Wednesday wasn't a good day for the stock market, as investors responded to the latest news from the Federal Reserve. The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee decided to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday afternoon, and it also said it anticipates a faster pace of future increases than investors had expected to see. Major market benchmarks fell between 0.5% and 1% on the day, but some stocks managed to hold onto solid gains. Among the best performers were NVIDIA (NVDA 2.45%), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB 1.66%), and Nordson (NDSN 0.30%). Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
Image source: NVIDIA.
NVIDIA gets an upgrade
NVIDIA climbed 6% after the graphics and specialty semiconductor chip manufacturer got an upgrade from analysts at Evercore ISI. The analyst company boosted its rating on the stock from hold to buy, and it also increased its price target from $87 per share to $120. Even though NVIDIA has also produced amazing performance in 2016, more than doubling from year-ago figures, Evercore believes that the semiconductor industry in general is going through a positive cyclical upturn. Moreover, given NVIDIA's exposure to the data center arena as well as the use of its chips for machine learning applications, the chip giant could have further to climb if the economy continues to expand into 2017 and beyond.
Red Robin looks tasty
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers also picked up 6% in the wake of a favorable analyst opinion. Analysts at B of A Merrill Lynch upgraded the restaurant stock from underperform to neutral after Red Robin named executive Guy Constant as its new CFO. With Constant having come from one of Red Robin's casual-dining competitors, investors are generally enthusiastic that the executive addition could help spur renewed growth for Red Robin. The analyst also assigned a $54 per share price target for Red Robin stock, which it already reached with its push higher today. The restaurant industry remains competitive, but Red Robin has navigated downturns in the space before and has the potential to bounce back from recent turbulence to emerge stronger than ever.
Nordson finishes the year strong
Finally, Nordson picked up 6%. The company reported better financial results in its fiscal fourth quarter Tuesday night than investors had expected, with sales jumping 14% and net income climbing by about half from year-ago levels. The top-line figure was a record for Nordson, and CEO Michael Hilton cited higher volume and more efficient operations in producing the big jump in earnings performance. In particular, strength in the advanced technology systems and industrial coating systems businesses helped overcome more lackluster gains in adhesive dispensing systems, and Nordson also said that it expects continued gains in sales and earnings as it enters its new fiscal year. The company has a lot to look forward to, and shareholders hope that they'll get to share in the success that Nordson could produce going forward.
