Warner Bros. Discovery and Tesla power this week’s gains as S&P 500 hits highest level since August
Warner Bros. Discovery and Tesla helped push the market higher this week, as the S & P 500 approached its fourth-straight week of gains. This week’s weekly advance would mark the S & P 500’s longest weekly winning streak since August. While certain big names stood out from the crowd, even small-cap equities were participating in the rally. That could point to broader market participation. On Friday , the index continued to move higher, rising 4,300 for the first time since August. Here are the biggest winners in the S & P 500 so far this week. Warner Bros. Discovery popped 19% week to date and still has another 47% upside, based on FactSet’s average analyst price target. About 59% of the analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. The media giant’s rally began Wednesday after the departure of CNN CEO Chris Licht , who was under fire for the cable channel’s town hall with former President Donald Trump and had been facing a rebellion among the staff. CNN, owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, is now seeking a new chief executive. On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery said it had paid down a portion of its debt load this week, further fueling the rally. Shares are up about 48% this year. Meanwhile, Tesla ‘s ride higher continued this week, with the electric vehicle maker climbing about 16% since Monday. The stock is up a whopping 104% year to date. However, analysts think the stock may have run too far, with the average analyst price target pointing to more than 20% downside. Some 40% of the analysts covering the stock give it a buy rating. The stock jumped Friday and was on track to match its longest winning streak ever following the announcement after the bell Thursday that GM has partnered with Tesla to use its charging stations. The deal follows a similar announcement in late May that Ford will have access to Tesla superchargers. Ford and GM are also among this week’s winners, with the former up 12% and the latter rising nearly 9%. Some 56% of analysts covering GM give it a buy rating. Only 35% of those covering Ford rate it a buy, however. Among those is Citi analyst Itay Michaeli, who upgraded Ford to buy from neutral Monday. Among his reasons are his bank’s latest survey that shows seasonally adjusted auto sales could reach 19 million in the coming years and electric vehicle sentiment improvement as Ford’s Model e unit executes toward its margin targets for the second half of the year. Ford shares are up about 20% year to date, while GM has gained around 10%. F YTD mountain Ford year to date Two cruise stocks made the cut as well. Both Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival , which were also among last week’s winners , are up 8%. Carnival also hit a new 52-week high Friday. Consumers are still spending on travel even as they pull back on discretionary spending, and cruise lines are now on track for perhaps the biggest recovery in the sector this year. Cruise companies were the last of the group to climb following the Covid-19 pandemic, after being shuttered for more than a year and then dealing with restrictions. Norwegian has rallied more than 41% in 2023, but just 37% of analysts covering the stock rate it a buy. Meanwhile, Carnival has soared nearly 64% year to date, but only 35% give it a buy rating. Norwegian has about 4% downside to the average price target and Carnival has 13% downside.
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