Major benchmarks were mixed on Wednesday, as market participants weren't satisfied with the latest move from the Federal Reserve. The central bank decided to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point, but it left open the possibility that any future reductions might come more slowly than anticipated. Despite the widespread pressure on the broader market, a few stocks managed to mount solid moves higher. GameStop (GME +0.30%), Plug Power (PLUG +5.81%), and Construction Partners (ROAD +2.59%) were among the top performers. Here's why they did so well.
GameStop bounces back
Shares of GameStop gained 6%, clawing back some of their losses from recent sessions. The past week has been a tough one for the video game retailer, as it had to deal with even larger declines in revenue and comparable sales than investors had already anticipated. A long pause between new game console releases from major producers sent new hardware sales down more than 40% year over year, and pre-owned sales have steadily dropped over time. Yet some still see hope for GameStop if its strategy to close unprofitable stores, pay down debt, and become more efficient is successful. That optimism prevailed today, and it's up to the company to live up to those hopes.
Image source: Getty Images.
Plug Power has big plans
Plug Power saw its stock climb nearly 4% as investors reacted favorably to its ambitious target for future revenue growth. The fuel-cell specialist said that it hopes to reach $1 billion in annual revenue by 2024, with expectations of using existing relationships with core customers to get most of the way there. Plug Power has concentrated largely on the material handling industry to drive growth, but it's targeting an increased amount of business from the on-road segment, as well as from stationary applications. In addition, Plug Power is becoming an important player in the adjacent hydrogen market, and that could help it expand its strategy to encompass more opportunities in the future.
Construction Partners gets investor interest
Finally, shares of Construction Partners climbed 8%. The civil engineering specialist rebounded after the company priced a secondary offering of stock that a key shareholder had chosen to sell earlier this week. SunTx Capital managed to get a price of $14.25 per share for the 5 million shares that it was offering, and that proved to be better than many investors had feared. With today's move higher, Construction Partners' stock regained just about all the ground it lost on Monday when the secondary offering was first announced, and investors hope that they can move forward and concentrate on the company's fundamental business prospects.
