US markets opened lower on Friday after a week that has presented investors with a real mixed bag of earnings from some of North America’s heaviest hitters. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) was among the big-name movers after the opening bell, with its share price slipping by more than 10% after the online retail giant’s first quarter earnings disappointed investors.
Oil and gold prices are both on the rise, while Bitcoin is in the red.
Here are Friday’s trending stocks:
Pinduoduo Inc (NASDAQ: PDD)
This stock is up 14% in this morning's trading session as Chinese tech stocks enjoy a rally. News that US and Chinese officials are discussing how to allow on-site audit inspections of Chinese companies listed in New York is encouraging news for investors.
There also appeared to be a potential easing of restrictions in Shanghai but The Central Political Bureau of the CCP has reiterated its commitment to zero Covid policy. Plus, more businesses and residential compounds are closed in Beijing amid a ramp in testing.
PDD is the largest agriculture-focused technology platform in China. It has created a platform that connects farmers and distributors with consumers directly through its interactive shopping experience.
Over the past year, Pinduoduo (PDD)’s stock is down by -68.25% while the S&P 500 is up 1.34% over the same period.
Zymeworks Inc (NYSE: ZYME)
This Canadian biotech stock, which develops protein therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, has seen its share price leap on Friday morning.
This comes after the business confirmed it had received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from All Blue Falcons and its affiliates to purchase the company for $10.50 per share in cash. This values the company at more than $770m.
No formal offer has yet been made by investment firm All Blue Falcons, but Zymeworks said shareholders could expect to receive a formal recommendation in due course if such a proposal is received.
At the time of writing, Zymeworks shares were up by 32.33% at $6.59 per share.
Accolade (NASDAQ: ACCD)
This personalized healthcare company is down 46% today. This comes one day after what seemed like positive earnings release on the 28th April. The company posted Fiscal year 2022 revenue of $310.0m, an 82% increase compared to fiscal year 2021 revenue of $170.4m which is an 82% increase.
However, the net loss grew 143% for the same period from $50.7m to $123.1m. This has led to analysts changing their outlook and price targets. Bank of America changed their rating from a buy to a neutral and cut their price target from $45 to $9. This is in line with what Morgan Stanley has for the stock.
Accolade CFO, Steve Barnes, said:
“The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022 marked the eighth straight quarter of exceeding our financial targets since our IPO in July 2020. We have delivered that consistency by being highly cognizant of the environment we operate in, and planning our business accordingly.”
Currently the stock is trading at $5.95. This gives the stock still a potential upside of 51%.
