MarketBeat Week in Review – 02/24 - 02/28

Key Points

• Stocks staged a weak rally to end another week where all the major indexes finished lower.
• Investors were buoyed by the PCE report, which was in line with expectations.
• Next week, the latest reading on manufacturing and jobs will determine if the sell-off continues and how severe it may be.

Stocks tried to stage a weak rally to close the week after the latest reading on inflation came in line with expectations. However, the longer-term direction for stocks may come down to whether investors look at the inflation glass as half-empty or half-full. On the one hand, the hope is that the rate of growth in inflation has peaked. However, at 2.6%, inflation will still take some time to reach the Federal Reserve’s 2% price target.

Investors can now say goodbye to February, which is historically a weak month for stocks. But will March come in like a lion or a lamb? Next week, investors will get two key economic reports that will set the initial direction for stocks. The week will kick off with the latest read on manufacturing and end with the Jobs report on Friday. Earnings season continues, including a report by Costco Wholesale Corp. NASDAQ: COST on Thursday.

Articles by Jea Yu

Investors hate uncertainty, and there’s a lot of uncertainty in the markets right now. One issue is tariffs, but Jea Yu highlighted two U.S. stocks trading under $20 that are shielded from higher tariffs and can be used as safe havens for growth and income.

To many investors, autonomous vehicles may seem to be years away from being commercially viable, but they're becoming commonplace in certain pockets of the country and the world. As the market for autonomous vehicles grows, Yu pointed investors to three stocks that will be essential for powering this autonomous future.

Viking Therapeutics Inc. NASDAQ: VKTX was a big mover this week. The company is developing a GLP-1 weight loss drug, and VKTX stock jumped 13% on news that the company may be a takeover target from one of the big pharma companies looking to add a GLP-1 offering to its portfolio.

Articles by Thomas Hughes

Technology stocks have been under pressure, and that continued this week as Salesforce Inc. NYSE: CRM stock traded lower despite a solid earnings report. Thomas Hughes wrote about the impact of the company’s solid fundamentals on analyst expectations for CRM stock in 2025.

The MarketBeat analysts were all over the NVIDIA Corp. NASDAQ: NVDA earnings report this week. Thomas Hughes broke down the report, and explained the two key factors that set the company up for growth of up to 30% in 2025.

Investors are ready for March after a brutal February sell-off. Hughes highlighted five stocks for investors to have on their watchlists now. Each stock presents an opportunity for outsized March gains if the market recovers.

Articles by Sam Quirke

UnitedHealth Group Inc. NYSE: UNH has been one of the largest market laggards in 2025, and there are good reasons for that. However, as Sam Quirke wrote, a key technical indicator has put UNH stock into oversold territory. Combined with solid analyst support, investors may want to take a closer look at the beleaguered health insurance stock.

Mid-cap stocks can be more volatile than large-cap stocks. However, Quirke reminded investors that these are exactly the stocks that can appeal to risk-tolerant investors. This week, Quirke highlighted three mid-cap stocks for investors to consider in March.

One of the key metrics investors use to determine a stock's valuation is its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. And many stocks today are trading at eye-popping levels, in some cases carrying triple-digit P/E ratios. Normally, that’s an easy sell signal, but Quirke explained why speculative investors shouldn’t be scared of the triple-digit P/E ratios on three stocks.

Articles by Chris Markoch

Palantir Technologies Inc. NASDAQ: PLTR stock continued its slide this week, officially entering bear market territory. Chris Markoch explained why the interest the stock is getting from institutional investors could be a double-edged sword for retail investors. 

Archer Aviation Inc. NYSE: ACHR also dipped early in the week as investors got nervous about a recent capital raise and the impact of DOGE on the company’s military contracts. Markoch wrote that investors may be confusing progress for bad news.

Higher-for-longer inflation is also likely to bring higher-for-longer interest rates. That’s not an ideal setup for investors, but Markoch gave investors four sectors that may be good investments at times when inflation is high.

Articles by Ryan Hasson

Heading into 2025, investing in AI infrastructure companies like Nebius Group NASDAQ: NBIS was an obvious choice. However, the DeepSeek scare has cast uncertainty into the entire AI sector. Ryan Hasson broke down the company’s recent earnings report and explained why NBIS stock could present investors with a long-term buying opportunity.

The rotation out of technology stocks is underway, and consumer staples stocks are benefiting. This week, Hasson highlighted two consumer staples stocks and one exchange-traded fund (ETF) that investors can buy to capitalize on the sector’s strength.

Articles by Gabriel Osorio-Mazilli

One strategy investors can use in volatile markets is to look for stocks that offer safe returns, including solid dividends. This week, Gabriel Osorio-Mazilli highlighted three low-volatility stocks with strong fundamental and technical growth drivers.

MarketBeat analysts have been pointing investors to the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities. That means finding the companies that will use AI to drive business growth. Osorio-Mazilli gave investors three tech stocks with charts that point to a coming breakout.

Focusing on breakout stocks, Osorio-Mazilli analyzed three stocks showing bullish short-term price action backed by positive analyst sentiment that could signal a breakout.

Articles by Leo Miller

Two ways that companies can reward shareholders are through share buybacks and dividends. This week, Leo Miller focused on both of those actions to point investors toward investable opportunities. In one article, Miller gave investors three stocks that recently increased their dividends by 10% or more. But the real key to these companies is strong catalysts that give investors the opportunity for share price growth.

Although share buybacks have a bad reputation, investors tend to love them. Miller highlighted three stocks that recently announced large stock buyback programs that may set the stage for their respective stocks to move higher.

General Motors NYSE: GM wasn’t one of those stocks that Miller mentioned in that article. However, he wrote about GM’s recent share buyback announcement, which may give GM stock a buying opportunity.

Articles by Nathan Reiff

Earnings season is also a time when analysts may change their rating and/or price target for a stock. And when they do, it can send a stock moving sharply in either direction. This week, Nathan Reiff, wrote about the surge in AST SpaceMobile Inc. NASDAQ: ASTS after an upgrade from a prominent analyst just one week before the company’s earnings report.

You've heard the phrase “there’s an app for that,” but many investors know that “there’s (probably) an ETF for that.” This means that investors can find unique ETFs based on specific investment strategies and themes. Reiff highlighted three unique ETFs that are outperforming the S&P 500 by a wide margin.

One of the biggest stories from this week came from SuperMicro Computer Inc. NASDAQ: SMCI, which delighted shareholders by producing the necessary financial documents to prevent its stock from being delisted. The stock has been volatile, but Reiff gave investors three ETFs that allow investors to get heightened exposure to SMCI stock.

Articles by Sarah Horvath

Sarah Horvath gave investors a preview of the NVIDIA earnings report and pointed out that analysts' earnings per share (EPS) targets were rising prior to the earnings report. The bullish sentiment is coming as analysts may be shrugging off concerns over China’s DeepSeek.

Times of market volatility make dividend stocks shine. This week, Horvath highlighted five S&P 500 dividend stocks that combine high yields with stability, which could offer long-term income for value investors.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have often been a poor investment. But that’s not the case for the 4 healthcare REITs that Horvath analyzed because of their exposure to senior housing and skilled nursing facilities.