Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors' favorite stocks over the last week -- here's a look at some of our top stories.

Markets rallied sharply this week following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's dovish signals at the Jackson Hole symposium. The S&P 500 and Dow hit record highs as Powell hinted at possible rate cuts amid rising employment risks. Tech, small-cap stocks, and crypto surged, while Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar declined.

Cryptocurrencies benefited strongly from the renewed optimism. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose over 4%, Ethereum jumped 14%, and other altcoins also posted sizable gains, reflecting renewed investor appetite for risk assets under easing policy expectations.

Looking ahead to the last full week of the month, attention shifts to how markets will react post‑Jackson Hole. Forecasters expect Forex volatility -- especially in the U.S. dollar, euro, pound, and gold -- as traders price in potential Fed easing and await further economic data.

Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

The Bulls

"Sunrun poised to gain market share as policy shifts boost its solar model: Analyst", by Anusuya Lahiri, reports that Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) was upgraded to Outperform by RBC Capital's Christopher Dendrinos, who raised his price target to $16, citing newly clarified U.S. Treasury policy that reinforces demand visibility and positions Sunrun to win market share through its third-party ownership solar model. Dendrinos forecasts approximately 139,000 new customers in 2026 -- 20% year-over-year growth -- and projects cash generation rising from $308 million in 2025 to $550 million in 2026, implying a 15% cash-generation yield at his target price.

"Newegg Commerce stock hits 52-week highs: What's driving the momentum", by Adam Eckert, reports that Newegg Commerce Inc. (NASDAQ:NEGG) shares are booming -- up nearly 260% in just one month and reaching fresh 52-week highs -- driven by a strong momentum score, elevated trading volumes, an ascending triangle chart pattern, heavy retail investor interest amid 12% short interest, and a July stock sale program that continues to fuel speculative enthusiasm.

"DeepSeek's new AI model sparks rally in Chinese tech and EV stocks as Nvidia retreats", by Adam Eckert, reports that DeepSeek's release of an upgraded V3.1 AI model optimized for domestic Chinese chips ignited a surge in Chinese tech and EV stocks -- including Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), PDD Holdings (NASDAQ:PDD), NIO (NYSE:NIO), Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI), and XPeng (NYSE:XPEV) -- as investors embraced the momentum toward AI self-sufficiency while Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) began halting the China-only H20 chip output.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:

Nebius Vaults 200% Vs CoreWeave: The AI Trade That Defies Logic?

Nio Stock Is Moving Higher Thursday: What's Driving The Action?

TikTok Parent ByteDance Takes Aim At Alibaba, DeepSeek With New Open-Source AI Model

The Bears

"Walmart stock tumbles: CEO warns tariffs are raising costs", by Erica Kollmann, reports that Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) shares dropped after the retail giant missed its first earnings estimate in three years -- posting adjusted EPS of $0.68 versus the $0.73 expected -- despite 4.8% year-over-year revenue growth to $177.4 billion; CEO Doug McMillon cautioned that tariffs have been gradually increasing costs each week and, although the company has absorbed much of the impact to date, those pressures are expected to continue into the third and fourth quarters, potentially influencing future pricing and discretionary spending among lower- and middle-income customers.

"Like Eli Lilly, Viking Therapeutics' oral weight-loss drug disappoints, stock tanks", by Vandana Singh, reports that Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) saw its stock plunge after its experimental oral obesity medication, VK2735, showed statistically significant weight loss of up to 12.2% over 13 weeks -- yet investor enthusiasm was dampened by high discontinuation rates and side-effect concerns, resulting in a sharp pre-market slide.

"Wall Street Braces For Tech Carnage: ';Disaster' QQQ options tell the story", by Piero Cingari, reports that traders are increasingly buying deep out-of-the-money put options on the Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ) -- with elevated "put skew" nearing three-year highs -- signaling growing anxiety over a tech-sector collapse rather than a shallow pullback, particularly around the $515 strike near QQQ's 200-day moving average as a key downside level.

For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:

Carvana Stock Is Sliding Wednesday: What's Driving The Action?

Coty Stock Is Hitting 52-Week Lows Today: Here's Why

Tech Stocks Eye Third Day Of Losses, Walmart Sinks: What's Moving Markets Thursday?

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