million from $92.76 million year-on-year, thanks to the strong performance of its hereditary angioedema treatment, Orladeyo.
Looking ahead, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:BCRX) said it now expects to be fully profitable for the rest of the year ahead of its original target.
Revenues from Orladeyo alone were expected to settle between $580 million and $600 million, higher than the $535 million to $550 million targeted previously.
Full-year operating expenses were also targeted to settle only between $440 million and $450 million, from the previous $425 million to $435 million.
1. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX)
Skechers USA soared by 24.35 percent on Monday to end at $61.39 apiece as investors gobbled up shares following news that private equity firm 3G Capital is set to acquire the company for $9.4 billion.
In a statement, 3G Capital agreed to acquire shares of Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) at a price of $63 apiece. The price represented a premium of 30 percent to the shoemaker’s 15-day volume-weighted average stock price.
“With a proven track record, Skechers is entering its next chapter in partnership with the global investment firm 3G Capital. Given their remarkable history of facilitating the success of some of the most iconic global consumer businesses, we believe this partnership will support our talented team as they execute their expertise to meet the needs of our consumers and customers while enabling the company’s long-term growth,” said Skechers U.S.A., Inc. (NYSE:SKX) Chairman and CEO Robert Greenberg.
Greenberg will continue to lead the company even with the assumption of the new management.
While we acknowledge the potential of SKX 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 SKX 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. 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 address below.
