US stocks opened higher on Thursday even after the US Commerce Department announced that American GDP had fallen by 1.4% during the first quarter of 2022. Strong earnings appear to have mitigated the impact of this bad news.
Oil, gold and Bitcoin were all trading marginally higher on Thursday morning.
Today’s trending stocks are:
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB)
Facebook owner Meta Platforms has seen its share price leap this morning after a strong return to form. Back in February the social media giant took a big hit when it reported its first ever decline in daily active users, with this leading to the stock’s worst ever day of trading.
However, investors have reason to feel more optimistic about Mark Zuckerberg’s company now, as Meta said the number of daily active users returned to growth in its latest three-month period.
Even so, the company’s revenue growth of 7% from the latest period represents the lowest increase in its publicly traded history, so investors might well be jumping the shark in getting so excited about user figures.
Meta Platforms’ share price was up by 12% in early trading on Thursday.
T Stamp Inc (NASDAQ: IDAI)
AI powered identity solutions specialist T Stamp Inc is also in the green this morning, with its share price soaring by an enormous 250% in early trading!
Investors are clearly excited about the company’s new Biometric Multi-Factor Authentication solution. This technology will allow users to pass security checks with a selfie. The company said the tech is the first of its kind and is spoof-resistant, verifies liveness, and replaces or supplements vulnerable one-time passcodes.
The company’s chief commercial officer, Kinny Chan, said:
“Device-based multi-factor authentication is vulnerable. Passwords and passcodes aren’t enough to ensure that genuine, authorized users are accessing their own accounts or initiating transactions. Biometric MFATM lets partners layer intuitive, convenient, and seamless identity authentication where vulnerable passcodes are used today.”
Stanley Black & Decker Inc (NASDAQ: SWK)
This industrial tools and hardware manufacturer has seen its share price dip after a disappointing earnings update. The company reported 20% growth in first quarter revenue and said it had capitalized on strong demand during the three month period.
However, it cut its outlook and explained some pressures it was facing. Stanley Black & Decker president and CFO, Donald Allan Jr., commented:
“We made tangible progress on our key priorities in the first quarter, most notably price realization and improved component supply, while we continued managing the global supply chain environment.
“However, inflationary trends continued during the quarter and we are responding with additional pricing actions to be implemented in the coming weeks. We are adjusting our plan accordingly as well as incorporating the impact of strategic divestitures and the closure of our Russia business into revised guidance.”
The company’s share price was down by 8% in early morning trading.
Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN)
3D scanning specialist Align is also down on the back of first quarter results. The company missed expectations, with earnings and revenue both falling short of consensus analyst estimates for the three-month period.
The company stated that the first quarter had been tougher than expected, citing problems including the continued impact of COVID-19 waves in every region and especially in China, a weaker economic environment, increasing inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions and the military conflict in Ukraine and fallout across Europe.
ALGN’s share price had dropped by more than 22% in early trading on Thursday.
Teladoc Health Inc (NYSE: TDOC)
This virtual healthcare company plummeted overnight after its first quarter revenue and earnings both missed expectations, while the company’s guidance for future revenue also disappointed investors. The period saw the company being hit by a $6.6bn impairment charge and a slowdown in sales.
Teladoc Health CEO Jason Goveric said:
“Despite the revision to our 2022 outlook, we are confident in our strategy, along with our breadth and depth of capabilities, which empower people everywhere to live healthier lives.”
The company’s shares have so far tumbled by almost 50% in today’s session.
