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Nvidia Knocked off Top Spot
Vistra [VST] has become the best-performing stock on the S&P 500 this year, overtaking Nvidia [NVDA] after closing up 5.9% on Wednesday at an all-time high of $120.61. Shares have tripled year-to-date, rising 39% in September alone due to heightened investor awareness of increased power needs for artificial intelligence (AI) and electrification, Seeking Alpha reported. Jefferies’ analyst Antoine Aurimond sees Vistra’s gas plants as a major source of upside, even though its nuclear fleet is smaller than Constellation Energy’s [CEG].
MU Jumps on Beat
Micron shares climbed 10% in extended trading on Wednesday after reporting strong Q4 results and Q1 FY 2025 guidance that exceeded expectations, fueled by rising AI demand. Micron posted an adjusted EPS of $1.18 and a 93.3% year-over-year revenue increase to $7.75bn, surpassing estimates. Adjusted gross margin hit 36.5%, above the 34.7% consensus, with cash flow from operations at $3.41bn. Western Digital [WDC] and Seagate Technologies [STX], Micron trading partners, also saw gains.
Through AR Glasses Darkly
Representing, he said, the “culmination of decades of breakthrough inventions and nearly one of the hardest challenges in tech industries ever seen”, Meta [META] CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a prototype of lightweight augmented reality (AR) glasses, called Orion, at the company’s annual Connect conference. The glasses feature holographic displays that overlay 2D and 3D content, with AI offering proactive suggestions.
South Korea Chipmaker Pops 9%
SK Hynix [HXSCL] shares surged over 9% on Thursday after it began mass production of its most advanced HBM3E chips, outpacing rival Samsung [SSNLF], whose shares rose 4%, buoyed by Micron’s [MU] bullish AI demand outlook. SK Hynix's 12-layer HBM3E chips offer 50% more capacity than previous versions and are essential for Nvidia’s GPUs used in AI training. The company plans to supply these chips to unidentified customers by the end of the year.
GS: Buy Tesla
Goldman Sachs analysts have recommended buying Tesla [TSLA] call options ahead of its Q3 earnings report on October 2 and its Robotaxi event on October 10. Tesla currently leads S&P 500 options volumes, making up 17%, surpassing Nvidia at 14%. The company is expected to unveil its full self-driving technology at the Robotaxi event. Analyst Mark Delaney expects Q3 earnings to align with consensus, with 4% quarter-over-quarter and 6% year-over-year growth, driven by strength in the Chinese market.
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