Microchip Shares Surge as Analysts Increase Price Targets
Recent reports show that shares of Microchip Technology (MCHP) experienced a significant increase on Friday after the chipmaker released a more favorable forecast than anticipated, leading several analysts to raise their stock price targets.
The stock price climbed nearly 12%, reaching around $55, although it has still lost approximately 40% of its value over the last year.
Microchip has projected fiscal first-quarter revenues between $1.02 billion and $1.07 billion, along with adjusted earnings of 18 to 26 cents per share, surpassing the expectations set by analysts from Visible Alpha.
Following these results, Jefferies analysts expressed optimism, stating, “It appears we’ve reached the bottom,” and foresee a potential rebound in the upcoming quarters after a marked revenue decline in Q4.
The company’s Q4 sales plummeted 27% year-over-year to $970.5 million, yet this decline was milder than Wall Street’s predictions. CEO Steve Sanghi remarked that this period marks “the bottom of this prolonged downturn.”
In response to market conditions, Citi analysts have adjusted their target for Microchip shares from $50 to $55, while Bank of America has upgraded their price target from $44 to $56 and changed their rating to “neutral.”
Expedia Stock Declines Amid Decrease in US Travel Demand
Expedia Group (EXPE) shares fell on Friday after the travel company reported disappointing first-quarter results and reduced its full-year forecast due to weak demand in the U.S.
The firm disclosed revenue of $2.99 billion and total bookings of $31.45 billion, both improvements from last year but below analysts’ expectations.
While adjusted earnings per share reached $0.40, a 90% increase year-over-year, the reported net loss per share of $1.56 was significantly higher than the anticipated $0.42.
CEO Ariane Gorin acknowledged the growth in bookings and revenue despite a decline in U.S. demand and noted a shift in travel trends, with more European customers heading to Latin America instead of the U.S.
Expedia’s CFO projected 2% to 4% growth in bookings and 3% to 5% revenue growth for Q2 but revised the full-year outlook from 4% to 6% growth down to 2% to 4%.
Expedia shares recently dropped by 8% and have fallen 16% since the beginning of the year.
Cloudflare Stock Jumps After Beating Revenue Predictions
Shares of Cloudflare (NET) surged on Friday after the cloud services provider exceeded revenue estimates with significant new contracts.
The company reported a 27% year-over-year revenue growth, totaling $479.1 million, outperforming Visible Alpha’s estimates by about $10 million, though adjusted earnings per share fell just short of forecasts at $0.16.
CEO Matthew Prince announced that Cloudflare secured its largest-ever contract—over $100 million—along with its longest-term secure access service edge (SASE) contract.
Cloudflare anticipates full-year adjusted EPS in the range of $0.79 to $0.80, with projected revenue between $2.090 billion and $2.094 billion, aligning closely with analyst expectations.
After the news, Cloudflare’s stock rose by 7%, marking a total gain of approximately 24% since the beginning of 2025.
Tesla Shares Rise, Aiming for Third Consecutive Weekly Gain
Tesla (TSLA) shares increased on Friday, adding to substantial gains from the previous session and positioning the stock for a third consecutive week of growth.
The stock was recently up 5%, hovering around $300, having reached $307 earlier, its highest point since February, amid growing optimism regarding potential U.S. trade deals.
Despite these recent gains, Tesla’s shares are down about 25% since the start of the year, following a weak start to the week attributed to declining sales and registrations in several regions.
Investors are looking forward to future announcements about Tesla’s self-driving robotaxis initiative, which the company plans to launch in Austin by next month.
Pinterest Shares Jump as Revenue and User Numbers Surpass Expectations
Pinterest (PINS) stocks soared in early trading on Friday after the social media platform reported first-quarter revenue and user figures that exceeded estimates.
The company posted an earnings per share of $0.01, with revenue growing 17% year-over-year to $855 million, surpassing analyst predictions of a loss per share and revenue of $846.9 million.
Pinterest also saw its monthly active users rise by 10% to a record 570 million, exceeding expectations.
With the rollout of AI tools for advertisers, Pinterest anticipates second-quarter revenue between $960 million and $980 million, indicating growth of 12% to 15%.
Shares of Pinterest rose by 10% during recent trading, although they started the day down 4% year-to-date.
Major Stock Indexes Set for Third Straight Week of Gains
With stocks trending upwards early on Friday, major U.S. indexes are on course to achieve something not seen in more than six months.
As of now, the Dow is slightly up for the week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are each down by less than half a percent. If they all end the week positively, it would mark three consecutive weeks of gains.
This recent rally has significantly narrowed the year-to-date losses for the major indexes.
