The stock market has seen a remarkable surge in recent months, climbing 21% since the end of October. Rallies as strong as this one tend to yield several stock winners, which in this case are primarily GenAI-focused companies.
Some analysts believe this rally could extend through 2024, contingent on several key factors. One of the key bull drivers is earnings resilience, including better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and encouraging company guidance, with EPS growth tracking around 7%.
Moreover, the sustained economic resilience could buoy further market gains. Another factor that will decide whether the current market rally can continue is the pace of rate cuts that may not meet the aggressive forecasts.
The stock market’s recent success largely stems from a robust economy avoiding recession. This economic strength remains pivotal for continued market growth, as a weaker economy, while potentially prompting more aggressive rate cuts, poses risks to the market’s trajectory.
While the stock market’s trajectory remains positive, it is contingent on economic resilience, Federal Reserve policy decisions, and continued technological advancement driving corporate growth.
This post looks at several stock winners this year as the S&P 500 tried to make the 5000 handle its floor heading forward.
MicroCloud Hologram (HOLO)
MicroCloud Hologram (NASDAQ:HOLO) technology offers cutting-edge solutions for immersive experiences, blending physical and digital worlds. With applications ranging from entertainment to education and beyond, Microcloud is working to provide a glimpse into the future of augmented reality.
Shares are up 1,700% year-to-date (as of writing). There is no exact reason why shares are surging in 2024. The company did announce that it will join the Communications Industry Association. By leveraging the association’s platform, the company aims to shape the future of communication technologies, a crucial aspect of its holographic technology advancements and broader industry impact.
“Over the past few years, many of the proposals put forward by the Association have received the attention and support of the relevant departments,” it is said in a press release.
MicroCloud Hologram’s financial report for all of 2022 revealed total revenue of $54 million. After deducting the cost of revenue at $24 million, the company achieved a gross profit of $33 million.
Beamr Imaging (BMR)
Beamr Imaging (NASDAQ:BMR) is a technology company specializing in video compression and optimization solutions. Their advanced algorithms significantly reduce file sizes without compromising quality, enabling faster, more efficient distribution of high-resolution video content. Beamr’s technology is widely used in media and entertainment, facilitating seamless streaming and storage of videos across various platforms.
Beamr Imaging is one of the 2024 stock winners without any doubts after the company’s shares skyrocketed following the Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) partnership announcement. This collaboration aims to address the slow adoption of the efficient AV1 video format, backed by major tech companies like Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT).
The challenge lies in upgrading existing video libraries to accommodate advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, streaming, and user-generated content. The Beamr-NVIDIA research focuses on facilitating the transition to AV1, proposing an automated process for converting video libraries to the new format without sacrificing quality and leveraging NVIDIA’s hardware for optimized bitrate and quality maintenance.
Beamr’s solution, powered by NVIDIA’s encoder (NVENC), aims to overcome current challenges by offering hardware-accelerated AV1 encoding that matches or surpasses the performance of previous formats at comparable costs. The process also automates the conversion to AV1, ensuring a seamless transition without quality loss.
Beamr is also preparing to launch a new video cloud service on Amazon’s AWS, powered by NVIDIA, to simplify and democratize video processing. An upcoming webinar with Beamr CEO Sharon Carmel will provide further insights into this launch and Beamr’s Q2 roadmap.
Shares are up more than 760% year-to-date.
Elevation Oncology
Elevation Oncology (NASDAQ:ELEV) is also among this year’s stock winners. This is an oncology-focused biotech company that works on discovering and developing selective cancer therapies.
Its shares skyrocketed in the first week of 2024 after the company issued a business update and said that its current cash reserves would be sufficient to fund its current operations into the second half of 2025.
The company is focusing on advancing EO-3021, an anti-Claudin 18.2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) therapy aimed at treating a variety of solid tumors. Joseph Ferra, President and CEO, highlighted the progress made in 2023, emphasizing EO-3021’s potential as a differentiated and possibly superior therapy based on initial clinical data. Elevation Oncology plans to share further updates from its ongoing trial of EO-3021 in mid-2024, with additional data expected in early 2025.
The company’s development strategy includes exploring EO-3021 in combination with immunotherapy and targeted agents, especially for gastric cancer treatment, with plans to initiate a Phase 1 combination study in the first half of 2024. Moreover, Elevation Oncology is advancing a second program targeting HER3 with an ADC, aiming to nominate a development candidate later in the year.
EO-3021’s advancement includes a Phase 1 trial with promising initial results from a partner study in China showing a 47.1% overall response rate in Claudin 18.2-expressing gastric cancer. The company has also started enrolling patients for a multi-center trial to assess EO-3021’s safety, tolerability, and anti-tumor activity.
ELEV is up 450% YTD.
On the date of publication, Shane Neagle did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
