Torsten Asmus
The five biggest gainers among financial stocks this week include two cryptocurrency-related companies, two insurers and a retail trading platform. Instead, a bank-focused lending platform, an insurer, a credit rating and data analytics firm, an investment bank and brokerage, and a data provider for the investment industry, led brought about the greatest reductions.
Overall, financial stocks (with market caps over $2 billion) finished the week ending Feb. 16 in the green, with the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF (NYSEARCA: XLF) up 1.4%outperforming the S&P 500 index Decrease of 0.4%..
With the price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) finishing another strong week, bitcoin miner CleanSpark (NASDAQ:CLSK) grew more than any financial stock, jumping 28%. The company also said operating hashrate increased following its expansion into Sandersville, Georgia.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: MONEY) took the second slot, up 27%, due to a combination of bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) extended bull run and better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. KBW has become more bullish on COIN after reporting its first quarterly profit in about three years.
Mercury General Corp. (NYSE:MCY), which deals with personal car insurance, remained empty up 25% on the heels of stronger-than-expected earnings and revenues for the fourth quarter;
Robinhood Markets Trading App (NASDAQ:HOOD), which reported a surprise fourth-quarter profit during the week, accelerated by 21.2%; AND
Property and casualty insurer Kinsale Capital Group (NYSE:KNSL) rounded out the five biggest winners with a Profit of 20.5%.as fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations.
On the downside, AI-powered lending platform Upstart (NASDAQ:UPST) fell more, down 22.7%as revenue forecasts for 2024 fell short of Wall Street expectations;
In second place, Brighthouse Financial (NASDAQ:BHF) slipped 9.6% after the insurance and investment company reported fourth-quarter earnings significantly below analysts’ expectations;
Moody’s (NYSE:MCO), which during the week posted weaker-than-expected 2024 guidance and less-than-stellar fourth-quarter earnings, retreated 8.5%;
Freedom Estate (NASDAQ:FRHC), an investment and brokerage bank based in Kazakhstan, dropped by 4.5%; AND
Financial data firm FactSet Research Systems (NYSE:FDS) ended the week with a 4% loss..