The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained lower Monday as the index got bruised by a skidding Nvidia. Bitcoin play MicroStrategy rose while famed investor Cathie Wood snapped up a plunging artificial intelligence stock. And Super Micro Computer plummeted as a Warren Buffett stock eyed an entry on the stock market today.
The Dow struggled to upshift as it looked to bounce back from last week's dip. Blue chips tumbled more than 100 points, dropping 0.3% at the close. Honeywell International outperformed with a gain of nearly 4% after the firm said it may spin off its aerospace division. Nvidia lagged, however, losing nearly 2%, and UnitedHealth fared even worse as it fell more than 4%.
AI chip stock Nvidia skidded after an analyst said it is "experiencing severe thermal issues" with some power chips used in its latest server systems for artificial intelligence. It is now nearly 14% off its Nov. 21 high of 152.89.
The Nasdaq composite, meanwhile, finished near session highs as it gained 1.2%. The index set another record high and moved firmly back above the 20,000 mark. It sits above all of its short-term moving averages and nearly 7% ahead of its 50-day moving average.
Top performers on the tech-heavy Nasdaq included Broadcom, which soared more than 11% on top of its 24% surge on Friday. Micron Technology flexed its muscles as it climbed nearly 6%. The memory chip company's earnings are due late Wednesday. Further, AppLovin notched a 6% gain as well.
Stock Market Today: Small Caps, Growth Players Strong
The benchmark S&P 500 rose 0.4%. Tesla fared well here as it jumped more than 5%. CrowdStrike and Lamb Weston, climbed more than 5% and nearly 4%, respectively. Phillips 66 lagged with a drop of more than 5%.
A majority of the S&P 500 sectors were positive. Communication services and consumer discretionary were the best performers. Health care and energy lagged the most.
Small caps looked strong heading into the close, with the Russell 2000 up 0.8%. Growth stocks gave the bears the bloodiest nose, with the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund vaulting nearly 2%.
IPO Stock Clears Buy Point
Monday proved a difficult one for breakout attempts. However enterprise software play Klaviyo made an aggressive thrust that sent it above a buy point on a weekly chart.
The firm, which offers a marketing automation platform, has cleared a weekly chart consolidation with an ideal buy point of 41.
This is a second-stage pattern, a bonus. The stock has a best-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99.
The stock has been trading since September 2023. It had an initial public offering at 30, which means it has rallied nearly 39% above this level.
Earnings are seen rising 25% this year before slowing to 15% growth in 2025. In total, 58% of shares are currently held by funds. The Columbia Acorn Fund (ACRNX) is a noteworthy shareholder.
3:09 p.m. ET
Warren Buffett Stock Eyes Entry
There are few investors with a loftier reputation than Berkshire Hathaway Chief Executive Warren Buffett. And one of his firm's portfolio of stock holdings is currently eyeing a potential buy point, making it worthy of further investigation.
Market research play Moody's is flirting with a flat base buy point of 495.10, according to MarketSurge analysis. This is a relatively young, second-stage pattern. Younger bases are more likely to net good returns for investors.
All-around performance is strong here, which is reflected in its IBD Composite Rating of 93 out of 99. Both earnings and price performance are robust.
The stock has been getting snapped up by funds of late, with its Accumulation/Distribution Rating sitting at A-. In total, 54% of Moody's stock is currently held by funds. Noteworthy holders — outside of Buffett, of course — include the lauded Fidelity Contrafund (FCNTX).
1:58 p.m. ET
Stock With Top Composite Rating Flashes Sell Signal
It's all very well buying stocks at the right time and riding those issues up. But a savvy investor also needs to be aware of the time to sell.
LeMaitre Vascular flashed a key sell signal by undercutting the 50-day moving average in high volume on the stock market today. The medical device stock tumbled after the company announced it intends to offer $150 million in convertible senior notes. They will come due in 2030 and will be sold in a private offering to "qualified institutional buyers."
The company said in a media release that the proceeds will be used for working capital and other general purposes. LeMaitre stock has a very strong IBD Composite Rating of 96 out of 99. Both earnings and price performance are muscular, with the stock still up more than 63% for the year. Given today's sharp decline, investors may see this as a time to lock in at least partial gains.
Meanwhile, IES fell sharply lost ground on its 50-day line. The move came in high volume, and buying support has failed to materialize.
Also, Chinese stock Full Truck Alliance is continuing to fall sharply after previously clearing its 20% profit goal. The logistical software play is now in danger of triggering a round-trip sell signal from a 10.29 cup-base entry.
Stock Market Today: Super Micro Computer Stock Dives
Super Micro Computer stock had a rough session amid rising fears it could end up being delisted from the full Nasdaq composite. Nasdaq said Friday it planned to take Super Micro off its prestigious Nasdaq 100 index Dec. 23.
Super Micro drifted lower again Monday after battling off opening lows. The moves came in high volume, and the stock lost ground on the important 50-day moving average.
The troubled AI server company has approached Evercore for raising capital, Bloomberg reported. Further, Super Micro is considering both issuing equity and raising debt as it looks to solidify its financial health. The stock was hammered at the end of August when the firm announced it planned to delay the filing of its annual report.
Super Micro reported at the end of October that its accounting firm, Ernst & Young, had resigned over financial reporting concerns. Then last month, the server maker revealed it would be unable to file its quarterly report on time.
However the stock rallied with gusto after Super Micro unveiled a plan to get its house in order. It received an extension until Feb. 25 to file its annual and quarterly reports, which removed the immediate threat of a delisting.
Even taking its declines into account — and it is well off 2024 highs — the stock remains up around 18% this year.
12:33 p.m. ET
Taiwan Semiconductor Among Stocks Eyeing Entries
Breakouts were thin on the stock market today despite the moderately positive action. However, a number of promising issues are eyeing buy points.
Taiwan Semiconductor is eyeing a 205.63 cup-with-handle buy point, according to MarketSurge analysis.
In addition to this, Friday's move broke the downtrend of the handle. This offered up an early entry for aggressive investors. The stock was up slightly today.
Overall performance is strong, which is reflected in Taiwan Semi's near-ideal IBD Composite Rating of 97. Earnings performance is particularly noteworthy, with its EPS Rating standing at 98 out of 99.
Additionally, earnings have grown an average of just over 30% over the past three quarters. This is clear of the 25% growth sought by those following the IBD Methodology of investing.
Stock Market Today: Pet Play Pops While Education Stock Moves
Pet medical insurance play Trupanion popped as it eyes a consolidation entry of 57.90.
Overall performance is strong, reflected in its Composite Rating of 91 out of 99. It sits among the top 6% of issues in terms of price performance over the past 12 months.
Trupanion is expected to lose 20 cents per share in 2024 before swinging to a profit of four cents per share next year.
Higher education stock Adtalem Global Education has formed a weekly chart flat base of 92.93. It is getting support at the 21-day exponential moving average.
Earnings performance is key for Adtalem, with its EPS Rating a muscular 97 out of 99. Big Money has also been snapping up the stock lately, netting it an Accumulation/Distribution Rating of A-. In total, 72% of its stock is held by funds, according to MarketSurge data.
The company operates institutions including the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, Chamberlain University, and the Ross University School of Medicine.
For-profit college stocks rallied during the first administration of President-elect Donald Trump, so his reelection could act as a tailwind here.
11:06 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Bitcoin Play MicroStrategy Pops
Cryptocurrency has been an area of strength of late amid rising hopes of broad acceptance. MicroStrategy stock was popping on the stock market today.
It comes amid news the largest corporate holder of bitcoin will be added to the prestigious Nasdaq-100 index.
This also bolsters shares as the stock will be snapped up by the popular Invesco QQQ Trust exchange traded fund, which tracks the Nasdaq index.
It got an additional boost as bitcoin tokens climbed past the $106,000 level. It remains up more than 3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinDesk.
Outside Dow Jones: Cathie Wood Grabs Falling Knife
Attempting to catch a falling knife is always a risky strategy. But that investing maxim did not stop ARK Invest Chief Executive Cathie Wood from snapping up Tempus AI stock on Friday. Her firm, where she also serves as chief investment officer, snapped up more than 82,000 shares in Tempus for the ARK Innovation ETF.
Tempus, which had its IPO in June, currently holds a dreadful IBD Composite Rating of 13 and it sits below the key 50-day moving average. These are two other red flags for investors who may be considering following in Cathie Wood's footsteps. For one, the stock has a 23 Relative Strength Rating and has yet to turn a profit.
Tempus has fallen more than 48% from its high of 79.49, which it reached on Nov. 12.
Tempus uses data and artificial intelligence to improve health care. It aims to help drug discovery and genomic sequencing.
Among other trades, the ARKK fund also bought nearly 159,000 shares in Crispr Therapeutics and added nearly 30,000 shares of Beam Therapeutics.
It also but sold around 75,000 Tesla shares amid a recent strong rally for the electric-vehicle stock.
Please follow Michael Larkin on X at @IBD_MLarkin for more analysis of growth stocks.
