Three pharmaceutical stocks were last week’s top performers — and analysts gave one 40% upside

Global stocks rose last week, tracking U.S. stocks as Wall Street’s major indexes closed with weekly gains. The MSCI World index was up about 1% over the week, and all three U.S. indexes also set weekly gains , with the Nasdaq posting the largest increase. Market observers attributed the buoyancy to investors being increasingly able to shake off concerning individual economic indicators, following remarks on Wednesday from Fed Chair Jerome Powell that appeared to confirm that the pace of interest rate hikes could slow as early as December. The following stocks under the MSCI World index posted gains of more than 10% over the week ended Dec. 2, with six soaring more than 20%, according to FactSet. Pharmaceutical stocks had a good week, with three — Horizon Therapeutics , Catalent and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals — making big gains. Horizon Therapeutics was the top performer of the week, soaring nearly 34%. That came as it said it was in preliminary talks about a possible sale with several large pharma companies, including Amgen, Sanofi and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Global Services unit. However, Janssen Global Services on Saturday said it does not intend to make an offer, while Sanofi said if it decides to bid for Horizon, it would do so in cash, according to a Reuters report . An overwhelming majority (81%) of analysts who cover Horizon gave it a “buy” rating, although the average upside to price target that the stock got was limited, at 0.2%. Of all three, Catalent got the highest upside (40%) from analysts — getting a buy rating from 56% of those covering the stock. Casino stocks also performed well throughout the week, with Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment Group and Sands China jumping more than 10% and 20% respectively. Both casino operators were among six which were issued new licenses to operate in Macao — the world’s largest gambling hub. Home furnishings store Wayfair was another top performer, surging 31%. The firm reported strong five-day holiday weekend sales. From Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, the company saw a low-single digit sales increase in the United States from the same period last year. U.S. media and internet company IAC was one top weekly performer, with the highest upside given by analysts — at 60%. A large majority (over 85%) of analysts who cover the stock rated it a buy. — CNBC’s Christina Cheddar Berk contributed to this report.