Stocks Rise for 2nd Straight Day to Close Out Volatile Week of Trading

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Friday

6 hr 20 min ago

Advancers

• Akamai Technologies (AKAM) shares popped 10.9% higher, marking the best daily performance in the S&P 500 after the company posted better-than-expected sales and profits for the second quarter, boosted by strong demand for cloud computing and security products. Akamai also lifted its full-year earnings per share (EPS) guidance, pointing to a successful product launch and continued momentum in the first half of 2024.
• Online travel platform operator Expedia Group (EXPE) also exceeded top- and bottom-line expectations for the recently completed quarter, citing positive demand in international markets, and its shares jumped 10.2%. However, Expedia expressed concerns about macroeconomic challenges and softening travel demand, echoing recent comments from other online travel firms.
• Eli Lilly (LLY) shares were up 5.5% on Friday, adding to gains posted in the prior session following the pharma giant’s strong set of earnings results. Lilly benefitted from booming sales of weight-loss and diabetes treatments Zepbound and Mounjaro, and the company said it’s making progress on boosting supply to keep pace with growing demand.

Decliners

• Shares of Insulet (PODD) suffered the heaviest losses of any S&P 500 stock, dropping 8.8% after the maker of insulin management devices suggested new user growth could be lower than previously expected in the second half of 2024, despite topping second-quarter sales estimates. Revenue gains were boosted by a 26.3% year-over-year jump in sales of the company’s Omnipod device.
• Intel (INTC) shares sank 3.8%, extending an August downdraft the stock has endured since the chipmaker reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss last week. Along with the results, Intel announced a $10 billion cost-saving plan that includes laying off 15% of its workforce, but analysts questioned whether the initiatives will be sufficient to spur a recovery. On Friday, reports emerged that Intel postponed its “Innovation” event, originally scheduled for September.
• Deutsche Bank trimmed its price target for shares of Estee Lauder (EL), and the cosmetic company’s shares fell 2.8%. The maker of makeup and other beauty products is navigating a tough competitive environment in the U.S. and a challenging economic outlook in China.

–Michael Bromberg

Akamai Jumps 11% After Strong Earnings

7 hr 8 min ago

Shares of Akamai Technologies (AKAM) took off Friday, a day after the tech firm reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its profit guidance on higher demand for its security and cloud computing products. 

Akamai posted adjusted EPS of $1.58, with adjusted EBITDA of $408.9 million. Revenue gained 5% year-over-year to $979.6 million. All three beat consensus estimates of analysts polled by Visible Alpha.

Security revenue rose 15% to $498.7 million, and compute revenue increased 23% to $151.5 million. However, delivery revenue fell 13% to $329.4 million.

Akamai now sees full-year adjusted EPS of between $6.34 and $6.47, up from its previous outlook of $6.20 to $6.40.

Shares in the company jumped 11% Friday to close at a three-month high.

–Bill McColl

Eli Lilly’s Post-Earnings Surge Continues

9 hours ago

Eli Lilly (LLY) investors continued to ride the wave created by the pharmaceutical firm’s powerhouse second-quarter earnings report. 

Shares soared for a second straight session Friday after Lilly posted profit and sales that exceeded analysts’ forecasts, and it raised its guidance, fueled by the excitement for its weight-loss products Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Mounjaro sales skyrocketed 215% from 2023 to $3.09 billion. Its sales were nearly three times larger than Lilly’s second-best-selling drug, breast cancer treatment Verzenio, which saw its sales jump 44% as it surpassed the previous No. 2, diabetes medicine Trulicity.

The company’s other weight-loss drug, Zepbound, wasn’t even available until November, yet its sales were Lilly’s fourth best at $1.24 billion. Together, Mounjaro and Zepbound made up nearly 40% of Lilly’s quarterly revenue.

Eli Lilly shares were up about 5.7% in recent trading and have gained nearly 16% since the earnings report was released.

–Bill McColl

Bitcoin Moves Mimicking Stock Moves

11 hr 22 min ago

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) briefly rose above $61,000 early Friday, riding on the heels of Thursday’s stock market rally, but the cryptocurrency gave up some of those gains to trade on either side of the $60,000 mark depending on where stocks were in afternoon trading.

The latest moves come after the cryptocurrency crashed below $50,000 for the first time since February on Monday amid one of the worst days for stocks in recent…