This week, which stocks lagged or dragged? Weekly Winners column keeps up with market trends, helping Tigers sort out the week's hottest sectors, stock winners and important news.
Below are the top 10 S&P 500 stock gainers for the week ended Dec 19:
Benchmark Boosts Estimates for SanDisk in 2026 and 2027, Reiterating a Buy Rating
SanDisk stock rose 15% across Thursday and Friday alone after peer Micron Technology crushed earnings expectations. Shares of the flash memory company have climbed 560% to $237.61 since they began trading on Feb. 13 at $36 apiece.
Crucially, “the strong conditions are expected to persist beyond [2026],” wrote Benchmark Equity Research analyst Mark Miller in a note this week. Benchmark boosted its estimates for Sandisk in 2026 and 2027, reiterating a Buy rating on the stock and a $260 price target.
Moderna Soars Nearly 15% on $54.3 Million Funding for Bird Flu Vaccine
Moderna will get up to $54.3 million in funding from a global coalition to support late-stage development of its experimental bird flu vaccine, the U.S. drugmaker said on Thursday.
The vaccine, mRNA-1018, would be the first mRNA-based bird flu vaccine to enter a pivotal trial, Moderna said. In May, the Trump administration had canceled a $700 million contract with Moderna to develop the vaccine. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI, is a global partnership working to accelerate the development of vaccines against epidemic and pandemic threats.
Carnival's 2026 Outlook Tops Estimates on Lower Fuel Costs, Truist Says
Carnival's fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings may top market expectations on lower-than-anticipated fuel costs, Truist said Friday in a note. The cruise operator's full-year adjusted earnings guidance of $2.48 exceeds the consensus at $2.44, the note said.
The company's 2026 commentary "sounds slightly better" than prior updates, supported by what it called the highest booked occupancy for the coming year, Truist said Adjusted EPS guidance in Q1 around $0.17 trails the Wall Street estimate of $0.19, the note said.
Earlier Friday, Carnival reported fiscal Q4 earnings that topped estimates by analysts and reinstated its quarterly dividend. Other cruise stocks also rallied with Norwegian Cruise up 10% for the week.
Micron Stock Rallies After Forecasting Blowout Earnings on Booming AI Market
Micron Technology forecast second-quarter adjusted profit at nearly double what Wall Street analysts expected on Wednesday, buoyed by soaring prices for memory chips spurred by tight supplies and booming demand from artificial intelligence data centers. Shares of Micron rose 10.3% for the week.
Micron said it expected adjusted profit of $8.42 per share, plus or minus 20 cents, versus analyst estimates of $4.78 per share, according to LSEG data.
"AI-related demand remains the biggest driver for Micron," said Summit Insights analyst Kinngai Chan. "It not only drives better margin for the company, but also helps non-AI product margins as it prioritizes its supply towards AI-related demand."
AppLovin Continues to Lead in Mobile Game Advertising, Wedbush Says
AppLovin continues to dominate the mobile game advertising industry while Unity Software is going through a successful turnaround, Wedbush Securities said in a note Wednesday. Shares of AppLovin rose 7.6% for the week.
AppLovin's e-commerce push, which contributed an incremental 2% to 3% to annual spending, is also driving mobile game eCPM, or effective cost per mile, which is growing at a faster rate of 10% heading into the holiday season, compared with the usual 5% year-over-year growth, Wedbush analysts, including Alicia Reese, said, citing Naveen Mewani of Homa Games in an advisor call.
The company also has the advantage of collecting real-time market data through its MAX mediation platform, which feeds its AXON algorithm, creating a cycle of continuous model optimization, according to the note.
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