What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the broader market rebounded from a tech-driven sell-off, with investors taking the opportunity to buy stocks at lower prices.
This rally was fueled by a recovery in technology stocks and a significant bounce in Bitcoin, which stabilized after losing over half its value from its October peak. Investor sentiment was also lifted by a surprising improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment and the realization that massive AI-related capital expenditure, such as Amazon's planned $200 billion, directly benefits chipmakers like Nvidia and Broadcom. These "pick-and-shovel" winners jumped as much as 7%, helping the S&P 500 edge back into positive territory for 2026. The highlight of the day was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which surged and crossed the historic 50,000 threshold for the first time.
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:
- Specialty Equipment Distributors company Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Hudson Technologies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Agricultural Machinery company Alamo (NYSE:ALG) jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Alamo? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Defense Contractors company KBR (NYSE:KBR) jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy KBR? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Internet of Things company Trimble (NASDAQ:TRMB) jumped 3.3%. Is now the time to buy Trimble? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Gas and Liquid Handling company Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Ingersoll Rand? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On KBR (KBR)
KBR’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 biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 2 months ago when the stock gained 6% on the news that Oppenheimer initiated coverage on the company with an 'Outperform' rating. The analyst set a price target of $60.00 for the stock. Oppenheimer's positive view stemmed from what it called an "interesting, value-based investment opportunity." This perspective was largely based on the company's plan to spin off its government services business in mid-to-late 2026. The new coverage and rating provided investors with a fresh outlook on the company's potential performance and valuation.
KBR is up 7.4% since the beginning of the year, but at $43.49 per share, it is still trading 22.5% below its 52-week high of $56.12 from May 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of KBR’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,401.
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