Stock markets finished the day mostly lower on Thursday, reversing from early gains. Investors were initially excited that AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA 3.15%) reported quarterly results that were better than most had expected. However, early gains quickly faded, and investors seemed to remain worried about just how long the AI-led rally in the stock markets could last. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 2.15%) led the way lower with a loss of more than 2%, while declines for the S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.56%) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.84%) were somewhat more measured.
|
Index |
Daily Percentage Change |
Daily Point Change |
|---|---|---|
|
Dow |
-0.84% |
-387 |
|
S&P 500 |
-1.56% |
-103 |
|
Nasdaq |
-2.15% |
-486 |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
Several stocks made much more substantial moves on Thursday. Read on to learn about some of the stocks that were the top stock market gainers and top stock losers today.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Top Stock Gainers Today
PACS: +56%
PACS Group (PACS +55.32%) led top stock market gainers on Thursday with a 56% jump. The move higher came after PACS reported third-quarter financial results late Wednesday after the market closed. PACS saw revenue rise 31% year over year to $1.34 billion and reported net income of $52.3 million, which was more than triple what the skilled care facility provider earned in the year-earlier period. More importantly for investors, PACS said that its audit committee had completed its investigation of the company's past financials, and it completed its restatement of past financial results. With the company now in compliance with filing obligations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, PACS has apparently regained the confidence of many shareholders who were waiting to have this long period of uncertainty resolve itself favorably.
NYSE: PACS
Key Data Points
EXAS: +17%
For Exact Sciences (EXAS +16.81%), good news came in the form of an acquisition bid. Healthcare giant Abbott Labs (ABT 1.73%) entered into a definitive agreement with Exact Sciences to buy the cancer screening and diagnostic test specialist. Under the terms of the deal, Abbott will pay $105 per share for Exact Sciences, an amount that represents a 22% premium to the closing price of Exact Sciences shares on Wednesday afternoon before the acquisition bid. For Abbott, the combination will broaden its cancer diagnostics offerings, particularly with the addition of the popular Cologuard home screening product line. Meanwhile, Exact Sciences shareholders can celebrate the stock climbing back to levels not seen since 2021.
NASDAQ: EXAS
Key Data Points
Top Stock Losers Today
BBWI: -25%
Bath & Body Works (BBWI 24.81%) was one of the top stock losers on Thursday, falling 25% after releasing third-quarter financial results before the market opened. Quarterly sales were down 1% year over year to $1.59 billion. Earnings dropped more significantly, coming in at $0.37 per share, down from $0.49 per share in the year-earlier period. Perhaps more troublingly, Bath & Body Works said that it expects its net sales to fall by a high single-digit percentage amount in the key holiday quarter, and earnings per share could come in as much as 20% below where they were in last year's fourth quarter. Moreover, the company now expects full-year 2025 sales to be down and for earnings to fall substantially from 2024's totals. Between tariffs and macroeconomic concerns, there's a lot of uncertainty about where Bath & Body Works goes from here.
NYSE: BBWI
Key Data Points
SNDK: -20%
Finally, SanDisk (SNDK 20.33%) finished the day with a 20% decline. The maker of hard-disk drives and other data storage products actually got a more favorable look from Bank of America's (BAC 1.96%) BofA Securities division, where analysts boosted their price target on SanDisk's stock to $300 per share, up by $30 from its previous forecast. Yet SanDisk had been one of the big winners of the AI trade, going from $50 as recently as early September to nearly $300 earlier this month. With investors cooling on companies that are tied to the boom in artificial intelligence -- as SanDisk's data storage product business has been -- it's not surprising to see a pullback in the formerly soaring stock today.
