Bucking the trend: 3 stocks that rose while the market fell

It’s starting to look like last week’s market crash wasn’t the start of a general collapse. Although fears of a US recession, concern about a meltdown in AI-driven tech stocks and the unraveling of the yen deal all contributed to market turmoil, stocks bounced back quickly and S&P 500 closed the week largely unchanged. However, volatile and wild market swings often signal a market top.

However, not all stocks shook when the market fell. Some companies have shown remarkable resilience. A few better-performing stocks not only rose by double-digit rates when the market went haywire, but went on to post triple-digit gains.

The following three companies were the best performing stocks in the market over the past week. Let’s see if they’re worth buying now that the dust has settled a bit. After raising when the market faltered, investors will want to know if they have any gas left in the tank.

The Latham Group (SWIM)

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Swimming pool company The Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIMMING) are initially found alongside the rest of the market. SWIM shares fell 10% earlier in the week before the company reported second-quarter results showing better-than-expected profits. The stock has since risen 64% in the past week.

The largest in-ground pool company reported a 10% drop in sales to $160 million, but was able to improve profitability due to “improved cost structure and the impact of production efficiency.” Interest rate cuts could also benefit the bottom line and make pool facilities easier to sell.

Latham also acquired automatic safety cover manufacturer Coverstar Central. Covers fell for Latham, with sales down 11% in the quarter.

Still, Wall Street expects sales to fall 8% for the full year to $520 million before rebounding in 2025. Analysts expect sales to rise 7% to $555 million. Earnings are expected to fall to 3 cents a share from 21 cents before rising to 11 cents a share next year.

With a price target of $4.53 per share, Latham Group already beat analysts’ expectations last week. Trading at around $5.50 per share, there is now significant downside potential.

Lumen Technologies (LUMN)

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Broadband and fiber optic network provider Lumen Technologies (NYSE:LIGHT) also had gains to thank as its stock lit up the market last week. Shares surged 150% before giving up more than a third of their gains. But if AI trading was part of what caused the market to crash in the first place, it was what helped drive LUMN stock to new highs.

After struggling with significant debt for years, Lumen Technologies appears to have a new purpose with artificial intelligence. It provides a tailwind to its business due to the external need for high-bandwidth infrastructure to support AI growth.

Lumen reported signing partnership deals worth more than $5 billion with major AI-related tech stocks. Sees potential of over $7 billion with additional opportunities. He associated with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to upgrade its technology and save more than $20 million over the next year. Lumen also provided by Corning (NYSE:GLW) 10% of the fiber optic cable manufacturer’s capacity for each of the next two years, which will double the miles of Lumen fiber.

Even after Lumen’s stock surge, the stock is still going for a small fraction of the shares. It also beat analysts’ price targets this week. However, when they update their outlook, the new targets could be closer to the $7 per share estimate, a 40% gain from current levels.

Buy TenX Keane (TENK)

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Last week’s biggest gain was TenX Keane acquisition (NASDAQ:TANK), a special purpose procurement company (SPACE). It’s been a while since a SPAC has enjoyed such attention, as TENK stock is up 275%.

On August 2, shareholders approved the previously announced merger of TenX with Citius Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CTXR). The deal is expected to close in the next few weeks, and the combined company will be renamed Citius Oncology with the ticker symbol CTOR.

However, investors looking to take advantage of the TenX Keane merger will have trouble doing so. The Nasdaq the stock exchange halted trading in the stock as volume of its shares increased. According to TenX, Nasdaq is looking for “additional information” (without saying what), but apparently the issue has not yet been resolved as the stock is still not trading. However, Citius shares are down 26% in the past week.

However, Citius just received Food & Drug Administration approval for its Limfire therapy to treat relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). It’s a $300 to $400 million market opportunity.

Now that TenX and Citius have completed their merger, there could be substantial gains to be made. The two analysts covering the stock have a price target of $4 per share. Since it’s currently trading at around 70 cents a share, this represents a 470% upside.

As of the date of publication, Rich Duprey did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any position in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

At the time of publication, the responsible editor had (either directly or indirectly) no position in the securities mentioned in this article.