Cryptocurrency's Huge Thursday

Today is Friday, July 14, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 58.25.

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Cryptocurrency's Huge Thursday

The price of XRP, the native token used by Ripple, surged by 62% on Thursday as cryptocurrency had an excellent day thanks to a favorable ruling.

Details: A federal ruling on Thursday declared that XRP tokens are not investment contracts, an outcome that investors did not see coming.

Bigger Picture: The news was so positive that other crypto prices jumped. Cardano jumped by 24%, Solana increased by 33%, Polygon grew by 19%, and Stellar surged by 52%. Even Ethereum grew by 7%.

Also: Trading platform Coinbase Global (Nasdaq: COIN) jumped by 24% on Thursday after announcing that it would restart XRP trading.

Background: Federal officials tried to label XRP as a security, which meant that it would have been subject to more regulations.

Price: XRP has now more than doubled in price since the beginning of the year and has recovered some of the losses that it experienced during the federal investigation.

Final Thoughts: The news was good for crypto investors, especially for those who own XRP. But there are still some looming questions about potential regulations.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), Citigroup (NYSE: C), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERIC), State Street (NYSE: STT), BlackRock (NYSE: BLK).

Notable IPOs Today: Global X U.S. Cash Flow Kings 100 ETF (NYSE: FLOW), Apogee Therapeutics, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: APGE), Sagimet Biosciences Inc. Series A Common Stock (Nasdaq: SGMT), Complete Solaria, Inc. Common Stock (Nasdaq: CSLR), Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II Unit (Nasdaq: NETDU).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Orbital Assembly (Silicon Prairie), AccuShoot (Netcapital), Octonia Stone Brew Works (Honeycomb), Calyxeum (Mainvest), The Cube Cowork (Mainvest), Good Greens Flower (Mainvest).

Notable Economic Events Today: Import Price Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Export Price Index (8:30 a.m. ET), Michigan Consumer Expectations / Sentiment (8:30 a.m. ET).

Intuitive Machines Jumps Due to Successful Lunar Lander Test

Photo by Neven Krcmarek / Unsplash

Intuitive Machines (Nadaq: LUNR) reported a spacecraft test run of its Nova-C lunar lander, sending shares up by 18.38% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Quote: “This test run represents a crucial step forward in validating the performance of the entire Nova-C lunar lander system on its way to the Moon.” - CEO Steve Altemus.

Stock Price: Before the announcement, shares of Intuitive Machines were down 14% in 2023.

Final Thoughts: It’s been a tough year for Intuitive Machines due to operating losses, but hopefully the company can build on this successful news.

Leslie’s Falls Due to Bad Results

Swimming pool supplies company Leslie’s (Nasdaq: LESL) fell 21.32% in after-hours trading on Thursday after posting disappointing preliminary financial results.

Financials: Leslie’s said that sales declined by 12% and it is lowering its fiscal 2023 outlook.

Final Thoughts: The company is also changing its CFO. Leslie’s stock was down 22% before this announcement. The business has struggled due to lower consumer and business spending.

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Trends to Watch

For the First Time in Decades: Walgreens could lose place on venerable Dividend Aristocrats Index (Investing.com)

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