These Stocks Are Moving the Most Today: Qualcomm, MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Tesla, Avidity, Newmont, Microsoft, and More

Traders working at the New York Stock Exchange. (NYSE)

Key Points

• Qualcomm soars after introducing new artificial-intelligence servers meant to compete with Nvidia and AMD.
• Avidity Biosciences surges after Novartis agrees to acquire the biotech company for approximately $12 billion.
• Microsoft is upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim, with a price target of $586, due to its AI monetization potential.

Stocks rose Monday after negotiators from the U.S. and China hammered out the framework for a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies.

These stocks were making moves:

Qualcomm jumped 11% after the semiconductor company introduced its AI200 and AI250 rack server lineup, offering new artificial-intelligence competition in an area dominated by Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices . Nvidia rose 2.8% and AMD gained 2.7%.

Avidity Biosciences surged 42% to $70 after Swiss drugmaker Novartis agreed to buy the biotech company in a deal valued at $12 billion. Novartis will pay $72 a share in cash for the San Diego-based Avidity, roughly a 46% premium to Avidity’s Friday closing price of $49.15. U.S.-listed shares of Novartis fell 0.9%.

Gold miner Newmont dropped 5.7% after tumbling 6.2% on Friday. Bullion prices tumbled last week, with many investors opting to take profits after a stellar run for the precious metal. The most actively traded gold futures contract fell 2.8% to $4,020 an ounce.

MP Materials fell 7.4%, USA Rare Earth declined 8.4%, and other rare-earths stocks traded lower after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he expected China to defer its tightened export controls on rare-earth materials as a result of negotiations with his Beijing counterparts.

Tesla rose 4.3%, getting a lift from the trade progress between the Trump administration and Beijing. China accounted for more than 20% of 2024 sales for the electric-vehicle maker.

GameStop gained 1% after trading much higher in the premarket session. The videogame retailer posted a humorous message on its verified X social media account last week, calling for an end to the so-called console wars, as a reference to game players’ preferences for various platforms and designers’ and publishers’ decision to prioritize one over the other. A similarly playful image of President Donald Trump released by the White House, depicting him as a character in Microsoft’s coming release of Halo: Campaign Evolved, was also taken as support for GameStop’s broader marketing effort.

Microsoft stock was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Guggenheim with a price target of $586. Shares rose 1.5% to $531.52. The software company is scheduled to report quarterly earnings after Wednesday’s market close.

Keurig Dr Pepper gained 7.6% after third-quarter profit and sales rose from a year earlier and the beverage maker boosted its fiscal-year sales outlook. Separately, the company indicated its acquisition of JDE Peet’s remains on track.

Harley-Davidson fell 4.4% to $26.98. Morgan Stanley downgraded the motorcycle maker to Underweight from Equalweight and reduced its price target to $25 from $27.

Earnings reports coming after Monday’s close: Welltower, Cadence Design Systems, Waste Management, NXP Semiconductors, and Nucor.

Reports coming later in the week: Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Apple, Amazon.com, UnitedHealth Group, Eli Lilly, Boeing, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Caterpillar, United Parcel Service, Verizon, Merck, Bristol Myers Squibb, CVS Health, AbbVie, Visa, Mastercard, NextEra Energy, PayPal, Booking Holdings, Coinbase Global, Royal Caribbean, Sherwin-Williams, D.R. Horton, Starbucks, Carvana, Gilead Sciences, Comcast, and Charter Communications.

Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com and Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com