US markets appear set to open lower on Friday amid a lack of progress in peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Additionally, investors are behaving cagily ahead of a call between Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, with the US President set to warn China off from backing Putin’s invasion.
Oil, gold and Bitcoin are all slightly lower.
Here are a selection of today’s trending stocks:
StoneCo (NASDAQ: STNC)
StoneCo’s share price has rocketed in premarket trading, climbing by more than 30% on the back of the financial technology firm’s fourth quarter earnings.
The business, which primarily targets Brazilian entrepreneurs, reported 87% revenue growth compared to the same three-month period 12 months prior. It also exceeded its own guidance for active client base, which stood at 1.8 million at the end of the quarter.
However, investors appear to be most excited about the company’s guidance for 2022, which shows an expectation for further client base expansion and margin improvements beginning in the first quarter.
Revenue is projected to grow by more than 110% in the first quarter of the new year after StoneCo added a record 377,700 net new clients in the fourth quarter.
Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA)
Pharmaceutical giant Moderna is in the news too, with the business seeking Food and Drug Administration approval for a second COVID vaccine booster.
While Pfizer has already filed for approval of its own second booster for the over 65s, Moderna’s application covers use in all adult patients over the age of 18. This far broader scope seems to have excited some investors.
While the pandemic seems to have quietened down for now, new variants could emerge and the efficacy of protection offered by vaccines is known to reduce over time. As such, widespread deployment of a second round of booster shots could be on the horizon.
Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT)
This crypto mining outfit is generating chatter after its 2021 earnings beat expectations, with full year revenue of $213.2m outstripping consensus expectations for revenue of $211.1m.
Riot Blockchain attributed the rise in revenue to the increase in its hash rate in addition to an increase in the price of Bitcoin during 2021.
Having climbed by over 12% during Thursday’s trading, RIOT shares look set to drop back a little on Friday and are down by around 3% in premarket trading.
ON Holding (NYSE: ONON)
This Zurich-based running shoe specialist has seen its shares jump by around 10% in premarket trading after its fourth quarter earnings.
The company’s revenue from the period, which came in at $207.3m, outstripped analyst forecasts. The business attributed its record annual results to “very strong consumer demand across all regions, channels, and product categories”.
Additionally, the company anticipates expansion in its product offering in 2022, along with significant expansion in Europe, Asia and North America.
On Holding Co-CEO and CFO, Martin Hoffman, said:
“With 2022 now underway, we are even more confident and excited about the global growth opportunities and many new products that will allow our customers to move. Importantly, our production capacity in Vietnam has been back at 100% of the pre-lockdown commitments since December 2021.”
Hexo Corp (NASDAQ: HEXO)
This cannabis stock has fallen by almost 10% in premarket trading after the company reported its second quarter earnings snapshot. The Ottawa-based business reported a significantly widened net loss of $690.3m, up from $116.9m in its second quarter last year.
Looking ahead, Hexo Corp said it was looking to cut costs significantly and said it had already identified $30m in annual savings through optimisation of its production network and $15m through streamlining of its organisational structure.
However, it was not all doom and gloom as total net revenues of $52.8m represented a second consecutive quarterly high and a 61% increase over the same period 12 months prior.
