Microsoft Corporation headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, April 18, 2016.
Charles Platiau | Portal
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
JB Hunt Transport Services — Transportation shares rose 4% after executives said at an earnings call that they expect the freight market to recover in the second quarter and move into the third quarter when inventories are reset. According to StreetAccount, the company’s reported fourth-quarter results fell short of analysts’ expectations, both in terms of revenue and bottom line.
Moderna — Shares rose 2.7% a day after the pharmaceutical company announced its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine was effective at preventing the disease in older adults.
Chegg — Shares fell 15% after Needham downgraded Chegg from “buy” to “hold,” and said the online education company will struggle to reach consensus on full-year revenue growth at Chegg Services, according to StreetAccount.
Microsoft – Shares of the tech giant fell 1% after it said it would cut 10,000 jobs through March 31 to cut costs amid ongoing economic uncertainties and slowing growth. Microsoft also said it is charging a $1.2 billion fee related to lease consolidation and other activities.
Mobileye – Shares of the assisted driving company rose 8% after Deutsche Bank initiated coverage of the stock as a Buy. The firm said Mobileye’s technology is superior and could help the company become a Tier 1 auto parts supplier.
Oatly Group – Shares in Oatly Group fell nearly 2% and lost momentum after Mizuho upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The company said the upgrade in capacity should accelerate the growth of the plant-based beverage company.
GoDaddy – Shares rose more than 3% after Evercore ISI upgraded GoDaddy to outperform the line, saying the company has a “fairly recession-resistant business model.”
Gap – Shares rose 2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded Gap from underweight to equal weight and said there was “more upside than downside” for the stock at current levels.
PNC Financial Services Group – Shares of the mid-tier bank fell more than 5% on Wednesday after PNC missed Wall Street estimates for revenue and earnings. PNC reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.49 on sales of $3.68 billion for the fourth quarter. Analysts polled by StreetAccount had put the company at $3.95 per share on revenue of $3.74 billion. Net income declined from the third quarter, in part due to a higher provision for credit losses.
YETI Holdings – Shares of the lifestyle outdoor brand fell nearly 10% after Cowen downgraded it to “Market Perform” from “Outperform.” The Wall Street firm said e-commerce traffic trends are slowing.
Hancock Whitney — Shares fell more than 4% after the bank reported earnings that were mostly in line with expectations, but net interest income fell short of expectations, according to StreetAccount.
– CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Jesse Pound, Alex Harring and Yun Li contributed coverage.