Hot or Not: Stock Market Edition [10/17/2024]

The stock market is never dull. Today, we’re stalking a battery company that could use a recharge and more: 

Symbol: DJIA 🔥 

Price: 43,077.70

Change: +337.28

% Change: +0.79

Symbol: Nasdaq 🔥 

Price: 18,367.08

Change: +51.49

% Change: +0.28

Symbol: S&P 500 🔥 

Price: 5,842.47

Change: +27.21 

% Change:  +0.47

* As of market close yesterday

🔥 HOT: Small modular reactor (SMR) company Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) gained 42.0% on Wednesday after Amazon announced that it was exploring its options to use nuclear power to fuel its ever-increasing energy needs. Google said something similar lately regarding using SMRs to power its AI data centers. Oklo has now gained nearly 200% since the beginning of September and is up 56% YTD.

🥶 NOT: Stride Inc (NYSE: LRN) fell by 24.9% on Wednesday after analysis from Fuzzy Panda Research suggested that the stock was heading for major losses. Stride responded to the analysis by pointing out that Fuzzy Panda’s report was not accurate and designed to trigger a selloff. Fuzzy Panda is a short seller and stands to gain if LRN drops. Despite Wednesday’s loss, LRN remains up 7.7% YTD.

🔥 HOT: Precious mineral mining company Idaho Strategic Resources (NYSE: IDR) gained 15.6% on Wednesday, recouping almost all of its losses from last week. Investors rushed to sell their shares after the company announced that it was planning on selling $15 million worth of shares to Roth Capital Partners. It appears as if those fears were unwarranted, though, since IDR is now trading just 3% below its previous high.

🥶 NOT: Silicon lithium-ion battery manufacturer Enovix (NASDAQ: ENVX) lost 7.0% on Wednesday after an SEC filing revealed that the company’s CLO sold 35,000 shares. Enovix has struggled this year, losing 7.3% YTD and 40.6% since its high-water mark on July 16th.

📈 Want more? Check out the biggest winners and biggest losers on WSZ. 

Strong Buys: Top Picks from Top Wall Street Analysts 

Lucky you! High quality stock ideas, selected from Wall Street’s top analysts. Access to these picks is a premium feature on our site, but we’ve unlocked a FREE sampling below: 

Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) 

Analyst/Firm: Tami Zakaria / JP Morgan

Analyst ranking: Top 8% / average return +17.59% / win rate 64%  

Yesterday’s market close: $393.62

Price target: $500.00 

• Maintaining a Strong Buy rating, JP Morgan's Tami Zakaria raised their price target on Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) by 14.9% from $435 to $500 on 10/14, ahead of the company’s expected earnings report on 10/29. 
• In a preview note, Zakaria said that contrary to Morgan Stanley, which downgraded the stock, their firm, JPMorgan, "believes multiple expansion is warranted because Caterpillar is set to grow earnings this year even though a third of its end markets are going through a downturn."
• Looking ahead, the analyst told readers that Caterpillar's FY 2025 earnings will probably be flattish to modestly up before returning to growth in 2026, meaning that "Caterpillar should be trading near a trough cycle multiple."
• See why 12 analysts rate CAT a consensus Buy.

1-year chart for CAT, courtesy TradingView

Amer Sports Inc. (NYSE: AS) 

Analyst/Firm: John Kernan / TD Cowen

Analyst ranking: Top 8% / average return +10.16% / win rate 60% 

Yesterday’s market close:  $18.62

Price target: $21.00 

• Maintaining a Strong Buy rating, TD Cowen's John Kernan raised their price target on Amer Sports (NYSE: AS) by 23.5% from $17 to $21 on 10/15.
• Kernan said they raised their price target hike because "management's execution globally supports the acceleration implied in its 2H 2024 guidance for Arc'teryx and Salomon."
• See why analysts believe AS has up to 16% upside potential in the next year.

1-year chart for AS, courtesy TradingView

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK)

Analyst/Firm: Benjamin Budish / Barclays

Analyst ranking: Top 2% / average return +21.51% / win rate 83% 

Yesterday’s market close: $1,015.75

Price target: $1,120.00 

• Maintaining a Strong Buy rating, Barclays's Benjamin Budish raised their price target on BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) by 10.9% from $1,010 to $1,120 following the company’s 10/11 earnings report. 
• Raising their price target, Budish summarized Blackrock's results by saying that the company delivered a strong earnings beat on performance fees and margins that were better than expected.
• See 12 analyst ratings for BLK here.

1-year chart for BLK, courtesy TradingView

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