Thursday continued the stock market's recovery from the turbulent conditions of the past two weeks, as the Dow climbed back above the 25,000 mark and other major benchmarks posted 1%-plus gains. Investors are increasingly treating the correction in the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite over the past couple of weeks as an isolated event that's unsupported by current economic and financial conditions. Worries about issues like inflation linger, but market participants mostly focused on good news from various corners of Wall Street. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA +0.51%), SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG +7.17%) and Overstock.com (OSTK 1.04%) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.
Teva gets a valuable recommendation
Shares of Teva gained nearly 8% as the pharmaceutical stock got a vote of confidence from one of the most famous investors in the world. Warren Buffett's company reported its latest investment holdings in quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Teva appeared among the new entries on the list. Many investors have been negative about Teva, given its having to slash its dividend last year and sell off non-core assets to preserve capital and cut debt. Weakness in generic drug pricing and threats to its key Copaxone multiple sclerosis drug are still out there, but Buffett's stamp of approval nevertheless has value investors thinking now might be the time for a turnaround.
Image source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
SolarEdge gets its day in the sun
SolarEdge Technologies stock soared 24% after the maker of solar power inverter equipment reported its fourth-quarter financial results. SolarEdge saw solid gains in sales and earnings, including net income that more than doubled from year-earlier levels. Demand for home solar systems has been spotty lately, with many manufacturers of panels suffering from newly imposed tariffs and with would-be customers questioning whether the payoff is worth the up-front investment given currently cheap natural gas as an alternative. Several Wall Street analysts followed up the report with positive comments, adding fuel to the stock's gains.
A thumbs-up for Overstock
Finally, shares of Overstock.com gained 13%. The e-commerce site and newly transformed blockchain and cryptocurrency play attracted the attention of billionaire investor George Soros, whose Soros Fund Management entity reported a holding of nearly 2.5 million shares as of the end of 2017. The buy makes Soros Overstock's third-largest shareholder, and more importantly, it represents a vote of confidence from yet another institutional investor on the potential of blockchain-related investments. Soros has said publicly that cryptocurrency itself is in a bubble, making it interesting to speculate about whether he believes Overstock has a different angle on the industry that could make it more successful in the long run.
