Stock market indices rallied every day for their best week since early November as coronavirus vaccine news swayed investors' mood. The Nasdaq (COMP) leads major indices with 5% gains for the week. The broader S&P 500 (SP500) is up about 4% for the week, with the Dow Industrials (DJI) adding 3%.
Winners & Losers
Reddit WallStreetBets’ favorites were some of the biggest losers. GameStop (NYSE:GME) is down by 72% for the week as of this writing, though shares are trading higher on Friday. Koss Corp. (NASDAQ:KOSS) has fallen by 55% this week with National Beverage (NASDAQ:FIZZ) giving up 30% and Tootsie Roll (NYSE:TR) dropping by 19%. Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) are down almost 20%, with AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) 17% lower.
Some of the week’s big losers were heavily-shorted names. iRhythm Technologies (NASDAQ:IRTC) is down 30% for the week as reimbursement issues were flagged as a concern for the company. Clover Health (NASDAQ:CLOV), which was the subject of a short-seller report from Hindenberg, dropped 13%. BofA has since defended the company but CLOV declined again on Friday.
Defensive names that performed well during the height of Covid also saw selling in their shares. Cloros (NYSE:CLX) is down 8.5% for the week. Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) dropped by 5.5%. Real estate companies also sold off: Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE:VNO) shares were down 7.3%. SL Green Realty (NYSE:SLG) fell 6.5%.
Novavax (NASDAQ:NVAX) was one of the winners, with shares more than doubling this week. Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) shares are up 12% after an upgrade from Wells Fargo.
What Caught Our Eye(s) This Week

Brad: Silver spikes as retail buyers try squeeze play and its aftermath of coverage; Match Group (NASDAQ:MTCH) earnings and Jeff Bezos' retiring from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Stephen: Alex Rodriquez is sponsoring a SPAC.

Nat: "Stephen stole my idea."

About This Podcast
Alpha TALKS Wall Street Breakfast is a weekly roundtable covering what moved markets this week (WMMTW), featuring a panel of Seeking Alpha editors.
Hosted by Nathaniel E. Baker, Senior Editor, Strategic Contributors, and featuring:

Bradley Olesen, VP News;

Kim Khan, Senior News Editor (off this week);

Stephen Alpher, Managing Editor News, co-host of Seeking Alpha's Alpha Trader podcast.


AlphaTALKS videos, featuring highlights of this podcast, publish every Friday by close of trading.
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