Tilray Brands, Inc.

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp.

Shares of cannabis companies jumped on Tuesday, December 16, after U.S. President Donald Trump <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2025/12/15/politics/marijuana-white-house-reschedule">said</a>&nbsp;the White House was “very strongly” considering changing the classification of marijuana to a less dangerous drug, which he claimed would “lead to tremendous amounts of research.”

Cannabis stocks rally as Trump 'very strongly' considering reclassifying marijuana

Lemonade, Inc.

Morgan Stanley <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/lemonade-upgraded-to-equal-weight-from-underweight-at-morgan-stanley/ar-AA1SsuNC">no</a> longer <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/lemonade-upgraded-to-equal-weight-from-underweight-at-morgan-stanley/ar-AA1SsuNC">advises</a> to sell shares of mid-cap insurer Lemonade, the new target set by it <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/lmnd/analystestimates?mod=mw_quote_tab">turned out to be the</a> highest on Wall Street. The company is steadily growing in the automobile segment and is steadily moving towards EBITDA profitability, the investment bank explained. Against this background, quotes of the company jumped by more than 8% on December 16.

Morgan Stanley no longer advises selling shares of insurance company Lemonade. What changed?

Andersen Group

At the end of its listing, it had a valuation of $1.75 billion

Andersen IPO: shares in consulting firm revived after collapse begin trading

ABIVAX Societe Anonyme

The papers are still worth almost 1300% more than they were at the beginning of 2025

The top stock in Europe's Stoxx 600 index collapsed 10% in a day. Is it worth buying?

Nektar Therapeutics

Pfizer Inc.

Eli Lilly and Company

AbbVie Inc.

Freedom Broker has issued a short-term investment idea to buy shares of Nektar Therapeutics, a small-cap biotech developing a drug for alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss. On Tuesday, December 16, the company is set to <a href="https://ir.nektar.com/news-releases/news-release-details/nektar-hold-conference-call-discuss-topline-results-36-week">release</a>&nbsp;new clinical trial data on its lead therapy. If the results are positive, Nektar shares could gain about 22% over the next two months, Freedom Broker analysts said.

Freedom Broker: Nektar may jump 22% in two months on potential upbeat trial results

Luminar Technologies, Inc.

AB Volvo (publ)

Luminar Technologies, a small-cap manufacturer of lidar sensors used by vehicles to detect objects in their surroundings, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/LAZR/">plunged</a>&nbsp;more than 60% to an all-time low on Monday, December 15. The company, whose IPO <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/luminar-rises-in-market-debut-making-25-year-old-founder-a-billionaire-11607027565?mod=article_inline">turned</a>&nbsp;founder Austin Russell into a billionaire at age 25, announced&nbsp;it had <a href="https://investors.luminartech.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/110/luminar-technologies-inc-initiates-voluntary-chapter-11">filed</a>&nbsp;for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans&nbsp;to sell its lidar business, while separately <a href="https://investors.luminartech.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/111/luminar-announces-sale-of-photonics-business-to-quantum">agreeing</a> to sell its semiconductor unit to Quantum Computing. The filing <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/luminar-technologies-files-for-bankruptcy-8144ddf8?siteid=yhoof2">came</a>&nbsp;roughly one month after the company's largest customer, Volvo, reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1758057/000175805725000020/lazr-20251114.htm">terminated</a>&nbsp;a purchase agreement.

Lidar-maker Luminar files for bankruptcy one month after losing Volvo supply contract

REV Group, Inc.

Vox Royalty Corp.

Black Diamond Therapeutics, Inc.

Contango Ore, Inc.

Aviat Networks, Inc.

Freedom Broker has named five small caps that investors should watch ahead of a potential "Santa Claus rally" – the <a href="https://get.investors.com/infographics/santa-claus-rally/">calendar effect</a> involving a rise in stock prices during the last five trading days in December and the first two in January.&nbsp;

Freedom Broker offers five small caps ahead of potential Santa Claus rally

Small-cap stocks could outperform both Big Tech shares and the broader S&amp;P 500 index in 2026, according to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-12-15/riskier-small-caps-seen-outperforming-in-2026-on-growth-outlook?srnd=homepage-europe&amp;sref=Y0jVLcFo">Wall Street analysts cited by Bloomberg</a>. Polar Capital America says small caps are an attractive place to invest after years of being overlooked, while JPMorgan argues markets are approaching what it calls "the best stock-picking era we have seen in our lifetime."

'At the gates of the best stockpicking era': Small caps seen as outperforming in 2026

iRobot Corporation

Shares of robotic vacuum cleaner maker iRobot have&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/IRBT/">plunged</a>&nbsp;about 83% in early trading on Monday, December 15, after the pioneering company <a href="https://investor.irobot.com/news-releases/news-release-details/irobot-announces-strategic-transaction-drive-long-term-growth">announced</a>&nbsp;it had filed for bankruptcy and agreed to sell the business to its main creditor.

Robot vacuum maker iRobot files for bankruptcy; shares plunge 80%

Planet Labs PBC

Shares of Planet Labs, a mid-cap satellite data provider, rose 35% to a record high on Thursday, December 11, after the company <a href="https://investors.planet.com/news/news-details/2025/Planet-Reports-Financial-Results-for-Third-Quarter-of-Fiscal-Year-2026/default.aspx">reported</a>&nbsp;quarterly results showing record revenue and, for the first time, break-even earnings per share. The stock is already up more than 330% year to date, but the latest earnings, as <i>Barron’s </i>put it, “might send it to Mars.”

Earth imaging co. Planet Labs continues to add to 340% YTD gain amid latest earnings

The Oncology Institute, Inc.

Nutex Health Inc.

Claritev Corporation

Healthcare small caps have gained momentum in 2025. According to a Bloomberg Intelligence report published in November, the top-performing segments of the Russell 2000 in the first quarter of 2025 were utilities first, financials second, and health care third.

These small-cap healthcare names have rocketed YTD

Nextdoor Holdings, Inc.

Opendoor Technologies Inc.

Better Home & Finance Holding Company

Shares of Nextdoor, which operates a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods, have&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/NXDR/">jumped</a>&nbsp;more than 25% in the first minutes of early trading on Thursday, December 11, extending the previous day’s rally. The surge <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-25/the-man-behind-a-tiny-toronto-hedge-fund-that-revived-meme-mania">followed</a>&nbsp;comments from EMJ Capital, the hedge fund behind the revival of "meme mania" – it called the company “one of the most misunderstood platforms in the market,” which has yet to recognize its potential in AI.

Nextdoor surging as meme fund manager calls it 'one of most misunderstood platforms'

Photronics, Inc.

Shares of Photronics, a mid-cap manufacturer of photomask technologies that are a key component in semiconductors, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PLAB/">surged</a>&nbsp;more than 45% on Wednesday, December 10, to mark their highest level since mid-2001. Investors were snapping up the stock after the company reported quarterly <a href="https://photronicsinc.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/photronics-reports-full-year-and-fourth-quarter-fiscal-2025">results</a>&nbsp;that <a href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/photronics-earnings-stock-price-67f82a0f?st=njSZRM">beat</a>&nbsp;Wall Street’s expectations across all major indicators.

Quarterly earnings lift semiconductor supply stock Photronics to 24-year high

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

Amgen Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc.

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Equity investors should take a closer look at mid-cap Ligand Pharmaceuticals for a more conservative bet on the biotech industry, Citigroup argues. In his initiation report (as quoted by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/09/a-biotech-stock-for-investors-scared-to-invest-in-the-risky-industry.html">CNBC</a>), Citi analyst Yigal Nochomovitz highlights Ligand as "the 'Goldilocks’ pick for investors seeking exposure to biotech upside while mitigating volatility” thanks to its broad portfolio of products.

Citi spotlights Ligand as 'Goldilocks’ pick' for conservative biotech investors

The Russell 2000 pushed to a fresh intraday high on Tuesday, December 9, as investors continued piling into small caps, but the small- and mid-cap index faded into the close and stopped just short of another all-time high, which would have been its eighth just since September. The small-cap segment may get a further boost today if the Fed announces another rate cut. Still, Noble Capital Markets cautions that the rally remains exposed to macro and Fed-policy risks.

Russell 2000 almost hits another all-time high, but how much upside remains?

Oracle Corporation

NVIDIA Corporation

Broadcom Inc.

The Nasdaq Composite Technology Index plunged nearly 2% on December 17 as Oracle's stock plunged, pulling other AI-related securities with it. The FT reported that Oracle lost an investor in one of its data center projects: this triggered a new wave of fears on Wall Street about the AI bubble. Investors decided to bet on more reliable "value stocks" and take a more defensive stance at the end of the year, analysts said.

Nasdaq collapses 1.8%: Oracle has forced tech sector investors to seek protection

Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Raiffeisen Bank to change CEO after unsuccessful attempts to leave Russia

Novartis AG

Roche Holding AG

Other drug manufacturers may also join the list of companies for the price deal

U.S. to reach drug pricing agreements with Novartis and Roche - Bloomberg

Micron Technology, Inc.

Analog Devices, Inc.


The bank recognizes that concerns about the AI bubble will persist, but believes the sector will outperform 

JPMorgan named the favorites for 2026 among chipmakers. Who made it to the top?

The company denies any problems and says negotiations for construction of the massive project in Michigan are on schedule

Small Caps