What Happened?
A number of stocks jumped in the morning session after the August Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report showed that inflation is not accelerating unexpectedly, raising hopes for future interest rate cuts.
The report, a key inflation gauge for the Federal Reserve, indicated that the headline PCE price index rose by 0.3% month-over-month, aligning with consensus forecasts. More importantly, the core index, which strips out volatile food and energy costs and is closely watched by the Fed, increased by a milder 0.2%. This steady data provided reassurance to investors that persistent inflationary pressures are stable.
The market's positive reaction stems from hopes that this could keep the central bank on its anticipated path of monetary easing. Such cuts can stimulate the economy and make stocks more attractive to investors, leading to a cautiously optimistic mood on Wall Street.
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:
- Specialized Technology company Mirion (NYSE: MIR) jumped 8%. Is now the time to buy Mirion? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Office & Commercial Furniture company MillerKnoll (NASDAQ: MLKN) jumped 2.7%. Is now the time to buy MillerKnoll? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- IT Services & Consulting company DXC (NYSE: DXC) jumped 3.2%. Is now the time to buy DXC? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- IT Services & Consulting company Accenture (NYSE: ACN) jumped 2.8%. Is now the time to buy Accenture? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Mirion (MIR)
Mirion’s shares are quite volatile and have had 16 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 about 23 hours ago when the stock dropped 7.9% on the news that it announced plans to acquire Paragon Energy Solutions for about $585 million, revealed plans for a $600 million capital raise, and lowered its 2025 revenue growth forecast.
To fund the acquisition, Mirion announced a $350 million public stock offering and a $250 million private offering of convertible bonds. Such offerings can put pressure on a stock's price by increasing the number of shares, which can dilute the value for existing shareholders.
Compounding the negative sentiment, the company revised its 2025 organic revenue growth guidance downward to a range of 4.5% to 6.0%, from a previous estimate of 5.0% to 7.0%. Mirion attributed the weaker outlook to reduced expectations in its Labs & Research division, lower demand from China, and delays in a European defense order.
Mirion is up 40.4% since the beginning of the year, and at $23.76 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $24.60 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Mirion’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,237.
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