Sunday Money: Strategy Stock Price Surges 17.65%

The Strategy stock price did the week’s loudest talking. Shares in Strategy Inc (MSTR) – the software-and-bitcoin-treasury company once known as MicroStrategy, which holds a vast stash of bitcoin on its balance sheet alongside its enterprise software business – climbed 17.65% to close at $153.15, comfortably the best performer among the week’s big movers, according to consolidated US exchange data. The move tracked a broader crypto rally: bitcoin (BTC) itself rose 4.72% over the same week to $80,434.01 on Binance spot market data, and because Strategy’s stock tends to swing harder than bitcoin in either direction thanks to the leverage built into its balance sheet, a decent crypto week translated into a very good one for its shareholders.

It capped a week where the gap between winners and losers was unusually wide. The Nasdaq 100 (QQQ ETF) added 2.77% to finish at 722.05, while the Dow (DIA ETF) slipped 1.68% to 516.15 – a reminder that “the market” was really several different markets running in opposite directions. The S&P 500 (SPY ETF) split the difference, up a modest 0.51% to 762.98.

The Strategy stock price wasn’t the only big mover

Generac Holdings (GNRC), the backup-generator maker, rose 13.79% to $207.49, extending a run this outlet covered in detail after news of an Amazon tie-up sent the stock sharply higher earlier this month. Sandisk Corp (SNDK), the data-storage group, gained 15.49% to close at $1,792.01, part of a broader lift for chip and memory names that also carried Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) up 13.76% to $556.80.

Not everyone had a week to enjoy. J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) fell 14.61% to $231.01, the sharpest drop of the week among the names we track, while Charter Communications (CHTR) dropped 11.71% to $129.20 as cable and broadband names came under pressure – Comcast (CMCSA) was caught in the same downdraft, off 10.03% to $22.78. Energy had a rough patch too: Expand Energy (EXE) fell 8.98% to $87.38 and oilfield-services group SLB slid 8.87% to $51.16, even as the oil price itself was rising – more on that below.

Crypto corner

Bitcoin’s 4.72% weekly gain to $80,434.01 set the tone for digital assets generally. Ether (ETH) added 3.82% to $2,580.06, and solana (SOL) was the standout among the majors, up 8.74% to $108.60, based on Binance spot market data. It was a broadly constructive week for the sector, with all three majors finishing higher and the gains large enough to matter for bitcoin-linked equities such as Strategy.

The week in numbers

• 107.02 – the price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil, up from $102.42 the week before, according to FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. That’s a jump of roughly 4.5% in a single week, and it sat oddly alongside falls in energy-linked equities such as Expand Energy and SLB.
• 4.94% – the 10-year US Treasury yield, down from 5.01% a week earlier, per FRED. The 2-year yield eased too, to 4.67% from 4.74%, per FRED, leaving the gap between the two – the 10y-2y spread that investors watch as a rough gauge of how the bond market sees the economy’s path – at 0.25 percentage points, down slightly from 0.27, according to FRED.
• 4.45 percentage points – the gap between the Nasdaq 100’s 2.77% weekly gain and the Dow’s 1.68% loss, among the widest splits between the two indices in recent weeks.

That’s the week that was: a bitcoin-linked stock stealing the show, generators and memory chips doing better than most people would have guessed on a Monday, and cable companies having a week best forgotten. Pour something warm, and we’ll see you back here next Sunday for whatever comes next.

This article is for information only and is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Markets move quickly; figures are correct as sourced at the time of writing. Always do your own research before making financial decisions.