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:

• Renewable Energy company Fluence Energy (NASDAQ: FLNC) jumped 5.1%. Is now the time to buy Fluence Energy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Defense Contractors company BWX (NYSE: BWXT) jumped 5.5%. Is now the time to buy BWX? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Specialty Equipment Distributors company Herc (NYSE: HRI) jumped 5.5%. Is now the time to buy Herc? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Renewable Energy company Nextpower (NASDAQ: NXT) jumped 5.5%. Is now the time to buy Nextpower? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Specialty Equipment Distributors company Custom Truck One Source (NYSE: CTOS) jumped 5.3%. Is now the time to buy Custom Truck One Source? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Herc (HRI)

Herc’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 42 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock dropped 7.3% on the news that BofA Securities double-downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "buy," citing impacts from the Hollywood writers and actors strike. 

The investment bank also cut its price target on the stock to $140 from $150 a share. BofA's decision to lower its rating was based on the potential effects of the Hollywood writers and actors strike. The bank expressed concern that prolonged labor disputes in the entertainment industry could reduce the need for Herc's rental equipment, which is frequently used for film and television productions, thereby affecting the company's performance.

Herc is up 18.3% since the beginning of the year, but at $180.18 per share, it is still trading 14% below its 52-week high of $209.39 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Herc’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,525.

The 1999 book Gorilla Game predicted Microsoft and Apple would dominate tech before it happened. Its thesis? Identify the platform winners early. Today, enterprise software companies embedding generative AI are becoming the new gorillas. Click here for access to our special report that reveals one profitable leader already riding this wave, it’s free.