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Key Takeaways
- Enthusiasm about the possibility of a major industry deal helped two media giants extend their rally on Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, while shares of vaccine makers lost ground.
- Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance shares surged for the second straight day as investors mulled reports that Paramount is preparing a buyout bid.
- Shares of Moderna and other vaccine makers plunged following reports Trump administration health officials will seek to establish a connection between COVID-19 vaccines and child deaths.
Shares of two entertainment giants pushed higher for a second straight day as investors weighed the possibility of a takeover bid, while vaccine makers came under pressure following a report that health officials from the Trump administration seek to link COVID-19 vaccines with child deaths.
Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed as investors eyed next week’s interest-rate decision from the Federal Reserve. After trading in positive territory for much of the day, the S&P 500 ended with a loss of less than 0.1%. The Dow dropped 0.6%, while the Nasdaq held onto a gain of 0.4% to notch its fifth straight record closing high. For Investopedia’s complete coverage of the day’s market activity, see here.
Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) jumped 16.7%, logging the best performance in the S&P 500 for the second straight day. The surge in the stock followed reports that fellow media and entertainment rival Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is planning a cash takeover bid. Paramount Skydance shares also pushed higher following the report, adding another 7.6% Friday.
Tesla (TSLA) shares powered 7.4% higher on Friday, also adding to strong gains posted in the prior session, amid expectations of a rate cut by the Fed. While questions remain about the trajectory of the company’s electric vehicle sales, CEO Elon Musk suggested earlier this month that Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot business could eventually account for the lion’s share of Tesla’s value. This week, the company also unveiled its Megablock, its latest industrial energy storage product aimed at lowering costs and streamlining installations of large-scale energy projects.
Like other top performers in the benchmark index, shares of Micron Technology (MU) extended a strong Thursday rally into the week’s final trading session, gaining 4.4% on Friday and notching an all-time closing high. The move higher for Micron followed a price target boost from analysts at Citi, who highlighted strong demand for the data storage provider’s dynamic random-access memory chips as well as its exposure to artificial intelligence.
Arista Networks (ANET) shares sank 8.9%, suffering the S&P 500’s heaviest loss, as the computer networking specialist held its analyst day. The company guided for 20% revenue growth in fiscal 2026 driven by solid AI demand, prompting several investment analyst firms to raise their price targets on Arista stock. However, one sticking point may have been Arista’s forecast for long-term operating margins, which the company pegged below fiscal 2025 levels.
Shares of vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA) plunged 7.4%, while Pfizer (PFE) dropped 4% in the wake of a report that health officials from the Trump administration intend to link the deaths of 25 children to COVID-19 vaccinations.
Following a torrid post-earnings rally on Wednesday, Oracle (ORCL) shares retreated for the second straight session, sliding 5.1% on Friday. While the enterprise software giant’s announcement of a massive AI-driven backlog contributed to the enthusiasm around Oracle stock earlier in the week, along with reports of a $300 billion deal with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, analysts have expressed concerns about a large chunk of Oracle’s growth being tied to a small number of clients.
