Hot or Not, Stock Market Edition: 05/16/2025

What’s on the up? What’s downtrending? Here’s what we’re following RN…

• HOT: Exelixis (EXEL) gains big after exceeding earnings estimates; Carvana (CVNA) continues to surge 
• NOT: Aurora Innovation (AUR) drops in sympathy to companies it depends on; a puse in Tempus AI’s (TEM) post-earnings rally

P.S. For more stocks on the move, check out our Zen Ratings Upgrades & Downgrades screener.

🔥 HOT: Shares of Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL) gained 20.8% on Wednesday after the company exceeded Wall Street’s expectations by reporting a quarterly EPS 51.6% higher than consensus estimates. Exelixis also beat its revenue projections by 11.2% ($55.8 million) and maintained its guidance for the remainder of 2025. Our research gives EXEL A ratings in Value and Financials and B ratings in Growth and Sentiment. Our overall picture on EXEL is quite bullish, and we give the stock an A Zen Rating and a Strong Buy recommendation.

🥶 NOT: Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ: AUR) lost 6.3% on Wednesday after losing 7.7% on Tuesday due to concerns over Uber’s exchangeable notes sale. Uber owns a substantial amount of Aurora shares and, even though it’s no longer a majority shareholder, Uber’s plan to raise capital has enough weight to influence Aurora’s value. We’ll cut right to the chase, Aurora’s sensitivity to other companies — most notably Uber and Nvidia — makes it a riskier stock to hold than we feel comfortable with. We give AUR an F Zen Rating and a Strong Sell recommendation. The stock’s Value, Growth, and Financials ratings are all D, and we don’t see enough upside to warrant its elevated volatility.

🔥 HOT: Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) is surging once again. The momentum stock closed Wednesday at $305.52 per share, its highest closing price since October of 2021. With the stock breaking the last swing high between its current price and its all-time high, investors are piling into CVNA, creating a momentum surge that’s seen it gain 30% in a little over two weeks. Our internal analysis rates CVNA highly, with an A rating in Sentiment (here’s why “Smart Money” matters) and B ratings in Growth and Financials. We give CVNA a B Zen Rating and a Buy recommendation.

🥶 NOT: Tempus AI’s (NASDAQ: TEM) stock dropped by 6.0% on Wednesday in a break from its recent post-earnings rally. The company recently inked a deal with Boehringer Ingelheim to use its AI research to improve Boehringer’s cancer drug development pipeline. While that all sounds like good news, TEM is the kind of stock that turns on a dime, making it unsuitable for all but the most risk-tolerant investors. We give TEM a C Zen Rating and a Hold recommendation. Tempus’ growth potential is solid (A rating), but its Safety and Sentiment scores are both D.

What to Do Next?

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