In other news, Novavax's stock price surged by 126% following a $1.2 billion licensing partnership with Sanofi. Alphabet's stock, however, slipped due to rising competition from OpenAI, which is planning to announce an AI-powered Google Search competitor. Akamai Technologies was the worst-performing stock on the S&P 500, dropping more than 9% despite reporting strong financials, due to a weak outlook for the upcoming quarter.
Key takeaways:
- Stocks are set to close higher on Friday, with the Dow potentially extending its winning streak to eight consecutive days, driven by positive sentiment following a weak job report.
- Novavax stock surged 126% after announcing a $1.2 billion licensing partnership with French pharmaceutical company Sanofi, which includes a $500 million up-front payment and up to $700 million in development, regulatory, and launch milestones.
- Alphabet stock slipped due to rising competition from OpenAI, which is reportedly planning to announce an AI-powered Google Search competitor as early as Monday.
- Akamai Technologies was the worst-performing stock on the S&P 500, dropping more than 9% despite reporting a revenue increase of 7.8% to $986.97 million. The company projected a weak outlook for the upcoming quarter.