Hot Stocks: DD rise on upgrade; GOOG, SOFI fall on downgrade; SRPT and SHAK gain
Orientfootage
Major market averages see-sawed during Monday's intraday session ahead of debt ceiling talks.
Looking at the specific stocks, Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares climbed after FDA panel nod for gene therapy, while Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK) shares increased on news that activist investor Engaged Capital intends a proxy fight for three board seats at the business.
Meanwhile, shares of DuPont de Nemours (NYSE:DD) rose following an analyst upgrade, while Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and SoFi Technologies (NASDAQ:SOFI) fell following a downgrade.
Gainers
Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) shares gained as much as 29%, the most in three years, following FDA advisory committee approval of the marketing application for gene therapy SRP-9001.
Shake Shack (SHAK) shares jumped nearly 8% in response to a report that Activist Engaged Capital plans to start a proxy war with the company in order to acquire three board seats at the hamburger chain. Engaged Capital purchased a 6.6% interest in the company, including swaps.
DuPont de Nemours (DD) stock surged approximately 3% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $80 from a prior level of $70. âSince we downgraded DuPont (DD) in mid-January, the shares are down 15% versus a 3% gain for the S&P (SP500),â David Begleiter, analyst at Deutsche Bank, said in a May 15 report. âAs a result, DuPont's shares now trade at a 50% discount to its peers.â
Decliners
SoFi Technologies (SOFI) shares slumped 9% after Wedbush downgraded the stock to Underperform from Neutral, citing company's fair value accounting model, which may present headwinds. Price target was cut to $2.50 from $5. "We believe SOFI may be nearing a tipping point on the fee income it recognizes related to loan origination and sales," said analyst David Chiaverini. "Capital levels may be overstated using fair value accounting and we believe SOFI may look to raise capital this year to support growth."
Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL) shares down about 0.22% as it was downgraded by Loop Capital to Hold from Buy after last week's move higher following its I/O developer conference and the "structural uncertainties" surrounding artificial intelligence. Price target was maintained at $125. "We think Googleâs I/O event opened some eyes to the companyâs strong position in AI, reflected in last weekâs 11% gain in the stock (S&P500 down 0.3%)," analyst Rob Sanderson wrote in a note to clients, adding that concern over whether it can "maintain its dominant position through this massive technology transformation will hold back valuation."
To keep track of Wall Street's biggest winners and losers throughout the session, head over to Seeking Alpha's On The Move section.