Palantir, the secretive data analysis software company best known for its contracts with government agencies, is reportedly planning to go public via direct listing in late September, according to Bloomberg.

Why it matters: This would be only the third company since 2018 to do a direct listing, after Spotify and Slack. The company is also in the process of raising $961 million, with $550 million of it already secured.

The S&P 500 nearly closed at an all-time high on Wednesday and remains poised to go from peak to trough to peak in less than half a year.

By the numbers: Since hitting its low on March 23, the S&P has risen about 50%, with more than 40 of its members doubling, according to Bloomberg. The $12 trillion dollars of share value that vanished in late March has almost completely returned.

Tesla's share price jumped in after-market trading following the Silicon Valley electric automaker's announcement of a 5-for-1 stock split.

Why it matters: The company's Tuesday evening announcement said the move is aimed at making stock ownership "more accessible to employees and investors."

The electric truck startup Nikola Motors' stock surged 22% Monday and the company now has a market capitalization of $17 billion. That's pretty, pretty good considering they have basically no revenue yet.

Driving the news: The bump came after Monday's announcement that the waste management company Republic Services has ordered at least 2,500 electric garbage trucks, with deliveries slated to start in 2023.

S&P 500 companies' earnings in the second quarter have been historically good and also historically bad.

What's happening: Earnings are still on pace to be awful, but they are handily beating even more awful expectations from analysts.

CureVac, a German Phase 1 biotech company developing mRNA-based cancer therapies and vaccines as well as a potential coronavirus vaccine, announced terms for its IPO.

Why it matters: COVID-19 is the biggest story in the world right now and any company that can potentially contribute to the fight is a big deal.

The Nasdaq closed above 11,000 for the first time on Thursday, ending the session higher for the seventh time in a row and eighth session in nine. It has gained nearly 10% since July 1.

Why it matters: It's not just tech stocks that have rallied recently. Just about every asset class has jumped in the third quarter, including many that typically have negative or inverse correlations to each other.

Rocket Companies, a Detroit-based mortgage lender operating under the Rocket Mortgage and Quicken Loans brands, raised $1.8 billion in an IPO that had been expected to raise upward of $3.3 billion.

Why it matters: This was a stunning flop, or at least so far as any $1.3 billion IPO can be deemed a flop. Not only because it came amidst a broad-based IPO surge, but also because it followed the IPO overperformance from insurance upstart Lemonade.

Apple's market cap is screeching toward $2 trillion, less than a year after rising above the $1 trillion mark again in September 2019.

What happened: The company first gained 13-figure status in early August 2018 but saw its valuation sink to a mere $709 billion following the market downturn of late 2018.

Nikola Corp., a company planning to build electric and hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, posted an $86.6 million quarterly net loss Tuesday in what was its first earnings report after going public in June.

Why it matters: Nikola is attracting lots of attention for plans to build a line of semi-trucks, as well as a pickup, in the coming years as it tries to break through in those fledgling markets.