Meme Stock Euphoria, Thermo Fisher Jumps, Chipotle Cuts Outlook

On this edition of Stock Movers:

- Meme stock mania is spreading to a growing number of speculative stocks, underscoring the appetite among retail traders for riskier bets even with the market at all-time highs. Chatter across social media platforms first fixed on Opendoor Technologies Inc. (OPEN) but has since expanded to other heavily discounted names like Kohl’s Corp. (KSS), GoPro Inc. (GPRO) and Krispy Kreme Inc. (DNUT), sending them all flying to eye-popping rallies. While the number of stocks being drawn into the frenzy is growing, the rallies have been volatile and often short lived, raising questions about whether the companies will be able to take advantage of their elevated share prices to raise fresh capital, the way that AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC) and GameStop Corp. (GME) did during the original meme stock craze of 2021. Krispy Kreme, for example, rose as much as 39% when the market opened Wednesday, but closed just 4.6% higher.

- Thermo Fisher (TMO) shares jumped after the company raised its full year outlook as it no longer expects tariffs to bite as much as when it issued the forecast. "The US-China tariff situation has improved significantly versus our prior guidance assumptions,” Chief Financial Officer Stephen Williamson said during a call with analysts. “We reflected the Q2 benefit of that in our revised guidance. "Sales will be $43.6 billion to $44.2 billion this year, up $120 million from its previous view, Williamson said during a conference call. Analysts had expected $43.7 billion. The company also raised its profit view by 23 cents at the mid-point of its new target range.

- Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) shares tumbled after the restaurant chain cut its annual outlook for the second time this year, suggesting that honey chicken and burrito giveaways haven’t been enough to offset a traffic slump. Chipotle now expects sales at established restaurants to be about flat for the full year, the company said Wednesday. It previously forecast the metric would expand by a low-single digit. Chipotle had already cut its annual guidance earlier this year after economic uncertainty, among other factors, dinged results. The Mexican-inspired chain has deployed everything from a limited-time launch of honey chicken to an adobo ranch sauce and free food to reel customers in. But transactions still slumped, driving a comparable sales decline of 4% in the quarter, which was a steeper decline than analysts were expecting.

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