Following a rally that took the major averages to their highest levels since mid-February, Wall Street took a breather on Wednesday, with stocks posting modest declines on the session. The S&P 500 retreated about 1.2%.
Medical device companies were among the stocks that saw pullbacks during the day. Worries about supply chain restraints weighed on shares of ResMed (RMD), Edwards Lifesciences (EW), Stryker (SYK), Boston Scientific (BSX) and Medtronic (MDT).
Among individual stocks, Vicor (VICR) was one of the standout decliners on the session. The stock lost a fifth of its value on signs that it might lose business from its biggest customer.
Winnebago (WGO) also suffered a major sell-off, posting a double-digit percentage loss amid concerns about its margins.
On the other side of the ledger, meme stocks managed to post standout gains on the session. This included Allego (NYSE:ALLG), which more than doubled in value amid a rush of online chatter. Gamestop (NYSE:GME) continued its recent gains as well.
AAR (AIR) also showed strength, rising to a new high on strong quarterly results.
Sector In Focus
Worries about supply chain constraints weighed on medical device makers. ResMed (RMD) was at the epicenter of the concerns, as an analyst pointed out potential stumbling blocks for the respiratory device maker.
While the firm maintained its Overweight rating and its $302 price target, KeyBanc analyst Matthew Mishan noted that the supply issues could make it "more difficult" for RMD to hit its projection of $300M-$350M in incremental device revenue, according to a Bloomberg report.
Hurt by the news, RMD dropped nearly 9% on the session.
The worries carried over to the rest of the sector as well. Edwards Lifesciences (EW) declined 5%, while Stryker (SYK) retreated 4%. Boston Scientific (BSX) and Medtronic (MDT) fell by approximately 3%.
Standout Gainer
The meme-stock craze saw a renaissance on Wednesday, including a 114% rally in Allego (ALLG), which skyrocketed amid an uptick in social media buzz.
The EV charging network experienced increased exposure on outlets like Twitter and Stocktwits, leading retail traders to rush into the stock. As a result, shares jumped $9.45 on the session to close at $17.73.
ALLG, which came public through a SPAC deal earlier this month, also touched a new high of $23.91.
Meanwhile, big-name meme stocks also saw attention on Wednesday. Gamestop (GME) climbed 15%, adding to the nearly 31% jump it posted the previous day.
The advance also marked its seventh consecutive session of gains. GME has jumped more than 80% during this winning streak.
Standout Loser
Vicor (VICR) plunged after an analyst underlined the danger that Nvidia's new AI chip may exclude Vicor parts. Worries about the loss of an important partner sent the stock lower by about 20%.
CJS Securities downgraded VICR to Market Perform from Outperform, noting that images of the new NVDA H100 AI Processor did not show VICR parts, a fact that could be attributed to capacity constraints.
Analyst Jonathan Tanwanteng stressed that getting left out of Nvidia's chip would represent a major loss for VICR, since Nvidia represents its largest customer.
VICR finished the day at $61.77, a decline of $15.73 on the session. Shares also reached an intraday 52-week low of $60.50.
Notable New High
The release of strong earnings news sent AAR (AIR) to a new 52-week high, as a 7% rise in the company's stock price added to a recent upswing.
The aviation services firm topped expectations with its Q3 earnings. Revenue also exceeded projections, rising 10% from last year to reach $452M.
The company pointed to substantial growth in its commercial business, as the impact from COVID continued to wane. Sales in this segment reached 59% of consolidated sales, up from 51% in the prior quarter.
On the news, AIR advanced $3.51 to finish the day at $50.40. The closing level sat just off an intraday 52-week high of $50.46 set during the session.
Looking longer-term, shares have been trending upwards since early December. AIR has climbed nearly 59% since that point.
Notable New Low
Winnebago (WGO) plunged nearly 12% despite announcing quarterly results that beat expectations on the headline numbers. Investors worried about the firm's margins amid an environment of lingering supply problems and high gas prices.
The maker of mobile homes reported Q4 results that beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines. These figures included revenue that jumped 38% from last year to reach a total of $1.16B.
However, the company reported gross margins that remained stable with a year ago, as the firm looked to overcome inflationary pressures with higher prices. WGO also noted ongoing supply chain constraints.
WGO declined $7.34 to close at $55.04. During the session, the stock reached an intraday 52-week low of $54.77.
For more on the day's biggest movers, click over to Seeking Alpha's On The Move section.