Here are the stocks making headlines in midday trading.
GameStop — Shares of the retailer turned negative shortly after midday following several volatility halts as the short squeeze and heavy buying from individual traders continued. The stock was up well over 100% earlier in the session. The early move higher came despite a downgrade to underperform from previously bullish Telsey Advisory Group.
Bed Bath & Beyond, AMC Entertainment — Shares of the pair of stocks surged 13% and 29%, respectively on Monday, joining the list of equities getting short squeezed by retail investor exuberance. Shares of National Beverage gained 24%, Macerich popped 21% and iRobot gained 30%.
Carnival Corporation – Shares of the cruise operator slid more than 6% after the company provided an update on its future sailings as ships continue to stay docked amid the pandemic. The company said that already-announced dry dock plans for some of its ships will be delayed until November 2021. Carnival also announced, among other things, that sailings from San Diego that were previously available for sale through April 2023 have been cancelled.
Tesla — Shares gained 2.5% after investment firm Baird hiked its price target on the stock to $728 per share from $488. Baird said in a note to clients that Tesla was “entering the next stage of its evolution.”
Kimberly-Clark — The consumer products stock rose 5.2% after reporting better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. The company reported $1.69 in adjusted earnings per share on revenue of $4.84 billion. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected $1.60 in earnings per share and $4.71 billion of revenue.
Apple — The consumer tech giant rose more than 2% after Wedbush raised its price target on the stock to a new Street high of $175 per share. The firm said in a note that it expected “eye popping” results from Apple in its earnings report on Wednesday. Shares of Apple were up more than 4% earlier in the session, setting a new all-time high.
TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp. — Shares of the blank check company jumped more than 50% after announcing that it would perform a reverse merger to take real estate software company Latch into the public markets. The deal includes an investment from Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya. Other notable SPAC moves on Monday included Spartan Acquisition Corp. II and ION Acquisition Corp., which gained 28% and 17%, respectively, after announcing they had found their targets.
Dick’s Sporting Goods – The retailer gained more than 1% after Wedbush initiated coverage on the stock with an outperform rating. “Our analysis indicates that investors are underestimating DKS’ sales and especially margin potential in FY21,” the firm wrote in a note to clients. Wedbush has an $85 target on the stock, which is roughly 25% above where shares closed on Friday.
— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens, Maggie Fitzgerald and Michael Bloom contributed to this story.
