Investing.com’s stocks of the week

Investing analyst Sam Boughedda highlighted notable stock movements in the US market on February 21, 2026, featuring companies like Masimo, RingCentral, and Global Payments that saw significant gains following positive earnings reports and major corporate developments, while also identifying underperformers like Klarna, Avis Budget Group, and Grail that faced steep declines due to disappointing financial results and clinical trial failures. The US stock market ended the week mostly higher, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 snapping their two-week losing streaks despite some investor caution, as major indices showed mixed performances with the S&P 500 up 0.69%, Nasdaq up 0.90%, while the MASI index dipped 0.13% and CAR fell 0.28%. Masimo Corporation led the gainers with an impressive 34.40% surge on Tuesday after Danaher Corporation announced its agreement to acquire Masimo for $180 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $9.9 billion, including assumed indebtedness and net of acquired cash. RingCentral also performed exceptionally well, jumping over 32% on Friday and approximately 36% for the week after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.18, beating analyst estimates by $0.04, while revenue came in at $644 million, slightly above the $643.61 million consensus. Global Payments rallied 18% over the week after reporting Q4 EPS of $3.18, beating estimates by $0.02, and providing an optimistic 2026 forecast of $13.80 to $14.00 per share, representing 13% to 15% growth and exceeding market expectations. On the downside, Klarna shares plummeted over 26% on Thursday and continued falling another 5.3% on Friday, despite meeting revenue expectations of $1.08 billion, as Compass Point analyst Dominick Gabriele noted '4Q25 was a miss up and down the P&L' and expressed caution about the company's funding costs and operating margins. Avis Budget Group saw its stock decline further by 21.5% on Thursday, extending its downward trend since August 2025, after reporting a Q4 loss per share of $21.25 and revenue of $2.7 billion, below the $2.75 billion consensus estimate. Finally, Grail experienced a dramatic 49.7% drop on Friday despite posting a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss, as investors reacted negatively to the company's flagship NHS-Galleri trial failing to meet its primary clinical endpoint, with TD Cowen analyst Dan Brennan calling it a 'major setback' that could impact FDA approval and Medicare coverage.