Companies Making Headlines in Midday Trading
Check out the latest updates on the companies making headlines during midday trading on September 15, 2023.
General Motors, Ford, Stellantis
Shares of Ford were relatively unchanged, while General Motors saw a 0.9% increase and Stellantis rose by 2.2% as a targeted strike led by the United Auto Workers (UAW) commenced. Workers walked off the job at multiple assembly plants owned by the three automakers on Thursday night, following the expiration of a key labor contract negotiation deadline.
Planet Fitness
Shares of Planet Fitness dropped significantly by 15.9% after the board of the gym chain removed CEO Chris Rondeau from his position. The sudden decision surprised employees close to Rondeau, according to a source familiar with the matter. Interim CEO Craig Benson, a former governor of New Hampshire, will temporarily assume the role.
Nucor
Steel manufacturer Nucor experienced a 6.1% decline in its stock price after providing worse-than-expected guidance for third-quarter earnings. The company attributed the challenges to pricing and volume issues. Nucor projected earnings between $4.10 and $4.20 per share, below the $4.57 estimate from analysts polled by LSEG (formerly known as Refinitiv).
PTC Therapeutics
Shares of therapeutic company PTC Therapeutics plummeted by 29.8% after the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a negative opinion concerning the conversion of conditional to full marketing authorization for a PTC drug used to treat nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Following this news, Raymond James downgraded the stock from outperform to underperform.
Core & Main
Infrastructure stock Core & Main retreated by 4.1% after announcing a secondary stock offering. The offering will involve the sale of 18 million Class A shares by selling shareholders, which will be held concurrently with the repurchase of 3.1 million Class A shares. Additionally, partnership interests in a company unit will be bought back.
Arm Holdings
Shares of Arm Holdings slipped by 4.5% during its second session as a public company. Investment banking firm Needham initiated coverage of the stock with a hold rating and no price target, following Arm’s debut with a valuation of approximately $60 billion. Needham analyst Charles Shi cautioned that the stock’s value already looks “full”.
Insulet, Dexcom
Shares of diabetes-focused health-care companies Insulet and Dexcom fell following a report by Bloomberg News that Apple has selected a new leader for its team working on the development of a noninvasive blood sugar monitoring device. Insulet’s shares dropped by 2.9%, while Dexcom’s sank by 5.1%.
Chipmakers
Stocks of chip equipment manufacturers ASML Holding, KLA, Lam Research, and Applied Materials all experienced declines after a report revealed that Taiwan Semiconductor is instructing vendors to postpone deliveries due to concerns about demand. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor lost 2.4%.
Adobe
Shares of Photoshop maker Adobe fell by 4.2% after the company reported its fiscal third-quarter earnings. While Adobe beat earnings and revenue expectations and provided guidance that matched Street projections, JPMorgan remained neutral, citing macroeconomic headwinds and a high premium for Adobe’s pending acquisition of Figma for $20 billion. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America reiterated buy ratings.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals
Biopharmaceutical company Apellis Pharmaceuticals gained 2.6% after receiving an upgrade from Wells Fargo, which raised its rating from equal weight to overweight. Wells Fargo noted that Apellis has a favorable risk/reward outlook ahead of third-quarter earnings.
DoorDash
Shares of food delivery company DoorDash fell by 2.5% after MoffettNathanson downgraded the stock from outperform to market perform. The Wall Street firm cited the resumption of loan repayments introducing bookings risk to food delivery. Despite this downturn, DoorDash’s stock is still up more than 60% this year.
Axis Capital
Insurance stock Axis Capital rose by 3.1% following an upgrade from Bank of America, which changed its rating from underperform to buy. The Wall Street firm noted that its previously pessimistic outlook was changing, despite recent underperformance in the reinsurance sector.
Estée Lauder
Cosmetics stock Estée Lauder advanced by nearly 1% after Redburn Atlantic Equities became less bearish, upgrading shares from sell to neutral. The firm observed that the company was experiencing technical benefits as customer ordering patterns return to normal.
Casella Waste Systems
Waste management company Casella Waste Systems traded approximately 1.6% higher after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a buy rating. Goldman highlighted the company’s potential for long-term growth and strong pricing.
Contributors: Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Samantha Subin, Pia Singh, Brian Evans, and Lisa Kailai Han.
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