Retail traders are getting bulled up on Nvidia and Microstrategy

Applied Aerospace & Defense shares are gaining on Thursday, though they’re still trading below their Wednesday IPO price of $20. Yesterday’s debut raised $650 million and put the company’s valuation at roughly $3.5 billion. Despite opening trading at $20.75, shares closed the day at just over $19.

Applied Aerospace manufactures components used in rockets, aircraft, and defense systems, including solid rocket motor cases, fuselage assemblies, and engine shafts. Its customers include companies such as Boeing and Anduril Industries. Separately, its IPO filing showed that its three largest customers accounted for roughly 59% of revenue in 2025.

Investors remain interested in defense-related listings as geopolitical tensions and military spending continue to drive interest in the sector.

“We’re right at the epicenter of doing really incredible mission work supporting next-gen interceptor development, which protects cities and countries,” CEO Trip Ferguson said in an interview with NYSE.

Ciena Corp. shares are plunging Thursday despite the network technology company posting Q2 earnings results that beat Wall Street consensus estimates and raising its full-year outlook.

Ciena stock has surged so far this year, gaining over 150% year to date including today’s drop.

Key numbers:

• Revenue of $1.57 billion (compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion).

• Earnings per share of $1.64 (estimate: $1.46).

• 2026 full-year revenue guidance of $6.3 billion (estimate: $6.18 billion).

Revenue grew 40% year over year. That growth was anchored by the company’s core Optical Networking segment, which brought in $1.1 billion, while its Routing and Switching division nearly doubled to $174.2 million.

Management also raised its full-year fiscal 2026 revenue guidance to $6.3 billion (plus or minus $100 million). This marks a notable upgrade from its previous full-year target range of $5.9 billion to $6.3 billion. For the upcoming fiscal third quarter, the company anticipates revenues of $1.625 billion, exceeding the Wall Street’s expectations of $1.58 billion.

“Today’s results reflect the strength of our portfolio, the power of our business model, and disciplined execution in a dynamic supply environment,” Gary Smith, president and CEO of Ciena, said in a statement.

PVH is plunging in early trading following the release of its Q1 report, as a lowered full-year sales guidance overshadowed an otherwise solid earnings beat. The company, which owns iconic brands Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, warned investors that ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical tensions would impact international revenues.

The primary driver behind the stock collapse is a revised fiscal 2026 forecast that caught Wall Street off guard. Revenue is now projected to be “approximately flat” compared to the flat to slight increase it had forecast previously, with the prolonged war with Iran and its widening economic impact on the EMEA region cited as the cause. Revenue in constant currency terms for the EMEA region fell 5% during the quarter as a result of these disruptions. The company continues to expect growth in its Americas and Asia-Pacific businesses.

PVH continues to expect full-year adjusted earnings between $11.80 and $12.10 per share, which includes a roughly $3.30 impact from tariff costs and around a $1.70 benefit from tariff refunds.

“As we look forward, we are balancing two opposing forces: on one side, the increasing brand and business momentum we are driving in both Calvin and TOMMY, and on the other, the prolonged effects of the Middle East conflict, which is putting pressure on the consumer in EMEA,” Stefan Larsson, the CEO of PVH, commented in a statement. “We are adjusting to the moment, while keeping our long-term approach to fueling our brand and business momentum.”

For Q1 itself, PVH posted total sales that rose 2% year over year to $2.03 billion. The retail brand bounced back to an $88 million profit, or $1.90 per share, reversing a net loss of $44.8 million from the same quarter last year. Growth was anchored by the company’s direct-to-consumer sales, which grew by 6% on the back of strong performance in Calvin Klein denim and underwear, alongside Tommy Hilfiger outerwear.

Despite the sell-off, PVH stock has risen over 30% year to date.

Micron and Sandisk are both down more than 6% on Thursday, as Broadcom’s underwhelming results weigh on the entire AI complex.

But the two memory giants might be under more pressure than others for another reason, too. Reuters reported that Korean rival SK Hynix told investors this week that it received strong backing on its proposed US listing, potentially giving US investors an alternative way to play the memory chip crunch.

Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Reuters report outlined that the South Korean chipmaker received “tremendously positive” feedback from stockholders, thanks to growing AI demand and SK Hynix’s competitive position in the memory chip market. Noting discussions with customers on future pricing of its advanced chips, the company reportedly also told investors that it expects a favorable pricing environment for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to continue into next year, and strong demand for its new, power-efficient LPDDR memory from Nvidia, which could further tighten memory supply from 2027.

Back in March, SK Hynix announced that it had filed an application to list ADRs with the SEC, the review of which remains underway, with aims to go stateside within 2026. Reuter’s cited source noted that the size and pricing of the listing still haven’t been decided, but local Korean media had reported that the company could raise up to $10 billion back in March, when SK Hynix had a market valuation of less than half of what it is today.

Micron is currently the only US-listed company out of the top 3 memory producers (Samsung being the other). SK Hynix remains ahead of Micron across the memory landscape, according to the latest available data on market share by revenue from Counterpoint Research, including DRAM (SK Hynix 29% vs. Micron 22%), NAND (18% vs. 13%), and HBM (57% vs. 21%) chips.