Top three stocks on the S&P 500 last week

The S&P 500ʻs winning streak ended at two weeks as the benchmark fell 2.4% last week to 4,224 as of the market close on Friday. Geopolitical strife and a rise in the 10-year Treasury yield to over 5% were the major macro causes of the overall drop.

Last week marked the first time the Treasury yield surpassed 5% since 2007. That has implications for mortgage and loans rates, which, in turn, makes borrowing costs higher and is a drag on many stocks.

This is a big week for earnings as major tech companies like Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Visa (NYSE:V), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) all report. However, last week had some winners too. Here were the top three stocks on the S&P 500 last week.

1 . VFC Corp.

VFC Corp. (NYSE: VFC) is an apparel company that produces outdoor clothing and gear under brands like North Face, Timberland, Vans and Dickies. The stock jumped 16.6% last week and is now trading at around $18 per share. However, even after that increase, it is still down 35% year to date.

One catalyst for VFC last week was the strong retail sales report, which showed that sales climbed 0.7% in September to $705 billion. It was better than the 0.3% estimate and marked the sixth consecutive month of retail sales growth in the U.S.

However, the larger catalyst was the news that activist investor Engaged Capital acquired a stake in the retailer and began pushing for about $300 million in cost cuts, a pause on acquisitions, and board changes, among other requests. The market saw the activist's involvement as a positive step for the struggling stock, which is down 35% YTD. Stay tuned for VFCʻs third-quarter earnings on Oct. 30.

2. DexCom

DexCom (NASDAQ: DXCM) has been on a rollercoaster the past few weeks, but this past week was an up week as the stock surged 12.8%. The medical device manufacturer makes continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) for people with diabetes, among other products. The stock is now trading at just over $85 per share, down 24% YTD.

DexComʻs stock had fallen in recent weeks on concerns that the success of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro for weight loss among diabetes patients may reduce the need for CGMs. However, DexCom said the opposite -- that they lead to higher usage of CGMs.

DexCom received a boost last week when analysts from Leerink initiated coverage of its stock with an outperform rating, calling the GLP-1 concerns overblown. Leerink set a price target of $110, which is a 29% gain over the current stock price. Dexcom is scheduled to report Q3 earnings on Oct. 26.

3. Netflix

The TV-streaming company Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was the third-biggest gainer last week, soaring 12.7%. Netflix is now up 36% YTD and trading at around $401 per share, placing it among the top performers on the S&P 500 this year.

Netflixʻs jump this past week was due mainly to its excellent third-quarter earnings report. The company posted an 8% year-over-year increase in revenue to $8.5 billion and a 20% rise in net income to $1.7 billion, or $3.73 per share. Both beat the consensus estimates.

Global paid memberships increased 11% year over year, and paid net additions were 8.8 million, up from 5.9 million in Q2 and 2.4 million in the year-ago quarter. It was the biggest quarterly net add since the start of the pandemic and shows that Netflixʻs recent crackdown on password-sharing is working.

For the fourth quarter, revenue is projected at $8.7 billion, an 11% year-over-year gain, while net paid additions are expected to be similar to Q3.