What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after optimism improved supported by the U.S.-China trade summit and solid U.S. economic data. 

President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping fueled investor confidence, reducing fears of geopolitical and economic uncertainty. A de-escalation in trade tensions is typically seen as a positive for cyclical sectors like financials, as it can lead to increased global economic activity and market stability. 

This optimism was further supported by a 0.5% climb in April retail sales, signaling a resilient consumer. While U.S. import prices saw their largest surge in four years, the market appeared to interpret this as a sign of strong demand rather than a significant inflationary threat.

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:

• Asset Management company TPG (NASDAQ: TPG) jumped 2.2%. Is now the time to buy TPG? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Asset Management company Carlyle (NASDAQ: CG) jumped 2.6%. Is now the time to buy Carlyle? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Custody Bank company Ridgepost Capital (NYSE: RPC) jumped 2.1%. Is now the time to buy Ridgepost Capital? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Asset Management company Ares (NYSE: ARES) jumped 4.1%. Is now the time to buy Ares? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Auto Loan company Credit Acceptance (NASDAQ: CACC) jumped 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Credit Acceptance? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Ares (ARES)

Ares’s shares are quite volatile and have had 19 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 10 days ago when the stock gained 3.2% on the news that Barclays raised its price target on the stock following the company's strong first-quarter results. 

The investment bank increased its target to $140 from $127, citing the company's impressive fundraising, reaffirmed fiscal year outlook, and a confident management tone. Ares reported record first-quarter fundraising of $30 billion, a jump of more than 45% compared to the previous year. This strong performance drove an 18% increase in assets under management and a 19% rise in fee-paying assets, which in turn boosted management fees by 25%. 

Overall revenue grew 28% to $1.4 billion, while net income surged 202% from the same period a year earlier. Management also expressed confidence in its ability to raise $125 billion from wealth clients by 2028.

Ares is down 22.5% since the beginning of the year, and at $128.95 per share, it is trading 33.1% below its 52-week high of $192.76 from August 2025. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Ares’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,460.

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