What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after investor attention turned to the annual CES 2026 technology conference in Las Vegas, with artificial intelligence emerging as a central theme.
Attention shifted to tech giants, whose CEOs would headline the event. This focus continued the AI-fuelled momentum that drove market gains the previous year. The rally had global reach, with an MSCI Asia Pacific Index surge being driven by heavyweight chip names like Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The event reinforced investor confidence in the long-term demand for the booming AI and chipmaking trend, boosting shares of companies across the semiconductor and technology space.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Advertising Software company Zeta Global (NYSE: ZETA) jumped 7.8%. Is now the time to buy Zeta Global? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Automation Software company Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) jumped 5.5%. Is now the time to buy Pegasystems? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Automation Software company SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) jumped 2.9%. Is now the time to buy SoundHound AI? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Data Analytics company CLEAR Secure (NYSE: YOU) jumped 4.7%. Is now the time to buy CLEAR Secure? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Zooming In On Zeta Global (ZETA)
Zeta Global’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 43 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 7 days ago when the stock dropped 3.2% as the stock pulled back amid a broader market decline, likely as investors took profits following a strong multi-day rally.
The decline followed a six-day gaining streak for the stock, which had jumped over 15% in the previous week. This significant run-up made a pullback more likely as some investors decided to lock in their gains. Adding to the pressure, the wider market also trended lower, with major indexes like the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq both falling during the session. With no negative company-specific news reported, the drop appeared to be a technical correction in a weaker overall market.
Zeta Global is up 7.9% since the beginning of the year, but at $21.48 per share, it is still trading 13% below its 52-week high of $24.69 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Zeta Global’s shares at the IPO in June 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $2,417.
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