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What Is Tapering?
What Is Tapering?

5 Top Stock Gainers for Thursday: UPS, PayPal, UnitedHealth

United Parcel Service, PayPal, UnitedHealth Group, Okta and Annovis Bio are five top stock gainers for Thursday.
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Stocks powered higher Thursday as investors appeared to shrug off accelerating inflation signals, as well as a hawkish Federal Reserve, ahead of a busy slate of bank and blue-chip earnings.

Here are some of the market's biggest gainers for Thursday:

1. United Parcel Service | Increase 3.9%

Shares of United Parcel Service  (UPS) - Get Free Report edged higher after Stifel analyst J. Bruce Chan upgraded the package-delivery giant to buy from hold and raised his price target to $224 from $184, citing the outlook for a solid peak season.

2. PayPal | Increase 4.1%

Shares of payments specialists PayPal  (PYPL) - Get Free Report and Square  (SQ) - Get Free Report were higher after European rival SumUp acquired U.S. marketing startup Fivestars for $317 million. The deal gives SumUp access to San Francisco-based Fivestars' 12,000 businesses and $3 billion in yearly sales. SumUp already operates in the U.S., but this cash-and-stock deal is its first U.S. acquisition.

3. UnitedHealth Group | Increase 4.5%

UnitedHealth Group  (UNH) - Get Free Report shares gained after the health-care giant posted adjusted third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ forecasts and raised its full-year outlook. The results reflect membership growth and lower negative Covid-19 effects on its operating costs.

4. Okta | Increase 4.7%

Shares of Okta  (OKTA) - Get Free Report moved up after Piper Sandler analyst Rob Owens said he was "encouraged" by the identity-management-services provider's investment across the customer identity and access management portfolio, saying it is positioned for share gains. While "encouraged by continued execution and a meaningful opportunity ahead," Owens kept his neutral rating with a $250 price target due to valuation.

5. Annovis Bio | Increase 16%

Annovis Bio  (ANVS) - Get Free Report shares surged after the biotech said in a regulatory filing that CEO Maria-Luisa Maccecchini had bought 18,000 shares at an average price of $27.61. Board member Mark White bought 5,000 shares at an average price of $27.50.