US Equities Surge: Top Trending Stocks and Analyst Picks of the Week

Trending stocks this week as U.S. equities notch their best week of 2024

Stocks notched their best week so far this year after a flurry of economic data rekindled hopes the economy will avoid a recession. Equities extended their advance into a seventh straight session, halting a streak of four weeks of losses that was in part driven by concern the Fed would not reduce borrowing costs fast enough to prevent a deeper slowdown. Data this week showing ebbing inflation bolstered confidence the Fed will be able to achieve a soft landing and led to a notable surge in market optimism. Wall Street's benchmark index S&P 500 (SP500) rallied over 4% this week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 surged more than 5%, the biggest gains for both indexes since November. Most megacaps gained, with Nvidia (NVDA) leading the charge. Gold also topped $2,500 for the first time amid hopes that the Fed is edging closer to cutting rates. With U.S. equities on the rebound and the Q2 earnings season coming to a close, these were some of the trending stocks this week: NVIDIA (NVDA) added 17% over the week, marking one of its most significant one-week increases in more than a year. The AI chipmaker is slated to release its Q2 results on Aug. 28, with consensus estimates calling for earnings per share of $0.64 on revenue of $28.54B. Multiple drugmakers were in focus after the U.S. government announced on Thursday the final prices for the first 10 Medicare Part D drugs negotiated under the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act. Merck's (MRK) diabetes medication Januvia faces a 79% price cut, the steepest discount in percentage terms. Novo Nordisk's (NVO) (OTCPK:NONOF) insulin therapy Fiasp followed with a 76% discount, while AstraZeneca's (AZN) diabetes therapy Farxiga has faced a 68% cut. Sea Ltd (SE) jumped nearly 18.5% this week after the company reported solid second quarter results that reflected growth in all its business segments. Revenue topped estimates, aided by strength in its e-commerce units. The Singapore-based company, which operates the e-commerce platform Shopee, was also upgraded to "overweight" by J.P. Morgan on expectations of a material improvement in e-commerce profitability. Kellanova (K) closed the week 8.5% higher, buoyed by Mars' $39.5B acquisition of the packaged food company. The acquisition, valued at $83.50 per share, is expected to close in the first half of 2025. CNBC's David Faber said the only potential antitrust overlap for the deal is snack bars, where the combined company will control more than a quarter of the market. Walmart (WMT) was up 7.5% in the five-day trading period and reached a record high during the week, after the retail giant lifted its annual outlook and said all parts of the business were clicking. Comparable sales in the U.S. topped the consensus estimates, and e-commerce sales rose 21% during the quarter. Notably, global advertising business grew approximately 26%. Cisco Systems (CSCO) climbed 8.5% this week after its Q4 results topped estimates as its recent acquisition added nearly $1B in revenue. The company also reported plans to reduce its global workforce by about 7% and a strategic shift towards AI and cybersecurity. Nike (NKE) saw its longest winning streak in more than eight years as billionaire investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management revealed a new stake of approximately 3M shares in the company, valued at around $229M. The rally will likely extend as more Wall Street analysts point to a turnaround at the company that is slowly starting to take hold. Starbucks (SBUX) rallied 24% as investors reacted very favorably to the CEO switch at the Seattle-based coffee chain giant. The company on Tuesday announced that it is replacing CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) CEO Brian Niccol. Niccol will take the new job almost immediately. Victoria's Secret (VSCO) gained 20% over the week after the lingerie retailer reported preliminary adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter that exceeded the average analyst estimate. The company also named Hillary Super, who was chief executive officer of Rihanna's lingerie brand, as its CEO. Rocket Lab USA (RKLB) advanced 21% after the aerospace firm successfully packed and shipped two Mars-bound spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, Florida in preparation for launch. Shares rallied 14.6% in Friday morning trading and notched a new 52-week high of $7.09. B.Riley Financial (RILY) had an eventful week, with shares falling 52% on Monday, 34% over the week, after the company said it is suspending its common dividend to focus on reducing its debt. The financial services platform also expected a Q2 net loss of $433M-$475M, or $14-$15 per share, due mostly to losses from its investment in Franchise Group ("FRG") and its Vintage Capital loan receivable. Shares were further hammered as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into whether B. Riley (RILY) properly disclosed risks associated with some of its assets.

Notable analyst calls this week: WBD, Medtronic and Dell among top picks

The S&P500 (SP500) closed in the green on Friday, after an eventful week that saw some encouraging economic data as well as earnings reports from companies including Walmart, Alibaba and Applied Materials. For the week, the Nasdaq (COMP:IND) gained 4.9%, while Dow (DJI) advanced 3%. Wall Street had a slew of upgrades and downgrades from analysts. Here are some of the major calls for the week: Bernstein downgrades Warner Bros. Discovery after 'disappointing' quarter Bernstein downgraded rating on Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to "market perform" from "outperform," citing a long road to recovery following a "disappointing" second quarter report. "This is quite disappointing given the quality of WBD's IPs and studios," it said. The brokerage, which also PT was lowered by $2 to $8, called it the worst performer among its peers, along with Paramount Global. The stock has lost 6% since its Q2 results. Dell in spotlight ahead of quarterly results Barclays upgraded Dell Technologies (DELL) to Equal-Weight, saying AI should benefit the company's overall top-line growth. However, analyst Tim Long has some concerns about the enterprise server and storage businesses. J.P. Morgan also reiterated its Overweight rating on Dell and placed the stock on its Analyst Focus List as a value pick, ahead of quarterly results on August 29. Wells Fargo noted that AI server monetization and backlog expansion, versus margin concerns, would be a key focus in Dell's quarterly results. The firm kept its Overweight rating on Dell but reduced PT to $150 from $175. Bernstein analyst led by Toni Sacconaghi, Jr. also said even though the company's Q1 results were disappointing, they continue to think that Dell's near term AI server revenues could significantly exceed expectations. The firm has an Outperform rating on the stock. New Street upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and set a PT of $57, noting that cyclical headwinds are now behind and Cisco is returning to growth. HSBC has upgraded Cisco to Buy from Hold and raised PT to $58 from $46. The firm expects Cisco's non-GAAP EPS to rise at a Compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 11.6% over CY24-27. Deutsche Bank calls Eli Lilly 'high growth unicorn' Deutsche Bank raised its recommendation on Eli Lilly (LLY) to Buy from Hold, calling the drugmaker a "high growth unicorn" following its Q2 beat-and-raise results. DB analyst James said the earnings beat "helped settle some nerves in a volatile macro backdrop," with the stock set to outperform for its "high growth outlook and low beta." JPM turns bullish on Sea Ltd on solid results J.P. Morgan upgraded ratings on Sea Ltd (SE) to overweight from neutral, saying all three major business segments are likely to drive positive earnings revisions and anticipate material improvement in e-commerce profitability. JPM also hiked PT by $24 to $90. Stifel not convinced with Medtronic's growth outlook; UBS is bullish Stifel has downgraded from Medtronic (MDT) to Hold, saying innovation-pipeline opportunities were taking longer than expected, while many divisions faced "growth-limiting competitive challenges. The firm lowered PT for the stock to $85 from $100. Meanwhile, UBS upgraded the MedTech giant to Neutral from its previous rating of Sell, citing a potential turnaround in the company's diabetes segment. Wall Steet analysts positive after Alibaba's earnings Alibaba (BABA) was in the spotlight after the Chinese e-commerce giant posted mixed quarterly results. Bernstein rated the stock Market-Perform and raised PT to $85 from $80, noting that the first quarter was "a mixed bag." BofA Securities also maintained Buy rating, citing improving growth outlook entering into the second half of fiscal 2025, attractive valuation and solid investor return execution. Truist maintained Buy rating but lowered PT by $10 to $100, saying Q1 results showed sustained operational execution against a tough macro environment. Other than the companies mentioned above, there were other analysts actions including Lumen Technologies (LUMN), which was downgraded by Wells Fargo from Equal Weight to Underweight, saying that it does not expect a favorable risk/reward tradeoff when compared to the peers.