The major market indexes traded up 1% or more in the noon hour Wednesday, ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks and the results of the FOMC’s comments on interest rates. A rate hike is predicted for November, and analysts are going to be combing through Powell’s remarks for verification of those expectations.
Wednesday’s leading gainer at noon was SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI). The stock received a boost from a new Buy rating and a raised the 12-month price target of $25 per share. Jefferies analyst John Hecht thinks SoFi’s margins are going to rise as it moves its customers to higher-cost products. SoFi’s freemium-like model has paid off for such tech biggies as Spotify, where the free tier leads to more subscribers/customers. As long as SoFi adds new members, Hecht expects this approach to boost revenues by 46% every year through 2025.
The only other double-digit gainer Wednesday morning was Aterian Inc. (NASDAQ: ATER). The company has no news, and, as we pointed out in the morning, retail investors seem to have generated the much-loved short squeeze on a stock where more than 60% of shares were shorted at the end of August. That kind of imbalance practically begs for a squeeze, and that is what the long investors (characterized on Reddit’s WallStreetBets as hedgies).
Among stocks not having such a good day is TMC the metals company Inc. (NASDAQ: TMC). The stock traded down more than 20% in the noon hour for no apparent reason. On Tuesday the company announced that a former drillship has arrived in Rotterdam, where it will be the first (TMC hopes) classified as a subsea mining vessel by the American Bureau of Shipping. The ship is rated as an ultra-deepwater vessel, meaning it could operate at ocean depths greater than 10,000 feet.
Another double-digit loser Wednesday was Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS). The company announced in the morning that it is suspending further deliveries of its battery-electric van and recalling 41 vehicles it already has shipped. The recalled vehicles require additional testing and modifications to meet federal safety standards. In February, Workhorse lost a bid to build thousands of delivery vehicles for the U.S. Postal Service and the company has never gotten its mojo back.
SoFi traded up about 11.2% in the noon hour Wednesday to $16.88. The stock’s 52-week range is $11.80 to $28.26. The average daily trading volume is around 20 million, and 40 million had been traded so far on the day.
Shares of Aterian traded up 11.5% to $14.49, in a 52-week range of $3.04 to $48.99. The average daily trading volume is around 17.2 million shares, and more than 49 million had already traded today.
TMC stock was down nearly 22%, at $7.19 in a 52-week range of $6.75 to $15.39. Nearly 20 million shares have changed hands so far on the day, compared to a daily average of about 15.8 million.
Workhorse traded down about 9.3% to $7.43, in a 52-week range of $7.05 to $42.96. The low was posted earlier Wednesday morning. The average daily trading volume on the stock is around 9.5 million shares, and 15.2 million had already traded today.
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