Big Gains Among Some Small Names

U.S. stocks returned from their holiday weekend with fireworks of their own, though decidedly not the kind bulls like. As of the time of this writing equities opened down and the broader index that is the Standard and Poor’s benchmark was off about 70 basis points.

The Brexit hangover continues a bit and so does some trepidation over earnings, where tech firms – and the firms covered and tracked by PYMNTS – have seen some shudders over demand and macroeconomic concerns (think cybersecurity and especially consumer spending).

A few wild swings dominated the week that was, where Everi Holdings, which saw shares climb 20 percent (though admittedly off a low base), made the move on relatively little company-specific news. The firm was called out in an industry-wide report by Zacks Investment Research, and often micro cap stocks (in this case a $90 million market cap name, give or take) do get some lift by association.

Net 1 UEPS Tech also gained double digits last week, as the company announced a $50 million stock buyback that is in conjunction with a plan announced earlier in the year.

NCR got a push from a product announcement last week, wherein the firm said consumers are now able to view balances on the go without having to log into their mobile apps.

The companies that lost ground, though relatively less than gainers, dominate the payments landscape as some of the biggest players in payments. Perhaps you’ve heard of MasterCard, which saw a decline of less than 2 percent, and Visa, which slipped less than 1 percent. The news that touched both firms? The announcement last week, of course, that the $7.25 billion settlement deal with retailers has been struck down. The ultimate outcome of the legal roller coaster remains to be seen, but both firms have seen share prices prove resilient.