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

The Dow rose 1.4% this week, lifting its November gain to 7.5%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.1%, ending the month up over 5% and 6%, respectively, marking the Dow and S&P 500's best months of 2024.

In a shortened trading week, President-elect Donald Trump shook markets by announcing a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada and a 10% hike on Chinese goods, aiming to address drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

The Mexican peso and Canadian dollar tumbled to multi-year lows before stabilizing as investors reassessed the potential impact. Despite trade war concerns, broader equity markets remained strong, with small-cap stocks, tracked by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, surging to fresh all-time highs.

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

“Elon Musk Is Responsible For Palantir Stock Rally, Jim Cramer Says,” by Adam Eckert, highlights Jim Cramer attributing Palantir Technologies Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:PLTR) 275% YTD rally to Elon Musk's influence in the Department of Government Efficiency, which is expected to bolster Palantir's defense-related AI business.

“Amazon’s $8 Billion Investment In AI Developer Anthropic ‘Mutually Beneficial,’ Says Analyst,” by Erica Kollmann, reports on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) expanding its AI partnership with Anthropic through an $8 billion investment, as a BofA Securities analyst highlights benefits for both, including enhanced AWS capabilities and cost savings for Anthropic's model training using Amazon’s custom Trainium chips.

“Surge In Bitcoin, Dogecoin And Other Cryptos Boosting Home Ownership Among Low-Income Americans, Says Treasury Department,” by Aniket Verma, highlights a U.S. Treasury report linking gains in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) to increased homeownership among low-income households, with areas heavily invested in crypto seeing homeownership rise from 4.1% in 2020 to 15.4% in 2024.

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

AMD Teams Up With Taiwan Semi To Take On Samsung In Smartphone Market

‘It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year’ For The Stock Market, History Says

The Bears

“Rivian CEO, Tesla Exec Slam Restrictions On Direct-To-Customer Sales: RJ Scaringe Says It Is ‘As Close As You Can Get To Corruption’,” by Anan Ashraf, highlights Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN) CEO RJ Scaringe and Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) executive Sendil Palani criticizing state laws barring direct-to-consumer sales, calling them anti-competitive and driven by dealer-backed lobbying, with Scaringe describing the system as "close to corruption."

“‘Pharma Bro' Martin Shkreli Tells Investors To ‘Short SAVA,' Stock Falls Over 80% After Phase 3 Update,” by Chris Katje, details Martin Shkreli's accurate prediction of an 80% drop in Cassava Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:SAVA) stock after Phase 3 results for its Alzheimer's drug Simufilam failed to meet primary endpoints, leading to widespread investor disappointment.

“Nano Nuclear Stock Plunges After $60 Million Private Placement Offering: Details,” by Lekha Gupta, reports Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:NNE) stock dropped following a $60 million private placement involving 2.5 million shares at $24.00 each and 2.5 million warrants at $26.00, raising cash reserves to over $120 million to support microreactor advancements and strategic growth plans.

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

Larry Summers Warns Trump Policies Could Push Prices Higher Than Biden’s Actions: Markets Not A Good Predictor Of Inflation

Peter Schiff Warns Trump’s Bitcoin Support Could Lead To Economic Chaos, Make America ‘Weaker’ As Wall Street Misallocates ‘Bigly’

Goldman Sachs Expects Major Selloffs In Canadian Dollar, Mexican Peso, Says Trump Tariffs Threaten USMCA Agreement

Keep up with all the latest breaking news and trading ideas by following Benzinga on Twitter.

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.