What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after President Trump threatened a 'massive increase in tariffs' on Chinese imports, reigniting fears of a renewed US-China trade war.
The unexpected comments, made in response to Beijing's plans to tighten export controls on rare-earth minerals, reversed early market gains and sent major indices tumbling. Rare-earth minerals are crucial for components used in the electronics and automotive industries. The tech sector led the losses, with the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite falling 1.7%. The threat jolted Wall Street, sparking concerns that escalating trade tensions could disrupt global supply chains and increase costs for many technology companies that rely on components or manufacturing from China.
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:
- Electronic Components & Manufacturing company Flex (NASDAQ: FLEX) fell 4.2%. Is now the time to buy Flex? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Digital Media & Content Platforms company IAC (NASDAQ: IAC) fell 3.7%. Is now the time to buy IAC? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Professional Staffing & HR Solutions company Kforce (NYSE: KFRC) fell 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Kforce? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Government & Technical Consulting company Maximus (NYSE: MMS) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy Maximus? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
- Specialized Technology company PAR Technology (NYSE: PAR) fell 3.3%. Is now the time to buy PAR Technology? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Zooming In On Flex (FLEX)
Flex’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 14 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 2 days ago when the stock gained 3.1% on the news that Bank of America Securities raised its price target on the company's stock to $65 from $58 while maintaining a "Buy" rating. The revised target from analyst Ruplu Bhattacharya represented a 12.07% increase and reflected continued confidence in the company's performance. This positive analyst action followed the company's recent product news.
Flex is up 48.8% since the beginning of the year, and at $57.46 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $59.84 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Flex’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $4,664.
Do you want to know what moves the business you care about? Add them to your StockStory watchlist and every time a stock significantly moves, we provide you with a timely explanation straight to your inbox. It’s free for active Edge members and will only take you a second.
