Biggest Market Movers Today, Nov. 21: CAVA, ESTC, & More

This week has been a volatile one for the stock market, but Wall Street was able to finish on a positive note on Friday. Investors have had to speculate whether the numerous challenges that financial markets face are likely to spur the Federal Reserve to be more lenient with its interest rate policy. Gains for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC), and S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) all came in around 1% on the day.

Data source: Yahoo! Finance.

Here are some of the more important stocks that made big moves higher or lower on Friday.

Top Stock Gainers Today

CAVA: +12%

Mediterranean fast-casual restaurant chain Cava (NYSE: CAVA) was one of the top stock market gainers on Friday as investors started to see reasons for more optimism about the struggling stock. Shareholders took a hit earlier this month when Cava reported disappointing third-quarter financial results earlier this month, which included revenue and earnings growth that were both weaker than most had expected. Cava also cut its full-year outlook for 2025, citing slower same-restaurant sales growth. The big question facing Cava is whether it's being too ambitious with its expansion strategy, which included 17 new locations just in a three-month period to bring the total to 415 systemwide. Fears that consumers are getting tired of fast-casual concepts have gotten a lot worse lately, but that could make now an interesting time to look at a stock that's a lot more attractively valued than it was a year ago.

WSC: +11%

Mobile office and storage container specialist WillScot Holdings (NASDAQ: WSC) was also one of the better performers in the stock market on Friday. The company got favorable comments from analysts at Baird, which upgraded the stock from neutral to outperform and increased its price target on WillScot stock from $20 to $22 per share. Shares of WillScot have essentially gone nowhere in the past five years amid difficult industry conditions. However, Baird's analysts believe that with WillScot having reined in turnaround expectations, the company could have the room it needs to find a viable strategy to move forward. Moreover, if the Fed cooperates by cutting interest rates, then that could provide a cyclical boost to WillScot's customers that could result in more business down the road.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Top Stock Losers Today

ESTC: -15%

Elastic (NYSE: ESTC) was a top stock loser on Friday after the search -powered AI specialist reported fiscal second-quarter financial results that fell short of expectations. Revenue for the quarter of $423 million rose 16% year over year, with a 17% rise in total subscription sales. Growth in revenue from the Elastic Cloud slowed to 22%, and adjusted earnings of $0.64 per share were up just 8% from year-ago levels. CEO Ash Kulkarni remains optimistic about Elastic's long-term prospects, with net expansion rates of 112% and a rise in customers spending at least $100,000 annually on its platform. However, with concerns about the sustainability of growth in artificial intelligence, it's not surprising to find investors cooling on Elastic today.

VEEV: -10%

Finally, Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) also declined following an earnings report. The life-sciences technology provider reported 16% growth in quarterly revenue overall, with gains of 17% in subscription sales. Adjusted net income of $345 million was up 20% year over year. Moreover, Veeva boosted its projections for full-year 2025 results, now anticipating revenue of about $3.17 billion and adjusted earnings of $7.93 per share. With today's decline, that guidance gives Veeva a forward earnings multiple of about 30, and that might start to look attractive to AI investors who still see a bright future for technology providers.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Veeva Systems. The Motley Fool recommends Cava Group and Elastic. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.