What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after the technology sector rallied, pushing the Nasdaq near all-time highs, as investors cheered a potential de-escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East amid a flurry of positive news in the artificial intelligence space.
The broader market sentiment was lifted by expectations of a resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict, which helped the S&P 500 cross the 7,000 mark. However, the tech sector saw particularly strong performance, driven by excitement around AI. Underscoring this trend, reports emerged that Uber is investing over $10 billion to acquire a fleet of autonomous vehicles. This move signals a major strategic shift for the company and highlights the massive capital flowing into AI-driven technologies, boosting confidence across the industry and affecting related players like Alphabet's Waymo and Tesla.
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:
- Online Marketplace company Instacart (NASDAQ: CART) jumped 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Instacart? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Online Marketplace company Etsy (NYSE: ETSY) jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Etsy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Consumer Subscription company Match Group (NASDAQ: MTCH) jumped 3.7%. Is now the time to buy Match Group? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Online Travel company Expedia (NASDAQ: EXPE) jumped 4%. Is now the time to buy Expedia? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Expedia (EXPE)
Expedia’s shares are quite volatile and have had 15 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 6 days ago when the stock dropped 3.9% on the news that the company filed for a proposed offering of up to $1 billion in senior notes.
The debt, which carried a 5.500% interest rate and was due in 2036, was intended for general corporate purposes, including refinancing existing debt, paying dividends, repurchasing shares, and funding operations. While S&P Global Ratings assigned an investment-grade 'BBB' rating to the new notes, the agency also noted that ongoing economic headwinds and geopolitical risks could slow Expedia's revenue growth.
Expedia is down 8.7% since the beginning of the year, and at $258.27 per share, it is trading 14.3% below its 52-week high of $301.31 from January 2026. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Expedia’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,514.
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