What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the release of the August jobs report, which showed the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than anticipated, fueling concerns about a broader economic slowdown.
The U.S. economy added only 22,000 jobs in August, significantly missing economists' expectations. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.3%, its highest level since 2021. This report is the latest evidence of a cooling labor market amid economic uncertainty and restrictive tariff policies.
Key sectors experienced job losses, including manufacturing, federal government, and business services. In contrast, the health services sector continued to show growth. While the weak data raises alarms about the health of the economy, it has also strengthened market expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its upcoming meeting to provide support.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Digital Media & Content Platforms company WEBTOON (NASDAQ: WBTN) fell 2.5%. Is now the time to buy WEBTOON? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Business Process Outsourcing & Consulting company Huron (NASDAQ: HURN) fell 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Huron? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Huron (HURN)
Huron’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 9 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock gained 4.2% on the news that the company announced its acquisition of Wilson Perumal & Company (WP&C), a leading strategy and operations consulting firm.
The acquisition is designed to enhance Huron's capabilities in helping clients manage organizational complexity, increase profitability, and improve growth. Wilson Perumal & Company specializes in operationalizing strategy and transforming operations. Huron's CEO, Mark Hussey, stated that the combination will help clients "navigate the disruption in today's rapidly changing market environment." By integrating WP&C's expertise, Huron aims to strengthen its ability to deliver bold transformation agendas for its clients, positioning the company to better assist businesses in improving efficiency and preparing for the future.
Huron is up 14.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $141.24 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $153.61 from May 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Huron’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $3,398.
Today’s young investors won’t have read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next.
