What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after positive news on corporate earnings, easing political and trade tensions, and optimism about future interest rate cuts all converged to lift investor sentiment. 

The overall market, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite, climbed significantly. A major catalyst was Apple shares rising 4% after a firm upgraded its rating, citing improving iPhone demand and predicting a long growth cycle. More broadly, the third-quarter earnings season got off to a strong start, with 76% of the 58 S&P 500 companies beating expectations, lifting the market's mood. 

Additionally, there were hope for an end to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which is seen as good for the economy. Investors also moved past recent fears over credit risks that had caused a sell-off the previous week, with shares of regional banks rebounding. Finally, signs that trade tensions with China were de-escalating, including expectations that new tariffs might be avoided, added to the overall positive momentum, leading traders to focus on more favorable factors like earnings and potential Federal Reserve rate cuts.

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:

• Custom Parts Manufacturing company Stratasys (NASDAQ: SSYS) jumped 10.9%. Is now the time to buy Stratasys? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Renewable Energy company Shoals (NASDAQ: SHLS) jumped 6%. Is now the time to buy Shoals? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Electronic Components company nLIGHT (NASDAQ: LASR) jumped 5.2%. Is now the time to buy nLIGHT? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Electrical Systems company Powell (NASDAQ: POWL) jumped 4.6%. Is now the time to buy Powell? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Engineering and Design Services company Sterling (NASDAQ: STRL) jumped 4.4%. Is now the time to buy Sterling? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Stratasys (SSYS)

Stratasys’s shares are very volatile and have had 27 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Stratasys and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock gained 4.9% on the news that a softened tone from President Donald Trump on U.S.-China relations boosted investor sentiment. The positive shift followed a weekend post on Truth Social where Trump stated, "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!" and expressed a desire to help rather than hurt the country's economy. This statement provided significant relief to markets that had ended the prior week with steep losses. In response, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.2%, the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.3% higher, as investors' fears of escalating trade tensions subsided.

Stratasys is up 43.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $12.49 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $12.85 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Stratasys’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $863.17.

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