Benzinga Bulls And Bears: Netflix, GameStop, Plug Power — And Defense Stocks Soar

Benzinga examined the prospects for many investors' favorite stocks over the last week — here's a look at some of our top stories.

The Magnificent Seven led Wall Street higher this week, pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 to new all-time highs. Strong retail sales, low jobless claims, and standout bank earnings drove momentum, while tech giants' rally — including gains by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) — supported investor enthusiasm.

Nvidia remains central, its AI-fueled valuation anchoring broader tech optimism. Microsoft posted a 22% YTD gain — second only to Nvidia — while Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) also kicked off upbeat forecasts.

The S&P 500 closed above 6,297 — the highest ever — reflecting a broad-based bullish sentiment. Yet focus is shifting to potential Fed commentary and looming trade risks, which could test tech's capacity to carry markets much further

Benzinga provides daily reports on the stocks most popular with investors. Here are a few of this past week's most bullish and bearish posts that are worth another look.

The Bulls

"Defense stocks head into earnings at record highs — is the boom just beginning?", by Piero Cingari, reports that, buoyed by the $156 billion "One Big Beautiful Bill" defense package, aerospace and defense stocks — including the iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (BATS: ITA) — have rallied into record‑high territory ahead of Q2 earnings season, though analysts caution upcoming results must justify the bullish run.

"Exclusive: This stock's up 1,300% — but CEO says the real payoff's 4 years away", by Surbhi Jain, reports that Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) stock has surged over 1,300% on quantum hype, but CEO Subodh Kulkarni cautions that true commercial quantum advantage — and meaningful returns — are still about four years away.

"Netflix Q2 fueled by price, ads, Squid Game; Q3 set to repeat", by Adam Eckert, reports that Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) delivered a strong Q2 thanks to subscription price hikes, increased ad revenue, and the return of Squid Game, and analysts anticipate similar momentum in Q3.

For additional bullish calls of the past week, check out the following:

GameSquare Holdings Stock Is Surging Wednesday: What's Going On?

Meta, Palantir, Amazon Are All-In On AI—Can Datacenters Keep Up?

Rocket Lab Stock Launches To New All-Time Highs: What's Going On?

The Bears

"GameStop CEO is not scared of the short sellers, calls it ‘un‑American' to bet against business — but it's a free market", by Adam Eckert, reports that GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) CEO Ryan Cohen pushed back on skeptics—calling short-selling "un‑American" — while reaffirming confidence in the company's turnaround and the strength of its free-market model.

"Plug Power's hot streak stalls as Wall Street frets over warrant surprise", by Akanksha Bakshi, reports that Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG) shares dropped over 7% after the company filed to register 31.5 million shares for resale—raising investor concerns about dilution despite the stock being up 8% over the prior week thanks to a hydrogen supply deal and supportive federal policy developments.

"BlackSky stock drops after hours — what happened?", by Erica Kollmann, reports that BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE:BKSY) saw its shares fall after hours following weaker-than-expected Q2 bookings, prompting investor concerns about near-term revenue visibility despite the company reaffirming its full-year guidance.

For more bearish takes, be sure to see these posts:

Salesforce Underperforms Market As Growth Concerns Plague CRM Giant

Stock Of The Day: PepsiCo's Former Floor Becomes Ceiling — Sellers Lining Up

Stocks Slip As Netflix Fails To Impress, Bitcoin Eyes Negative Week: What's Moving Markets Friday?

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.