In a bustling midday trading session, several companies found themselves in the spotlight as stock movements captured investors’ attention across various sectors.
Semiconductor stocks took the lead, experiencing a significant rally. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is on track for its best quarterly performance on record, projected to surge by 70% in the second quarter. The ETF was last up more than 3% on the day, reflecting robust investor interest. Notable gainers in this sector included Astera Labs, which saw its shares increase by 7%, and KLA Corp, which experienced an 8% rise. Applied Materials also made headlines, with gains of 5%.
Turning to the materials sector, Watts Water Technologies, known for manufacturing water valves and hot-water solutions, saw its shares climb more than 7% following an upgrade to “overweight” by Barclays. The firm’s analysts highlighted that Watts is uniquely positioned to benefit from the increasing capital expenditures cycle in data centers, as the company expands its portfolio of products catering to plumbing, drainage, and cooling needs for these facilities.
In the biotech realm, U.S.-traded shares of French company Abivax soared by an impressive 40%. The surge followed the release of new data regarding its treatment for ulcerative colitis, which indicated that the malignancies were consistent with expected rates. Notably, over 37% of patients who initially did not respond to the treatment achieved clinical remission after about 10 months of administering a 50-milligram dose.
In renewable energy, shares of SolarEdge, a manufacturer of inverter systems, jumped 7% following a report from Reuters suggesting that the Trump administration is contemplating a ban on foreign inverter imports. Similarly, Enphase Energy saw a modest rise of 2%.
Air Products and Chemicals also experienced a notable uptick, with shares rising more than 8%. This increase came after the industrial gas manufacturer announced it would not proceed with its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex project, citing that the anticipated financial returns did not meet its investment criteria. The decision is expected to prompt up to $2.9 billion in pretax charges in the upcoming fiscal third quarter.
However, not all news was positive. Zimmer Biomet saw its shares drop by 7% after Pacira BioSciences disclosed plans to sell its Iovera pain therapy system to the company for $140 million. Additionally, AeroVironment reported a robust performance, with shares rallying about 17% after exceeding earnings and revenue expectations. The drone manufacturer reported earnings of $1.84 per share on revenue of $642 million, well above analyst forecasts.
Conversely, Digital Realty Trust fell nearly 5% following its agreement to acquire a stake in three fully leased data centers from Blackstone for $7.8 billion. Meanwhile, shares of Merck and AbbVie each declined by less than 1% after news emerged of a U.S. House committee investigation into potential involvement in trials conducted in China linked to military advancements.
The cryptocurrency sector reflected some volatility as well. Strategy, a crypto proxy stock, lost about 7%, reversing some of its gains from the previous session, where it surged 22.6%. Bitcoin also faced a downturn, dropping over 3% to approximately $58,430.
Sellas Life Sciences initially rallied but ultimately shed 4% in the day’s trading. The earlier 25% increase in stock price was attributed to the company revealing changes to employment agreements for several C-suite executives, revolving around severance benefits, a move that could signify routine updates or hint at potential takeover discussions.
