Key S&P 500 Movers This Monday
Gainers
- Following reports that Foxconn, a Taiwanese tech manufacturer, achieved record revenues in Q4 due to heightened demand for AI servers, semiconductor stocks were positively impacted. Notably, shares of Micron Technology (MU), which features in Nvidia’s (NVDA) advanced Blackwell AI technology, surged by 10.5%, making it the top performer in the S&P 500.
- Additionally, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) saw its shares jump 9.4%, bolstered by positive feedback from Lynx Equity. Analysts predict that Nvidia’s upcoming keynote at the CES conference, likely highlighting its latest Blackwell AI chips, could serve as a growth catalyst for Supermicro, essential due to Nvidia’s GPUs’ role in advanced server technology.
- Shares in Teradyne (TER) rose by 7.2% after Northland Securities upgraded its rating to “outperform” and increased its price target. Analysts suggest Teradyne is strongly positioned to capture market share as cloud computing companies rely on its testing platforms for application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), with ongoing shifts in the semiconductor landscape potentially driving demand for Teradyne’s testing solutions.
Decliners
- Axon Enterprise (AXON) saw the largest decline among S&P 500 stocks, dropping 5.1% to reach its lowest value since posting stronger-than-expected quarterly results last November. Despite today’s dip, Axon’s stock has still more than doubled in value over the past year due to interest in its AI solutions and substantial budgets in law enforcement technology.
- Shares of data analytics software company Palantir Technologies (PLTR) also dropped 5% as Morgan Stanley restarted coverage with an “underweight” rating. While some analysts acknowledged Palantir’s robust growth, they argued that the current valuation has already factored in its success, especially after the stock’s significant rise in 2024, when it was the top performer in the S&P 500.
- Essex Property Trust (ESS) shares fell 4% following a price target revision from Mizuho analysts. With a focus on multifamily apartments in the West Coast, Essex faces challenges from changing employment and rental trends, particularly in tech-centric regions like Northern California.
T-Mobile US Shares Decline After Downgrade
T-Mobile US (TMUS) shares slid Monday following downgrades from Wells Fargo and RBC Capital Markets analysts.
Wells Fargo downgraded T-Mobile’s rating from “overweight” to “equal weight,” while reducing its price target from $240 to $220.
The analysts noted that although T-Mobile is set to outpace rivals in subscriber and financial growth moving forward, its growth rate is slowing as the company transitions further past the Sprint integration synergies.
The analysts also mentioned that T-Mobile’s impressive subscriber and EBITDA growth rates are already reflected in its current valuation, making it less appealing compared to peers like AT&T and Verizon Communications.
Meanwhile, RBC Capital Markets analysts also downgraded their rating on T-Mobile to “sector perform” from “outperform,” and lowered their price target to $240 from $255.
T-Mobile US shares ended the day down 3.1% at $212.38. Over the past year, the stock has increased by 30%, slightly exceeding the overall performance of the S&P 500.
American Airlines Stock Rises Following Analyst Upgrades
Shares of American Airlines Group (AAL) saw a substantial increase on Monday after being upgraded by brokerage firms Jefferies and TD Cowen, which also raised their price targets for the airline’s stock.
Jefferies raised its rating to “buy” from “hold” and increased its price target to $20 from $12. The analysts expressed that American Airlines “could experience significant upside surprises in 2025” due to factors like “ongoing corporate share reclaim, reduced capacity, and capital expenditures,” alongside an upcoming exclusive credit card partnership with Citi.
TD Cowen also upgraded its rating to “buy” from “hold” on the same day, with a price target increase to $25 from $17.
“In hindsight, we may have been premature with our upgrade last year, and did not fully recognize the temporary nature of their challenges when we downgraded the shares in July,” stated TD Cowen’s Tom Fitzgerald, according to reports from Reuters.
American Airlines shares gained 4% to reach $17.65, nearly doubling from a four-year low of $9.07 recorded last August. Year-on-year, the stock has increased by 30%, which is lower than the growth seen by competitors United Airlines (UAL) and Delta Air Lines (DAL), which surged roughly 140% and 50%, respectively.
Plug Power Stock Continues to Rally
Shares of Plug Power (PLUG) experienced a significant uptick for a second consecutive session following the Treasury Department’s announcement regarding finalized regulations for tax credits aimed at clean hydrogen production.
These tax credits were established through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The Treasury indicated that the new rules include “significant changes that provide flexibilities to address several key issues, fostering growth within the industry and moving projects forward,” while adhering to emissions criteria set forth in the Act.
Officials noted that the modifications “clarify the criteria for hydrogen producers, including those employing electricity from various sources, natural gas with carbon capture, renewable natural gas (RNG), and coal mine methane to establish their credit eligibility.”
Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk remarked that these regulations “place us on a trajectory to accelerate the deployment of clean hydrogen,” unlocking new economic opportunities. Clean hydrogen encompasses processes and methodologies that produce hydrogen with minimal or no fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently, Plug Power shares climbed by 20%, adding to a 13% rise from Friday. Despite this rally, the stock has seen a 25% drop in value over the past year.
Bitcoin Surpasses $100K Again
Bitcoin surged past the $100,000 mark on Monday, achieving this milestone for the first time since December 19, after a period of significant volatility.
In the weeks post-U.S. presidential election, Bitcoin climbed over 50%, hitting an all-time peak of approximately $108,000 in mid-December, fueled by investor optimism regarding potential pro-cryptocurrency policies from the incoming Trump administration. However, the rally encountered resistance during the holiday season, leading to a decline to around $92,000.
Currently, the cryptocurrency is trading around $102,000, rebounding from an intraday low of about $98,000, with no significant news correlating with this turnaround.
One potential influence could be a shift in the inflow and outflow dynamics for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). After facing multiple days of substantial outflows, spot bitcoin ETFs registered inflows of $908.1 million on Friday, as per data from Farside Investors. Since December 19, shortly after Bitcoin crossed the $108,000 threshold, these ETFs have collectively seen around $1.9 billion in outflows.
Investments in spot bitcoin ETFs spur these funds to buy bitcoin, creating a demand that subsequently drives up cryptocurrency prices. Considerable demand through spot bitcoin ETFs greatly influenced bitcoin’s price surge at the beginning of last year and could do so again now.
“I initially anticipated a challenging period for the bitcoin ETFs given the dip below $100k (which seemed overdue), but instead, they returned aggressively with nearly $1 billion in inflows on Friday, reversing the weekly trend to positive,” stated Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on X.
MicroStrategy Stock Climbs After Latest Bitcoin Purchase, Capital Increase Announcement
Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR) rose on Monday as the company, one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin (BTCUSD), increased its stockpiles and revealed intentions to raise more funds for future acquisitions.
The firm acquired 1,070 bitcoins at an expenditure of $101 million, averaging around $94,004 per bitcoin, on December 30 and 31, based on a recent regulatory filing.
Currently, MicroStrategy holds approximately 447,470 bitcoins, valued at roughly $45 billion as prices for the cryptocurrency soared back above $102,000 on Monday.
This recent acquisition aligns with MicroStrategy’s plans disclosed Friday to raise as much as $2 billion over the next three years.
The funding efforts continue MicroStrategy’s previously announced “21/21” strategy, which aims to raise $42 billion in capital by issuing new stock and fixed-income securities to fund further bitcoin purchases.
Recently, MicroStrategy joined the Nasdaq 100 index in late December; however, there are ongoing concerns about the leverage risks and overall sustainability of the company’s bitcoin acquisition strategy, which contributed to a decline in its stock price over the past month.
