Moderna Surges on Upgrade by Oppenheimer
Moderna, the drugmaker, experienced a 13.1% jump in its stock price after Oppenheimer upgraded it to outperform. The firm predicts that Moderna’s multiple product launches over the next year and a half will contribute to sales growth in 2025. This comes after a significant decline of over 40% in 2023.
Apple Faces Downgrade from Barclays
Tech giant Apple saw a 3.6% decrease in its stock price following a downgrade by Barclays. The downgrade was due to poor volumes of iPhone 15s, as well as underperformance in Macs, iPads, and wearables.
Rise of Casino and Resort Companies
Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, American casino and resort companies, experienced an increase in their stock prices. Wynn Resorts rose by 3.8%, while Las Vegas Sands advanced by 4.3%.
Tapestry Receives Positive Recommendation from JPMorgan
Luxury brand owner Tapestry saw a 3.7% surge in its stock price after JPMorgan added it to its “Analyst Focus List” as a value idea. The firm expects Tapestry’s bottom-line growth to accelerate.
Citigroup Gains on Price Target Increase
Citigroup shares increased by 3.1% after Wells Fargo raised its price target for the bank. Analyst Mike Mayo believes that the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cuts and Citigroup’s restructuring initiatives will drive the stock price up.
Cruise Stocks Decline
Cruise stocks, which performed well in 2023, fell collectively on the first trading day of 2024. Carnival shares dropped by 6.7%, Royal Caribbean Group slid by 7.2%, and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings experienced a decline of 8.9%.
GoodRx Faces Downgrade from Bank of America
Telemedicine stock GoodRx tumbled by about 16.1% after Bank of America downgraded it to underperform. The downgrade was attributed to increased competition from large pharmacy benefits managers.
Chinese EV Makers Experience Stock Decline
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese electric vehicle makers Li Auto, Nio, and XPeng all saw declines after releasing their latest delivery numbers. Li Auto dropped by 7.6%, Nio slid by 7.2%, and XPeng declined by 3.8%.
Baidu’s Acquisition Halt Impacts Stock Price
Shares of Chinese tech giant Baidu fell by 3.2% after it announced the discontinuation of its acquisition of Joyy’s live-streaming business in China. Shares of Joyy plunged by 14.7%.
Semiconductor Stocks Experience Downturn
Stocks related to the semiconductor industry faced declines during midday trading. Intel slid by 4.9%, Advanced Micro Devices fell by nearly 6%, Applied Materials dropped by 4.8%, and Lam Research declined by 4.3%. The downturn was a result of ASML, a Netherlands-based semiconductor company, being blocked from exporting some chipmaking tools to China by the Dutch government.
Rivian Automotive Drops Despite Upgrade
The electric vehicle stock Rivian Automotive experienced a decline of 10.1%. This comes even after Evercore ISI upgraded it to outperform, stating that it could be the “next Tesla.”
Coinbase Stock Decreases Despite Bitcoin Surge
Shares of crypto trading platform Coinbase dropped by 9.8% despite the rise of bitcoin to over $45,000 for the first time since April 2022.
Hot Take: Market Volatility Continues as Stocks React to Upgrades and Downgrades
The stock market continues to experience volatility as various companies face upgrades and downgrades from analysts. While some stocks have surged on positive recommendations, others have declined due to concerns about product performance or competition. The semiconductor industry has been particularly affected, with multiple stocks facing declines. It remains to be seen how these developments will impact the overall market in the long term.