Equity markets ended a turbulent week with late gains, but major benchmarks were nevertheless on track to close lower after sizable losses in technology names earlier in the period. Within that backdrop, several large-cap and niche stocks recorded outsized moves tied to earnings, guidance, corporate transactions and the price of bitcoin.
Walmart
As market participants rotated toward less-cyclical assets amid heightened technology volatility, Walmart shares rose sharply, gaining more than 11% over the week. The advance took the stock above $130 and lifted the company’s market capitalization to above $1 trillion.
PayPal
Shares of the digital-payments company plunged more than 20% on Tuesday and finished the week down in excess of 23% after the firm reported fourth-quarter results and revenue that fell short of analyst expectations. The company also announced a leadership transition: Enrique Lores will assume the role of President and CEO effective March 1, 2026, replacing Alex Chriss.
Wolfe Research analyst Darrin Peller wrote that the results and guidance were worse than expected and raised "greater questions around execution and market share/competition."
Novo Nordisk
Shares of Novo Nordisk tumbled more than 14% on Tuesday and were down over 21% on the week after the company released fourth-quarter results and issued a sales warning for 2026. The company’s position in the obesity-treatment market faces evolving price pressures, according to commentary from analysts.
BMO Capital analyst Evan Seigerman highlighted that, following policy developments and the need for new efforts to maintain access, Novo now faces substantial pricing headwinds in the U.S. He added that while initial signs of growth for the Wegovy pill exist, concessions for injectable GLP-1s are weighing on the topline and offsetting gains in the oral segment.
Silicon Laboratories
Silicon Laboratories rallied dramatically midweek after an acquisition agreement was announced, surging more than 48% on Wednesday and ending the week roughly 44% higher. Texas Instruments agreed to acquire the company in an all-cash deal at about $231 per share, equating to an enterprise value near $7.5 billion.
MicroStrategy and Bitcoin
MicroStrategy's share price moved sharply in step with bitcoin. After drifting lower through most of the week, the stock rebounded on Friday, climbing more than 24% intraday, although it was still set to finish the week around 5% lower overall. Bitcoin’s price swung widely as well, plunging to a Thursday low near $62,200 before recovering to above $70,100 by Friday’s close.
Benchmark analyst Mark Palmer reiterated a Buy rating and a $705 price target on MicroStrategy, noting a valuation approach based on the projected value of the company’s bitcoin holdings as of year-end 2026, a 10x multiple of its FY26E bitcoin gain, and the projected value of the company’s software business as of year-end 2026. Palmer’s price target assumes bitcoin reaches $225,000 at year-end 2026.
Amazon
Amazon shares fell more than 5% on Friday after the company released its quarterly report following Thursday’s market close. While Amazon beat top-line estimates for the quarter, the firm guided to roughly $200 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, a figure notably higher than market expectations.
Morgan Stanley equity analyst Brian Nowak said that AWS is accelerating and retail operations are improving in efficiency. He noted that Amazon is making investments in areas including cloud, retail and LEO, and that the company’s history of generating returns on invested capital leaves him bullish on the firm as a generative-AI beneficiary.
Across the companies highlighted this week, the week’s moves reflect a mix of defensive buying, reactions to earnings misses and guidance, the effects of corporate transactions, and strong linkages to cryptocurrency price volatility. Investors reacted distinctly to each catalyst, moving capital toward perceived safety in retail while penalizing firms facing execution, competitive, or pricing pressures.