Gainers:
Ceres Power (+25%): The British clean energy technology developer has signed a collaboration and manufacturing license agreement with Taiwanese thermal and energy management solutions company Delta Electronics to produce solid oxide electrolysis and fuel cells. The agreement is expected to generate at least £43 million for Ceres, half of which as early as 2024, plus additional royalties, notably on Delta's sales to end-customers. As a reminder, the British group's revenues amounted to £22.1 million in 2022.
Flutter (+23%): The Irish gambling and sports betting giant moved higher after reporting market share gains, higher-than-expected margins in the US market and a 15% rise in sales in the last quarter. The market did not punish management's comments on the weaker-than-expected growth of its US unit Fanduel, due to a series of favorable results for players. As a reminder, Flutter became the first online betting operator to turn a profit in the US since the lifting of the sports betting ban in 2018.
Super Micro Computer (+21%), AMD (+11%), ASM International (+10%): Companies in the semiconductor sector are doing well at the end of the week. They are benefiting, among other things, from better-than-expected quarterly results from Taiwanese giant TSMC, and an upgraded outlook for US server manufacturer Super Micro Computer.
Pure Storage (+9%): Shares climbed followed an announcement from KeyBanc Capital Markets, which raised the company's price target from $40 to $43 while maintaining an overweight rating.
Fallers:
Plug Power (-27%): The US hydrogen fuel cell specialist has plummeted after announcing a $1 billion share sale, the proceeds of which will be used to fund the group's working capital requirements and capital expenditure. Faced with liquid hydrogen supply difficulties in North America, the company had already raised doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern last November. A week ago, Susquehanna lowered its buy recommendation to neutral and its target price for the stock from USD 9 to USD 4.50. The share price has dropped 44% since January 1.
Nio (-17%), Rivian (-13%) Vinfast (-13%) Lucid group (-13%):Electric vehicle manufacturers are being dragged down by Tesla's poor performance at the start of the year. Elon Musk's group has been forced to lower its prices again in China, and Hertz has just suffered a severe reversal: the rental company has decided to get rid of its Tesla fleet, due to excessively high repair costs. The global economic context is also not very favorable for the sector, which is suffering from a slowdown in the adoption of electric models. At the margin, Vietnamese manufacturer Vinfast failed to meet its sales target for 2023 (with fewer than 35,000 vehicles delivered, compared with 45,000 to 50,000 announced). And Deutsche Bank drastically lowered its target price for Rivian from USD 29 to USD 19.
Albemarle (-10%): The low demand for electric vehicles is also impacting lithium producers, since the rare metal is a key component in EV batteries. Albemarle plans to cut costs and slash jobs as falling tumbling lithium prices hamper sales and profits.
The company said it will reduce capital expenditures and optimize its cost structure.
Ocado Group (-15%): Ocado Retail, the joint venture between the Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer, reported a 7% rise in sales revenue for the year, boasted a remarkable holiday season and unveiled an encouraging outlook for the 2024 financial year. But the market punished the Group's statements, saying that it is operating at around 75% capacity and does not plan to open any new robotized warehouses in the UK for another two or three years.
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