A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after markets continued to rally amid growing speculation of an impending interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Following a favorable Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, investors are increasingly betting on a rate reduction next month, a sentiment amplified by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's call for a significant cut. This has fueled a 'risk-on' environment across Wall Street. Lower interest rates are typically beneficial for growth-oriented sectors like healthcare, as they reduce the cost of borrowing for research and innovation and increase the present value of future earnings.
Many small-cap stocks have limited Wall Street coverage, giving savvy investors the chance to act before everyone else catches on.
But the flip side is that these businesses have increased downside risk because they lack the scale and staying power of their larger competitors.
Diagnostic company Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q2 CY2025, with sales up 16% year on year to $811.1 million. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $3.15 billion at the midpoint came in 1.7% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.10 per share was 84.9% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Hitting a new 52-week low can be a pivotal moment for any stock.
These floors often mark either the beginning of a turnaround story or confirmation that a company faces serious headwinds.
The US market is yet to commence its session on Thursday, but let's get a preview of the pre-market session and explore the top gainers and losers driving the early market movements.
Diagnostic company Exact Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ:EXAS) reported Q2 CY2025 results exceeding the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 16% year on year to $811.1 million. The company’s full-year revenue guidance of $3.15 billion at the midpoint came in 1.7% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.22 per share was significantly above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Let's have a look at what is happening on the US markets after the closing bell on Wednesday. Below you can find the top gainers and losers in today's after hours session.
Generating cash is essential for any business, but not all cash-rich companies are great investments.
Some produce plenty of cash but fail to allocate it effectively, leading to missed opportunities.
A number of healthcare stocks fell in the afternoon session after several negative developments weighed on the sector. Weakness in managed care providers was a significant factor, with companies like Elevance Health and Humana seeing declines due to an analyst downgrade and a lost lawsuit regarding Medicare bonus payments, respectively.
Healthcare companies are pushing the status quo by innovating in areas like drug development and digital health. But financial performance has lagged recently as players offloaded surplus COVID inventories in 2023 and 2024, a headwind for overall demand.
The result? Over the past six months, the industry has tumbled by 7.8%. This drop is a far cry from the S&P 500’s 7.1% ascent.
