This past week was choppy for financial markets, with the Nasdaq ending the week down about 1 percent. With the absence of new, positive catalysts, financial markets may be gripped by uncertainty stemming from the upcoming election and the fact there has been no agreement from Washington on more stimulus to help power the economy, which may be flashing warning signs as retail sales in August showed signs of losing momentum. Additionally, the lack of excitement in the markets may also be due to retail investors and day traders being called back to their jobs as the economy continues to open back up. In fact, some analysts think that retail investors played a big part in the market’s dizzy rally this past summer.
Here are the week’s biggest winners and losers from the Nasdaq:
MRNA +9.7%: Moderna, the biotech company that’s in the running to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, surged nearly 10 percent, as investors reacted positively to the company’s announcement of further progress on the vaccine, as well as its announcement of pursuing a flu medication and updating its product pipeline. The stock is up 263.34% YTD.
ZM +8.7%: Zoom rose nearly 9 percent this week, as investors may be buying the dip. The stock is up 538.43% YTD.
ILMN -16%: Illumina Inc, the manufacturer of systems for large scale genetic analysis, tumbled 16 percent this week, mainly due to its announcement of acquiring Grail Inc. which filed for an IPO last week. The stock is down nearly 10% YTD.
SIRI -9.5%: SiriusXM, the broadcasting company, declined by 9.5 percent this week, after the CEO and CFO announced that they were leaving the company. The stock is down 27.22% YTD.
Other Market Movers:
This past week saw a slew of IPOs take place, with Snowflake (SNOW), the data warehouse company, turning heads by surging 112% on its first day of trading. On whether this meteoric rise was justified, one analyst pointed out that “it’s impossible to short-sell IPOs, so the first-day returns are driven by sheer speculation and optimistic buyers who may or may not do their homework on any given deal. There’s no upper limit on forces like that.”
For more on IPOs, here is a list of all recent and upcoming ones.
Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as financial or investment advice. It is not an endorsement of any company or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. Investors should determine for themselves whether a particular security or product is suitable for their investment needs or should seek such professional advice for their particular situation
