Friday’s Headlines: Market Rallies Off News Of Potential Cure

Here were the biggest movers in the MyWallSt shortlist yesterday:

Moving Up ⬆️

ROKU +13.3%

HAIN +7.7%

TRUP +6.5%

SHOP +5.9%

MTCH +5.9%

Moving Down ⬇️

NLS -6.2%

SQ -6.6%

Z -7.6%

PAYC -8.7%

CHGG -9.8%

1. U.S. stock futures surged after a report said a Gilead Sciences drug was showing effectiveness in treating the coronavirus. Dow futures were up 845 points, implying a Friday opening gain of about 832 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also pointed to gains at the open. Gilead shares jumped by 16.41% in after-hours trading after STAT news reported that a Chicago hospital treating coronavirus patients with Remdesivir in a trial were recovering rapidly from severe symptoms. Read the full story here.

2.  Netflix is one of the few companies actually thriving during the coronavirus, hitting an all-time high in the market Thursday after becoming more valuable than rival entertainment giant Disney. With viewers turning to hits like true-crime documentary ‘Tiger King’ and comfort-food reruns like ‘The Office’ and ‘Cheers’, Netflix is seeing a spike in new subscriptions and viewers. Shares in Netflix have jumped 21% in the past year, compared to Disney’s 21% drop in the same period, despite Disney+ hitting 50 million subscribers last week. Get the complete story here. 

3. Speaking of streaming, shares in Roku soared 13.3% on Thursday after receiving a boost from analysts. Stock market analysts initiated coverage of the streaming TV company with a buy rating and assigned a price target of $137, representing about 21% upside from the previous close. Roku is uniquely positioned to benefit from ongoing cord-cutting, as well as intensifying competition in the streaming wars since Roku is an agnostic tech platform that offers a wide variety of over-the-top streaming services. Read the full report here.