Torsten Asmus
The five biggest gainers among financial stocks this week included two cryptocurrency-related companies, two insurers and one retail trading platform. Conversely, one bank-focused lending platform, one insurer, one credit rating and data analytics firm, one investment bank and brokerage, and one data provider for the investment industry, led the led the biggest decliners.
In all, financial stocks (with market cap over $2B) closed out the week ended Feb. 16 in the green, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA:XLF) advancing 1.4%, outpacing the S&P 500’s 0.4% decrease.
With the price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) finishing off another strong week, bitcoin miner CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) rose the most of any financial stock, jumping 28%. The company also said it’s operating hashrate increased in the wake of its expansion in Sandersville, Georgia.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) took the second slot, up 27%, due to a combination of bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) extended bull run and the company’s better-than-expected Q4 earnings. KBW turned more bullish on COIN after posting its first quarterly profit in about three years.
Mercury General Corp. (NYSE:MCY), which engages in writing personal auto insurance, gapped up 25% on the heels of stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for Q4;
Trading app Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ:HOOD), which during the week delivered a surprise Q4 profit, accelerated 21.2%; and
Property and casualty insurer Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL) rounded out the five biggest winners with a 20.5% gain, as its Q4 earnings surpassed Wall Street expectations.
On the negative side, AI-driven lending platform Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) fell the most, down 22.7%, as its 2024 revenue guidance didn’t live up to Wall Street expectations;
Coming in a distant second, Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) slid 9.6% after the insurance and investment company posted Q4 earnings that were significantly weaker than analysts expected;
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO), which during the week issued weaker-than-hoped 2024 guidance and less-than-stellar Q4 earnings, retreated 8.5%;
Freedom Holding (NASDAQ:FRHC), a Kazakhstan-based investment bank and brokerage, dipped 4.5%; and
Financial data company FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) finished the week with a 4% loss.