Stocks on Wall Street rose on Friday, closing a new all-time high after the latest report fueled optimism about the US economic recovery.
The upcoming short holiday week – during which US stock markets will be closed on Monday for the Independence Day holiday – is expected to be a quiet week on Wall Street, with little data and moderate pre-profit trading.
No matter which direction the market takes, below we highlight one stock that is likely to be in high demand and another that could fall further.
Remember, however, that our timetable is for the next week only.
Stock To Buy: CrowdStrike
One of the largest and most sophisticated ransomware attacks in the world history continued to spread over the weekend, hitting thousands of businesses around the world.
That could lead to more positive action for the cloud-based cybersecurity company Crowdstrike Holdings (NASDAQ:), whose technology is being used to detect and prevent security breaches.
The ransomware gang known as 'REvil' is suspected of hijacking widely used desktop management software provided by Miami, Florida-based technology provider Kaseya. The affected companies had encrypted files and received electronic messages demanding ransoms of thousands or millions of dollars.
In a statement late Saturday, the FBI said it was investigating the ransomware attack in conjunction with the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
CrowdStrike Daily Stock Chart
CRWD shares — which rose to a new all-time high of $260.79 on June 28 — closed Friday's session at $252.59, giving the Sunnyvale, California-based cybersecurity specialist a valuation of $57 billion.
Shares of the leader in endpoint security are up 19% since the beginning of the year, reflecting rising demand for its Falcon cloud-based cybersecurity platform.
CrowdStrike reported a huge blow and revenue when it announced its first quarter financial results on June 3, capitalizing on a jump in enterprise cybersecurity spending.
The fast-growing technology company, which counts nearly half of Fortune 100 companies as customers, said it had a total of 11,420 customers at the end of its most recent quarter, an 82% increase from the same period last year .
CrowdStrike is poised to outperform in the coming week as it appears to be one of the main beneficiaries of the surge in cybersecurity spending amid rampant cyber-attacks.
Stock To Dump: Pinduoduo
Shares of Shanghai-based e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (NASDAQ:) appear to be trailing in the coming days as investors worry about the negative impact of the constant scrutiny by the Chinese authorities. down to the country's booming platform economy.
PDD stocks — which are down 11% in the past month and 33% so far — ended at $119.20 as Friday closes trading. It is now more than 40% below its all-time high of $212.30 on Feb. 16.
At current levels, Pinduoduo has a market cap of $149.4 billion, making it the third largest e-commerce company in China year-on-year, behind only Alibaba (NYSE:) and JD.com (NASDAQ:). ]
The latest negative news came after China's market regulator issued draft rules to penalize illegal pricing activities by e-commerce platforms, such as providing high discounts and different pricing based on customers' buying behavior.
The rules are the latest in an ongoing effort by China's State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) to rein in tech giants that play a dominant role in China's consumer sector.
Ultimately, market players are concerned that Chinese authorities will further escalate their efforts to contain the country's booming e-commerce sector, including imposing fines and launching antitrust investigations.
Taking that into account, PDD stocks look set to remain on the defensive in the coming days as the online market platform provider faces tough challenges.
