What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after investors continued to pile into value-oriented names amid growing valuation concerns. 

This shift reflected growing caution over high valuations within the technology and artificial intelligence (AI) spheres. As market participants reassessed risk, they reallocated capital from growth-heavy indices, like the Nasdaq, to companies in areas like industrials and financials, perceived to be more reasonably priced. Contributing to the positive momentum, markets remained hopeful that a prolonged 40-day government shutdown would be over. The U.S. Senate approved a compromise funding package, which was pending a vote in the House. The potential end to the shutdown brought a sense of relief to markets.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Waste Management company Quest Resource (NASDAQ: QRHC) jumped 6.3%. Is now the time to buy Quest Resource? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Specialty Equipment Distributors company Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ: HDSN) jumped 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Hudson Technologies? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Engineered Components and Systems company Enpro (NYSE: NPO) jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy Enpro? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Electrical Systems company Kimball Electronics (NASDAQ: KE) jumped 5%. Is now the time to buy Kimball Electronics? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Construction Machinery company Manitowoc (NYSE: MTW) jumped 3.5%. Is now the time to buy Manitowoc? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On Quest Resource (QRHC)

Quest Resource’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 49 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was about 1 month ago when the stock gained 9% on the news that a softened tone from President Donald Trump on U.S.-China relations boosted investor sentiment. The positive shift followed a weekend post on Truth Social where Trump stated, "Don't worry about China, it will all be fine!" and expressed a desire to help rather than hurt the country's economy. This statement provided significant relief to markets that had ended the prior week with steep losses. In response, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.2%, the S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.3% higher, as investors' fears of escalating trade tensions subsided.

Quest Resource is down 75.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $1.53 per share, it is trading 79.1% below its 52-week high of $7.31 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Quest Resource’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $780.61.

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