This week, which stocks led the S&P 500 higher? The Weekly Winners column tracks market-moving trends, highlighting the strongest sector momentum, top-performing stocks, and key thematic drivers behind price action.
Below are the top 10 S&P 500 gainers for the week ended Sep 18:
Revvity’s Acquisition of Human Cell Design Continues to Boost Market Sentiment
REVVITY INC recently announced acquisition of French biotech firm Human Cell Design (HCD), which specializes in developing human cell models for metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Upon completion, HCD's human pancreatic beta-cell models will be integrated into Revvity's Life Sciences portfolio, enhancing its drug discovery and screening capabilities for GLP-1 and other metabolic disease therapies while expanding applications in regenerative medicine and cell therapy.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approval; financial terms were not disclosed.
AI Development Drives Greater Attention to Cybersecurity Industry, CrowdStrike Hits New High Again
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. hit a record high this week. JPMorgan released a report stating that AI-driven incremental security spending could exceed $430 billion over the next three years, with related orders expected to accelerate in the fourth quarter of this year and be further unlocked thereafter. In addition, the company has recently deepened cooperation with giants such as Nvidia, OpenAI, and Google, with multiple positive factors resonating to support the stock price rally.
Generac Benefits from Surging Electricity Demand
The expansion of AI data centers and manufacturing is driving up electricity consumption, while a strong El Niño in winter could further increase U.S. power demand. Generac's core business covers backup power, distributed energy, and power generation equipment for data centers, positioning it to potentially benefit from this growing demand.
Coinbase Stock Rises on Multiple Tailwinds Including Regulatory Relief and Analyst Price Target Hikes
The SEC has officially introduced a five-year exemption period for tokenized stock trading, establishing a temporary regulatory pathway for certain tokenized stock transactions. Trading platforms must notify the relevant companies and wait 30 days before commencing trading. This regulatory exemption directly benefits Coinbase's business.
In addition, several institutions have recently raised their price targets for Coinbase. Needham raised its target to $200, Goldman Sachs raised its target to $219, and Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with a $250 price target.
Multiple Tailwinds Drive Palo Alto Networks Stock Higher
Palo Alto Networks will officially be added to the S&P 100 index on September 21, with expectations of passive fund rebalancing and buying continuing to heat up. Meanwhile, several investment banks have recently raised their price targets in quick succession. Wedbush raised its target to $400, Daiwa Securities raised its target to $390, RBC raised its target to $475, and Jefferies raised its target to $450. The average analyst price target stands at approximately $399, implying significant upside from the current stock price.
In addition, the cybersecurity sector is viewed favorably, providing support for the stock price.
SanDisk Surges 11% on Friday, Storage Sector Continues to Be Bullish
SanDisk Corp. will officially be added to the S&P 100 index on September 21, with expectations of passive fund allocation continuing to build, providing support for the stock price. Meanwhile, institutional analysis indicates that the supply-demand gap for memory products will be difficult to fill in the short term, and the storage sector's outlook will continue to improve.
FactSet Research Forms AI Strategic Partnerships with Multiple Companies
FactSet Research has recently been intensively advancing its AI strategic layout, successively entering into artificial intelligence business partnerships with companies such as Google Cloud and TIFIN.AI, continuously strengthening its competitive moat in the financial data sector.
Fortinet Hits Record High This Week
Cybersecurity stocks have once again become a popular investment target, with investors widely believing that the surge in spending driven by AI-related threat risks will benefit these companies.
AMD Chips Reportedly to Raise Prices by 10% Starting in Q4
Reports say AMD plans to pass on the rising TSMC wafer foundry costs to downstream customers, with prices for its entire lineup of chip products expected to rise by about 10% uniformly starting from the fourth quarter of 2026. This pricing move indicates that chip suppliers hold an proactive position in terms of pricing power.
Mettler-Toledo Shows Strong Performance This Week
Mettler-Toledo rose 7.6% this week. The company is a leading global supplier of precision instruments and services, with a strong market position in areas such as laboratory instruments, industrial tools, and food retail solutions.
Conclusion
This week, driven by AI development, cybersecurity concept stocks became the main winners; in addition, memory and chip concept stocks continued to attract capital inflows.