Several companies made headlines in midday trading, with Apple leading the way with a jump of more than 6% after announcing it would repurchase $110 billion in shares. The tech giant also posted strong fiscal second-quarter earnings, beating analysts’ estimates with earnings of $1.53 per share on $90.75 billion in revenue. Payment services provider Block also saw a 1% increase after reporting first-quarter results that exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share on revenue of $5.96 billion. Live Nation Entertainment saw a 9% jump in shares thanks to better-than-expected first-quarter revenue and positive outlook for stadium events and concert attendance.
On the other hand, Expedia saw its shares tumble 13% after lowering its full-year guidance due to weakness in its vacation rentals segment, Vrbo. Wall Street firms downgraded the online travel booking company following the report. Despite beating estimates on both top and bottom lines, health-care provider DaVita’s shares dropped 4%. The company slightly raised its earnings guidance for the year, reporting first-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.38 per share on $3.07 billion in revenue.
Booking Holdings, another online travel booking company, advanced nearly 4% after reporting first-quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations, driven by a strong consumer demand overall and the earlier Easter vacation cycle this year. Avidity Biosciences saw a 3% increase in shares following a bullish call from Bank of America, citing the company’s strong pipeline for rare muscle disorder treatments. Biotech company Amgen rallied 12% after reporting a beat on both top and bottom lines in the first quarter and announcing plans to proceed with its injectable obesity drug into a phase 3 trial.
Cloudflare’s stock plunged about 18% after issuing weak full-year guidance, despite posting a first-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue beat, while Arista Networks rallied more than 5% after an upgrade from Jefferies to a buy rating. The bank forecasts Arista becoming a “prime AI beneficiary”. Security stock Fortinet lost 8% after its second-quarter billings forecast came in lighter than analysts had expected, although the company beat expectations for the first quarter. Overall, the midday trading session saw a mix of positive and negative movements across various industries, reflecting the dynamic nature of the stock market.
