Top US Stocks Streaking Higher This Week

A combination of optimism around an end to the war in the Middle East and better-than-anticipated economic data has US indices pulling out of March's correction territory. But some stocks are performing ahead of the fold, with constant upside over the last five days.

5-Day Gainers, 10 US Stocks

1. Plus Therapeutics (PSTV) +86%
2. Avis Budget (CAR) +80%
3. Bloom Energy (BE) +61%
4. Lightwave Logic (LWLG) +49%
5. Axt (AXTI) +48%
6. Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) +48%
7. Astera Labs (ALAB) +43%
8. Nebius (NBIS) +38%
9. Coreweave (CRWV) +37%
10. Hut 8 (HUT) +36%

Good News Lead Broad-based Stock Recovery

U.S. equities trended upward during the first half of the week, first on reports and later confirmation that Washington and Tehran would hold a second round of talks this week. While that development made headlines, stocks were also bolstered by Tuesday's March PPI figures, which showed a considerably smaller-than-expected impact from the war in Iran. Headline inflationary pressures were in line with expectations, but excluding energy and food prices, PPI decelerated sharply to just 0.1%, down from the 0.5% expected. This would help alleviate pressure on the Fed to hold rates, and the odds of an interest rate cut by the end of the year increased by 10 percentage points after the data came out. Some traders are betting that the FOMC will look through higher headline inflation if core inflation remains softer, as they generally see inflation trending back toward target later in the year. A quick look at the top stocks streaking higher over the last five trading days shows a fairly mixed selection from multiple sectors, supporting the thesis of a broad-based recovery. That could help risk sentiment as the Q1 earnings season gets underway, with investors looking past the war in the Middle East, since few of the top performers owe their success to the geopolitical situation. Here's what is driving some of the top-performing equities in recent days:

Bloom Bounces On Oracle Deal

The alternative energy company received support from analysts this week, who reiterated their outperform ratings. However, the bulk of the gains can be attributed to the company signing an up to 2.8GW energy supply contract with Oracle to support data centres. The deal includes an already contracted 1.2 GW, expanding on an existing partnership with the tech company to support AI and cloud infrastructure buildout.  

Short Squeeze Still Pushing Avis Budget Higher

The car rental firm has seen its share price rocked up 150% this month, but it's not because the firm is suddenly doing better. On the contrary, its financials are just as dour as ever, but that has attracted bears who are squeezing the company's stock. About 43% of the float is shorted after Pentwarter said it had bought up millions of the company's shares, reducing the pool of available units for short sellers. Other car rental companies have seen inordinate surges in their share prices amid a general downtrend in the industry, prompting some analysts to speculate that they have become oversold. However, Avis Budget's performance is by far the most dramatic, with analysts warning its share price could reverse just as dramatically soon.

Plus Therapuetics Supported by FDA's Designation of Reyobiq

The top performer of last week saw a surge in investor interest after announcing that the US FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to Reyobiq for the treatment of paediatric malignant gliomas. The good news came after the company achieved AMA reimbursement for the therapy, as announced in its full-year earnings report. The company recently completed a public share offering, extending its cash runway to support the commercialisation of its CNSide platform.