Wall Street is on pace for another week of losses — but certain names managed to outperform. As of Friday afternoon, the S & P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were on track for their second week in the red. The broad market index dropped 0.9% during the week, while the Dow fell 1.6%. The Nasdaq Composite had also lost 0.2%. The downward movement comes as investors’ concerns on the health of the banking sector and U.S. economy were reignited. Regional bank stocks took a hit when PacWest announced a significant deposit outflows during the first week of May. Concerns of a U.S. government default was was another overhang on market sentiment this week as lawmakers failed to reach a resolution on the debt ceiling. Nonetheless, several stocks managed to beat the market this week. Take a look at this week’s top gainers, and where analysts see them going forward. (Data as of early morning trading Friday.) Solar panel manufacturer First Solar emerged as this week’s biggest gainer, with shares surging 26.3% as of Friday morning. The company announced its acquisition of European thin film company Evolar AB, in a move to accelerate development of next-generation photovoltaic technology. Approximately 41% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy, according to FactSet. To be sure, the stock is already 2.6% above analysts’ consensus price target. Shares of chemical manufacturer Albemarle popped 10.6% this week after being upgraded by KeyBanc and Bank of America . KeyBanc cited improving demand for lithium in China for its upgrade and said shares currently sit at an attractive valuation. More than half of analysts covering Albemarle rate it a buy, according to FactSet data. The average analyst price target implies shares could rally 30.3%. Shares are down 9.7% year to date. Google’s parent company Alphabet saw shares rise 10.5% as investors cheered its new AI developments unveiled at the company’s annual developers conference. Shares have had a strong year thus far, surging more than 32%. Nearly four-fifth of analysts covering Google are bullish on the stock. Streaming giant Netflix also had a strong week, with shares going up almost 7%. The stock is up approximately 15% in 2023, and analysts estimate additional 6% growth, based on the average price target. Just under half of analysts covering Netflix have issued a buy rating on shares. Health care names Steris , McKesson and DaVita also the list of this week’s biggest gainers, rising 9.7%, 8.3% and 6.7%, respectively. Enphase Energy was another industrial stock that outperformed, jumping 7.5%. Online marketplace Etsy was the sole consumer name on the list, with the stock gaining 8%.
