What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after comments from a key Federal Reserve official bolstered hopes for an interest rate cut.
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams stated he sees “room for a further adjustment” in the near term, sparking a significant market rally. Following his remarks, the probability of the central bank cutting rates at its December meeting jumped from 39% to over 73%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. This positive sentiment provided relief to markets amid concerns over high valuations, particularly in AI-related stocks.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Leisure Products company Malibu Boats (NASDAQ:MBUU) jumped 9.3%. Is now the time to buy Malibu Boats? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Leisure Facilities company Xponential Fitness (NYSE:XPOF) jumped 9.7%. Is now the time to buy Xponential Fitness? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Zooming In On Xponential Fitness (XPOF)
Xponential Fitness’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 44 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 17 days ago when the stock dropped 3% on the news that markets became increasingly wary of high valuations following a significant AI-driven rally.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell approximately 1.4% as a wave of caution swept through the market. A key example of this trend is Palantir Technologies, which saw its shares drop around 7% despite reporting record quarterly results that surpassed analyst estimates and raising its full-year revenue outlook. This seemingly contradictory movement highlighted a broader sentiment shift. Investors appeared to be engaging in profit-taking, concerned that the recent surge in AI-related stocks had led to stretched valuations. This broader market caution affected high-growth technology companies that had previously surged on AI optimism but faced increased scrutiny, signaling a potential cooling-off period for the sector.
Adding serious weight to this caution, leadership at both Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley highlighted the possibility of a correction in the equity markets over the next couple of years. Despite the euphoria driven by AI optimism and the promise of future rate cuts, these banks viewed this cooling-off period not as a disaster, but as a necessary and healthy feature of a long-term bull market.
Xponential Fitness is down 58.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $5.75 per share, it is trading 68.9% below its 52-week high of $18.47 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Xponential Fitness’s shares at the IPO in July 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $469.39.
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