Several companies were making headlines in midday trading, with Hertz Global shedding 4% after being downgraded to sell by Goldman Sachs. Block, a financial services stock, also lost nearly 2% following a downgrade to underweight by Morgan Stanley. On the other hand, Zeta Global saw a 17% increase after an upgrade from Morgan Stanley, citing positive revisions to valuation and estimates. Wayfair’s shares added more than 3% after an upgrade by Evercore ISI, which predicts the company gaining market share in the home furnishing space. Levi Strauss rallied 16% after beating first-quarter expectations and raising profit guidance for the full year, while Conagra Brands climbed 5% after exceeding analysts’ estimates for its fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue.
Lamb Weston saw its shares plunge nearly 20% after missing third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. Alaska Air Group gained 5% after receiving $160 million in compensation from Boeing following the grounding of the 737 Max 9. Grindr, the LGBTQ-focused dating app, climbed 2.5% after Raymond James initiated coverage with an outperform rating, citing reasons to be optimistic on the stock. HubSpot’s shares soared nearly 10% after Reuters reported that Alphabet was in talks to make an offer for the marketing software company, although no offer had been submitted yet. Solventum, a health-care stock, rose 4.5% after being spun off from 3M on Monday.
Solar stocks also saw increases during Thursday’s trading session as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury moved lower. Enphase Energy rose 7%, First Solar popped 6%, and SolarEdge Technologies advanced more than 7%. Overall, the market was seeing a mix of upgrades, downgrades, and earnings reports impacting various companies across different sectors. Investors were closely watching these developments to gauge the performance and potential of these companies moving forward. The fluctuations in share prices and analyst ratings reflected the ongoing changes and opportunities within the market, with some companies benefiting from positive news while others faced challenges. The overall market sentiment appeared to be mixed, with some stocks seeing gains while others experienced losses. The impact of various factors, such as analyst recommendations, earnings reports, and industry trends, continued to influence the movement of stocks in midday trading.
