Uber Closes in on New High, Here’s What Driving the Stock

Uber Technologies’ shares (NYSE: UBER) have gone risen over 140% in 2023, currently sitting a hairbreadth from its all-time high (ATH). The stock’s uptrend has been fueled by a number of catalysts, including strong fundamentals, launch of fully autonomous vehicle rides, and most recently, inclusion in the S&P 500 index.  

Uber Shares 5% Short of ATH

Shares of Uber Technologies continued their remarkable uptrend on Thursday, rising more than 2% to close at $60.98 – a level not seen since April 2021. 

At this price, the stock is just 5% short of its all-time high of $64.05 touched in February 2021. To potentially reach a new peak, the ride-hailing giant’s shares must clear a near-term resistance sitting around $61.4. Clearing this hurdle would allow the bulls to test the ATH and possibly propel the stock to a new peak.

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What’s Driving Uber’s Stock?

Year-to-date, Uber’s shares are up more than 140%, more than a majority of S&P 500’s top performers this year. Interestingly, the stock has just been selected to join the benchmark index, S&P Dow Jones Indices announced last week. 

The announcement, which lifted Uber’s shares more than 5% last Friday, revealed that the stock will become officially a part of the S&P 500 index on Monday, December 18. Uber will be replacing Sealed Air Corp., the press release said. 

But from a broader perspective, Uber’s stock has been rising due to several factors. The ride-hailing and food-delivery service provider fulfilled its promise to deliver higher margins, which could rise even further as drivers begin to be excluded from the equation over the next several years. 

Why is that? Well, in October, Uber announced that riders in certain locations now have the option to ride in a fully autonomous vehicle. To deliver this offering, the company partnered with autonomous car company Waymo, owned by Alphabet, in May this year. Phoenix was the first city where Uber publicly launched this option, partly because it is the largest fully autonomous service area in the world. 

Remarkably, it was this announcement that acted as the strongest catalyst for Uber’s shares. Since announcing the rollout of self-driving cars on October 26, the company’s stock surged by roughly 50%.

Analysts on Wall Street successfully predicted Uber’s 2023 ascent, given that the stock has been one of the most heavily favored ones for over a year. 

Do you expect Uber’s stock to continue its uptrend throughout 2024? Let us know in the comments below.