Nasdaq-listed chipmakers were on pace for a fourth straight winning day on Friday while crypto-exposed stocks rose after bitcoin topped $80,000. Netflix dropped almost 5% on a Wells Fargo downgrade, and Xenon Pharmaceuticals sank 30% after pausing patient enrollment in its depression studies.
Chip stocks led midday gains, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF up about 0.6%, putting it on pace for a fourth straight winning day.
Chipmakers on pace for fourth straight gain
Applied Materials rose 4%. Lam Research advanced 5%. Broadcom's stock jumped more than 2%. Memory chip names also gained ground. Sandisk climbed 7%. Seagate Technology rose 4%.
Elsewhere in semiconductors, Macom Technology Solutions rose 4% after a BMO Capital Markets upgrade to outperform. Analysts said the stock's valuation looked attractive following a more than 35% decline from its 2026 highs, even as its data center, industrial and defense businesses stayed strong.
Crypto-linked stocks rise with bitcoin
Shares of crypto-exposed companies rose after bitcoin surpassed $80,000, last trading almost 6% higher. Robinhood rose 8%. Coinbase gained 11%. Crypto treasury company Strategy jumped 12%.
Netflix slides on downgrade
Netflix shares declined almost 5% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to underweight. Analysts at the bank pointed to worrying engagement trends and weaker content expected in the second half of 2026, which they said will lead to lower margin expansion in 2027 and 2028.
Xenon Pharmaceuticals plunges
Xenon Pharmaceuticals sank 30% after the company said it was pausing enrollment for new patients in its clinical studies for treatments for major and bipolar depression. The pause followed the discovery of neuropsychiatric side effects in the studies and is expected to be temporary.
Source: CNBC
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