Stocks Rise as Major Indexes on Track for 3rd Straight Week of Gains; Oracle Soars on Earnings, Boeing Slides After India Crash

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Thursday

15 minutes ago

Advancers

Oracle (ORCL) shares skyrocketed 13.3%, gaining the most of any S&P 500 stock, after the enterprise software giant posted better-than-expected quarterly sales and profits. Cloud infrastructure revenue surged 52% year-over-year to $3 billion, and Oracle said it expects growth in its cloud infrastructure segment to exceed 70% in fiscal 2026. Following the upbeat sales outlook, analysts at Deutsche Bank and KeyBanc lifted their price targets on Oracle stock.
Gold prices rose, boosted by a tense geopolitical backdrop and optimism that interest-rate cuts could be forthcoming from the Federal Reserve. Shares of Newmont (NEM), the world’s largest gold producer by volume, jumped 4.9% on Thursday.
Medical products distributor Cardinal Health (CAH) lifted its full-year profit forecast and increased its long-term growth expectations for its Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment. During its investor day event, Cardinal also announced several strategic initiatives, including the launch of a new multi-specialty Management Services Organization platform, investments in biopharma solutions, and plans for a new distribution center. Cardinal Health shares added 4.6%.

Decliners

Boeing (BA) shares lost 4.8%, logging the S&P 500’s weakest performance on Thursday, after one of the manufacturer’s 787-8 aircraft carrying more than 200 passengers crashed in India. Shares of GE Aerospace (GE), which supplied the plane’s engine, and Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems (SPR) also lost ground.
Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN), operator of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, slipped 3.8% as the price of Bitcoin (BTCUSD) slid. Last month, Coinbase became the first crypto-native company to join the S&P 500, replacing Discover Financial Services after the credit card issuer’s merger with Capital One (COF).
Shares of marketing and corporate communications firm Omnicom (OMC) fell 2.9%. Omnicom’s proposed merger with Interpublic Group (IPG), which would form the world’s largest advertising company, remains under the regulatory microscope. The New York Times on Thursday reported that the Federal Trade Commission might condition its merger approval on the combined entity promising it won’t boycott platforms for their political leanings

-Michael Bromberg

AMD Unveils Latest Chips With OpenAI Among Its Customers

1 hr 3 min ago

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) unveiled its next-generation MI400 chips at its “Advancing AI” event Thursday. The chip isn’t expected to launch until 2026, but it already has some high-profile customers, including OpenAI. 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined AMD CEO Lisa Su onstage Thursday to highlight the ChatGPT developer’s partnership with AMD on AI infrastructure and announce that it will make use of the MI400 series.

“When you first started telling me about the specs, I was like, there’s no way, that just sounds totally crazy,” Altman said. “It’s gonna be an amazing thing.”

AMD said it counts Meta (META), xAI, Oracle (ORCL), Microsoft (MSFT), Astera Labs (ALAB), and Marvell Technology (MRVL) among its partners as well.

AMD showcased its AI server rack architecture at the event, which will combine MI400 chips into one larger system known as Helios. The company compared it to rival Nvidia’s (NVDA) Vera Rubin, also expected in 2026.3

The event also brought the launch of AMD’s Instinct MI350 Series GPUs, which it claims offers four times more computing power than its previous generation. 

Shares of AMD slid about 2% Thursday, putting the stock back into negative territory for 2025. The stock has, however, gained about 50% since hitting a 52-week low in early April.

-Andrew Kessel

S&P 500 Companies Have Record Stock Buyback Potential

1 hr 17 min ago

S&P 500 companies have authorized a record $750 billion in stock buybacks so far this year.

Executives spent nearly $300 billion of that on repurchases in the first quarter when trade uncertainty plunged stocks into correction territory.

Buybacks, by supplementing demand from individual and institutional investors, have the potential to support stock prices during drawdowns like those seen earlier this year. 

But a buyback authorization doesn’t guarantee shares will be repurchased. Market conditions, valuations, and management teams’ priorities together determine whether buybacks happen.

The tech companies that have accounted for the bulk of buybacks so far this year have committed to dramatically increase their AI investments, a potential headwind for buybacks later this year.

Read the full article here.

-Colin Laidley

GameStop Stock Loses More Than a Fifth of Its Value

2 hr 7 min ago

GameStop (GME) shares plunged Thursday, a day after the video-game retailer announced a new fundraising effort.

The company late yesterday said it was planning to offer $1.75 billion in convertible notes, with another $250 million open to those who buy in first. The announcement came a day after GameStop reported a 17% year-over-year decline in first-quarter sales, which caused shares to fall more than 5% in Wednesday trading.

The new convertible note offering aligns with the retailer’s previously stated plans to raise new money to allow it to buy bitcoin, after adding the cryptocurrency to its corporate investment policy in March.

Last month, GameStop disclosed that it had purchased 4,710 bitcoin, worth slightly more than $500 million at the cryptocurrency’s current price of roughly $107,000. GameStop said it plans to use the new funds for “general corporate purposes, including making investments in a manner consistent with GameStop’s Investment Policy and potential acquisitions.”

GameStop shares fell 22% on Thursday, closing at their lowest level since early April.

-Aaron McDade

Larry Ellison Jumps to Second on List of World’s Richest

2 hr 33 min ago

Oracle shares rallied to a record high on Thursday, moving co-founder Larry Ellison  ahead of two other tech multi-billionaires for the spot of the world’s second-richest person.

According to Forbes’ billionaire index, Ellison’s gain of at least $26 billion from Thursday’s rally moved him past Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos and Meta Platforms (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, putting his net worth at $243 billion.

Zuckerberg is worth roughly $239 billion, above Bezos, who stands at $227 billion, according to Forbes. None of the three founders come close to Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk’s net worth above $400 billion.

The estimated net worth of all four men depends to varying degrees on the stock prices of their respective companies, depending on how much of the company they still own. Ellison owns 41% of Oracle (ORCL), according to Forbes, and is still its chief technology officer and board chair, but stepped away from the chief executive officer role in 2014.

Oracle shares rose Thursday after the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter results topped estimates after the bell Wednesday. Analysts cheered the latest results, with several lifting their price targets for Oracle stock after hearing the company’s “stunning” growth projections.

Oracle shares closed 13% higher, earlier hitting a record high of above $202.

-Aaron McDade

Micron to Spend $200B to Boost Domestic Chip Output

3 hr 27 min ago

Micron Technology (MU) on Thursday became the latest major corporation to announce plans to expand domestic production following President Donald Trump’s call for firms to boost American manufacturing.

The chipmaker and the Trump administration said Micron will boost its U.S. investments to about $150 billion in memory manufacturing and $50 billion in research and development (R&D). 

Micron explained that most of the money would be used for “two leading-edge high-volume fabs in Idaho, up to four leading-edge high-volume fabs in New York, the expansion and modernization of its existing manufacturing fab in Virginia,” as well as advanced high-bandwith memory (HBM) packaging capabilities.

The company noted that it has already received federal, state, and local funding for the Idaho, New York, and Virginia fab work, including up to $6.4 billion from the CHIPS and Science Act. Micron added it expects all of the investments will be eligible for federal Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit.

CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that this expansion “will reinforce America’s technological leadership, create tens of thousands of American jobs across the semiconductor ecosystem and secure a domestic supply of semiconductors—critical to economic and national security.”

This week, General Motors (GM) announced it would spend $4 billion to increase vehicle production at three U.S. plants. Earlier this year, chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) said it planned to invest $100 billion in U.S.-based chip manufacturing facilities, and Apple (AAPL) announced plans to spend more than $500 billion domestically over the next four years.

Shares of Micron Technology were little changed today but are up 38% this year, trading at their highest level since last July.

-Bill McColl

Oracle’s ‘Stunning’ Targets Prompt Bullish Analyst Calls

4 hr 37 min ago

Oracle said it expects “dramatically higher” revenue growth in its current fiscal year, prompting several analysts to lift their price targets.

KeyBanc said Oracle’s growth projections were “stunning” in a note to clients following the company’s quarterly results and raising its price target to $225 from $200. 

The bank pointed to comments from CEO Safra Catz that Oracle expects cloud infrastructure growth to increase from 50% in fiscal 2025 to more than 70% in fiscal 2026. Catz also called for a doubling in remaining performance obligations, a measure of revenue from contracts that has yet to be realized.

Deutsche Bank went even further, moving from $200 to $240 and calling Oracle’s results a “watershed cloud moment.” UBS meanwhile raised its target to $225 and Jefferies moved to $220, both from $200.

“Oracle is clearly winning on several fronts, most of which we believe is still largely under appreciated,” Deutsche Bank said. 

Shares of Oracle were up 13% at $200 in recent trading.

-Andrew Kessel

Wedbush Calls Oklo ‘Clear Leader’ in Nuclear Sector

5 hr 55 min ago

After Oklo (OKLO) won a Department of Defense contract on Wednesday to supply power to an Air Force base in Alaska, analysts from Wedbush said the nuclear energy startup is set to be a “clear leader” as demand for nuclear energy increases.

The analysts lifted their price target to $75 from $55 previously, as they said the nuclear energy industry recently got a “significant tailwind” from President Donald Trump’s executive orders signed last month.

“The AI Revolution is driving significant demand for clean energy to power AI initiatives with necessary computing power expected to grow 10x by 2030,” the analysts wrote. They said Oklo is “in a great position to capitalize on this elevated demand and differentiate itself from competition with its attractive build, own, and operate business model.”

Oklo and other nuclear stocks have been lifted over the last year as projections have grown for the power demand that an increasing number of data centers  will require.

The Wedbush analysts said that Wednesday’s announcement provides another avenue for Oklo to generate revenue, as the Department of Defense could give the company future contracts for its smaller “powerhouse” reactors to power other military bases as it looks to quadruple nuclear energy production.

Oklo shares were up about 2% in recent trading, after surging nearly 30% to a record close on Wednesday. The stock has more than tripled since the start of the year.

-Aaron McDade

Where Traders See Adobe Shares Going After Earnings

6 hr 48 min ago

Design software developer Adobe (ADBE) is slated to report fiscal second-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Thursday, and investors are expecting a relatively modest share movement to follow.

Options pricing through the close of trading Wednesday suggested traders anticipate Adobe stock to move about 6.6% in either direction the day after its earnings report. The stock was up 0.7% in early-afternoon trading Thursday.

Adobe stock has registered an average post-earnings move of 12.6% over the past four quarters, and fell in three of those instances. A 6.6% gain or loss on Friday would represent the stock’s smallest post-earnings move since December 2023. 

In March, shares dropped nearly 14% the day after Adobe reported record quarterly revenue but issued an outlook that underwhelmed investors. In December, it was a similar story: a worse-than-expected forecast sent shares tumbling more than 13%. 

Most analysts are bullish on Adobe’s long-term outlook. Of the 17 Adobe analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 10 rate the stock a “buy,” six are neutral, and one rates it a “sell.” The average price target of about $477, which is 15% above current levels.

Morgan Stanley analysts earlier this week said investor concerns about Adobe’s long-term competitiveness and generative AI opportunity should help Adobe “step over a low bar” when results come out Wednesday. The bank assigns the stock an “overweight” rating and an above-consensus price target of $510.

-Andrew Kessel

Oracle Jumps to Record High on Strong Earnings

8 hr 32 min ago

Oracle (ORCL) shares surged Thursday morning, a day after the tech giant’s fiscal fourth-quarter results topped analysts’ estimates.

CEO Safra Catz said the company’s fiscal 2025 was a “very good year,” but said she believes fiscal 2026 “will be even better as our revenue growth rates will be dramatically higher.”

The report, released after Wednesday’s closing bell, made several analysts more bullish on Oracle, as the average price target compiled by Visible Alpha is about $194, up roughly $20 from what it was on Wednesday morning, hours before the earnings report was released.

Oracle shares were up 14% recently at around $201, trading at a record high and leading S&P 500 advancers.

-Aaron McDade

Watch These Quantum Computing Stock Price Levels

9 hr 30 min ago

Quantum Computing (QUBT) shares lost ground in early trading Thursday after surging to their highest level since December on yesterday following Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s bullish remarks about the emerging technology.

Shares of quantum computing companies shot higher after Huang said the industry is “reaching an inflection point,” adding that he expects quantum computing to be able to solve some interesting problems in the coming years. The Nvidia (NVDA) chief’s comments struck a more optimistic tone that earlier this year when he said the technology was 15 to 30 years away. 

Quantum Computing shares, which traded below $1 dollar a year ago, gained 25% on Wednesday, putting the stock back into positive territory for 2025. The company last month said it had finished construction of its Quantum Photonic Chip Foundry in Tempe, Ariz., and that it had deepened its engagement with both government and commercial partners amid growing interest in its photonic and quantum optics technology.

After retracing to the 200-day moving average (MA), Quantum Computing shares trended higher before forming a rectangle, a chart formation signaling a continuation of the stock’s longer-term strong uptrend.

That move higher started earlier this week, with the stock breaking out from the formation on the highest daily trading volume since mid-December. Moreover, the relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum, though the indicator also flashes overbought conditions, potentially leading to short-term pullbacks.

Investors should watch major overhead areas on Quantum Computing’s chart around $27 and $37.50, while also monitoring key support levels near $15 and $9.

The stock was was down 1.5% at $18.50 in early trading Thursday.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

-Timothy Smith

Boeing, GE Drop After 787-8 Crashes in India

9 hr 57 min ago

Boeing (BA) shares slumping in premarket trading after a 787-8 aircraft was involved in an Air India plane crash early Thursday.

The Air India Flight 171, which was carrying 242 passengers, was departing the western Indian city of Ahmedabad for London Gatwick airport and crashed “after take off,” Air India said in a post on the X social media platform. It departed the Indian city at 1:38 p.m. local time, the airline said.

“We are in contact with Air India regarding Flight 171 and stand ready to support them. Our thoughts are with the passengers, crew, first responders and all affected,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement to Investopedia.

GE Aerospace, which provides engines for many Boeing aircraft, including the 787, also said it is ready to support the crash probe. “We have activated our emergency response team, and we are prepared to support our customer and the investigation,” the company said in a post on X.

The 787 model, popularly known as the Dreamliner, has never had a fatal accident in its nearly 14 years in service, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Boeing’s reputation took a hit last year following a series of mishaps at its planes, including a door plug detaching in midair on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight in January. Earlier this month, the plane maker agreed to settle a Justice Department case related to two fatal 737 Max crashes that claimed the lives of more than 300 people.

Boeing shares were down 6% in recent premarket trading but are up 20% so far this year through Wednesday. Shares in other makers of Dreamliner parts also lost ground: Engine maker GE Aerospace (GE) shares were down more than 2%, as were those of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings (SPR), which Boeing is in the process of reacquiring.

-Nisha Gopalan

Major Stock Index Futures Down Slightly

10 hr 18 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4%.

S&P 500 futures were off 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.2%.