Stock Markets March 2, 2026

Palantir, AeroVironment Lead Diverse Market Moves as AES Slides on Buyout News

Broad market action spans mega-cap tech, defense contractors, energy and small-cap biotech; gains and losses tied to earnings, strategic moves and deal activity

By Maya Rios PLTR RTX GOOGL BABA AMD
Palantir, AeroVironment Lead Diverse Market Moves as AES Slides on Buyout News
PLTR RTX GOOGL BABA AMD

Stocks moved unevenly on Monday with pronounced rallies in select technology and defense names and steep declines in some energy and leisure companies. Palantir and AeroVironment were among the top gainers, while AES Corp fell sharply amid buyout news. The session featured notable activity across mega-, large-, mid- and small-cap cohorts, driven by earnings beats, corporate developments and acquisition-related announcements.

Key Points

  • Palantir (PLTR) and AeroVironment (AVAV) were among the biggest gainers on Monday, with PLTR up 5.65% and AVAV up 17.79%.
  • AES Corp (AES) dropped 17.25% after agreeing to a $10.7 billion buyout by a GIP-EQT consortium; several cruise and leisure stocks also posted notable declines.
  • Activity spanned mega-, large-, mid- and small-cap stocks, with tech and defense names leading advances and energy, travel and certain biotech names showing steep losses.

Equity trading on Monday produced a mix of sharp advances and sizable declines across market-cap segments as company-specific developments drove investor flows. Technology, defense and several smaller growth names posted strong upside, while some energy and travel-related issues lagged following transaction and earnings-related headlines.


Mega-cap movers

  • Palantir Technologies (PLTR) climbed 5.65%.
  • United Tech (RTX) rose 3.64%.
  • Google Inc (GOOGL) slipped 2.26% amid mentions of cloud hosting for a major voice assistant upgrade.
  • Alibaba-exch (BABA) declined 2.82%.
  • Adv Micro Device (AMD) fell 3.31%.
  • IBM (IBM) dipped 0.88%.

Large-cap movers

  • AeroVironment (AVAV) led gains in the group, jumping 17.79%.
  • Venture Global Inc (VG) surged 18.42% following a fourth-quarter earnings beat.
  • Karman Holdings (KRMN) rose 12.71%.
  • Circle Internet Group Inc (CRCL) added 11.82%.
  • Kratos Defense & (KTOS) gained 10.95% after deployment news for its OpenSpace platform.
  • Coherent (COHR) increased 9.3% on a reported investment and purchase commitment from Nvidia.
  • Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) tumbled 10.1%.
  • Aes Corp (AES) dropped 17.25% following agreement on a $10.7 billion buyout by a GIP-EQT consortium.
  • Exelixis Inc (EXEL) fell 9.1%.
  • Carnival Corp-Exch (CCL) slipped 7.74%.

Mid-cap movers

  • Ondas (ONDS) jumped 18.76% after announcing a $10 million investment in World View tied to a defense ISR partnership.
  • Applied Opt (AAOI) rose 12.24%.
  • SOLT (SOLT) climbed 15.51%.
  • nLIGHT Inc (LASR) advanced 14.65%.
  • Figure Technology Solutions Ltd (FIGR) was up 12.42%.
  • Arcus Biosciences Inc (RCUS) gained 9.23%.
  • AXT Inc (AXTI) increased 5.44%.
  • Dynergy (DYN) fell 5.95%.
  • ADT Corp-Exch (ADT) declined 12.91%.
  • Turning Point Brands Inc (TPB) plunged 20.68%.

Small-cap movers

  • TimefireVR (RCAT) led small-cap gains with a 27.13% jump.
  • Apollo Medical (ASTH) rose 26.46% following an earnings beat and upbeat guidance.
  • Sabre Corpo (SABR) gained 24.15%.
  • Osprey Technology Acquisition (BKSY) climbed 18.46%.
  • Hyperliquid Strategies (PURR) advanced 19.36%.
  • LightPath Technol (LPTH) was up 16.59%.
  • Unusual Machines (UMAC) added 14.21%.
  • Urogen Pharma Ltd (URGN) declined 8.34% after announcing refinancing of debt with a $250 million facility priced at an 8.25% rate.
  • Mri Interventions (CLPT) dropped 26.17%.
  • Uniqure Nv (QURE) fell 36.72% following an FDA decision that rejected certain trial data as sufficient for approval of AMT-130.

The session underscored how a mix of corporate announcements - from earnings beats and strategic investments to regulatory feedback and acquisition deals - can produce wide dispersions in performance across market-cap brackets. Technology and defense-related companies registered some of the strongest gains, while companies tied to energy, travel and certain biotech names recorded heavier losses.

Market context and takeaways

  • Rallies were concentrated in names with earnings upside, strategic partnerships or investor interest in defense and optics sectors.
  • Large declines were associated with transaction news and regulatory setbacks, affecting energy, cruise operators and specific biotech issuers.
  • Smaller-cap names showed elevated volatility, reflecting company-specific catalysts ranging from refinancing terms to clinical data outcomes.

Risks

  • Transaction-related news can depress share prices of target companies - relevant to energy and infrastructure sectors as shown by AES Corp’s 17.25% decline.
  • Regulatory setbacks can cause steep sell-offs in biotech names, exemplified by Uniqure Nv (QURE) dropping 36.72% after data was deemed insufficient for approval.
  • Smaller-cap equities may experience outsized volatility tied to company-specific financing or earnings outcomes, as seen with Urogen Pharma’s refinancing announcement and multiple small-cap moves.

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