On the heels of big post-earnings gains Thursday, Opera (NASDAQ: OPRA) soared again Friday. The web browser developer's share price ended the session up 11.5%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
Thanks to comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggesting that interest rate cuts are on the way, Friday was a good day for the broader market. The S&P 500 index gained 1.1% while the Nasdaq Composite index climbed 1.4%. In addition to the promising news on the interest rate front, Opera stock also received bullish coverage from an analyst.
The Fed sends bullish signals to investors
Investors on Friday got some long-awaited good news about interest rates. At his keynote address at the Federal Reserve's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Chairman Powell indicated that the U.S. central bank will cut benchmark interest rates in the near future.
With inflation declining and signs of some weakness in the jobs numbers, Powell said that it was time for a policy shift on rates. While he didn't offer a specific commitment to cut rates at the Fed's meeting in September, the substance and tone of his comments heavily suggests that the Federal Open Market Committee will deliver an interest rate cut next month. If that happens, the move could help to prolong the bullish momentum for the stock market at large.
One analyst thinks Opera stock is poised to soar by 48%
Before the market opened Friday morning, B. Riley published a new research note on Opera. The investment firm maintained a buy rating on the stock and raised its one-year price target from $22 per share to $24 per share. Based on the stock's closing price of $16.18 per share Friday, the new target suggests additional upside of roughly 48%.
B. Riley's analyst cited Opera's strong Q2 results and improved performance targets for this year as reasons for the price-target increase. The firm also thinks that upcoming products, features, and artificial intelligence initiatives will be bullish catalysts for the software company.
Following its big gains this week, Opera stock is now up roughly 22% across this year's trading. The stock now trades at roughly 16 times this year's expected earnings -- a valuation that looks reasonable given the business's recent momentum.
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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
