A SunPower executive on site at the California Valley Solar Farm near Santa Margarita, Calif., in San Luis Obispo County.
Michael Macor | San Francisco Chronicle | Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
SunPower – The solar company surged more than 18% as investors eyed the Georgia Senate runoffs. A Democratic sweep is viewed as leading to more favorable policies for the industry. Elsewhere in the sector Sunrun and Enphase Energy each gained more than 11%, while Sunnova rallied 9%.
Beyond Meat — Shares dropped nearly 4% after Piper Sandler downgraded the plant-based meat maker to neutral from overweight. The Wall Street firm said Beyond Meat’s current retail momentum is lagging consensus expectations and there is potential for another quarter of under-shipments.
Change Healthcare — Shares soared more than 30% after UnitedHealth said it’s buying the health care technology company in a deal that values it at roughly $8 billion. UnitedHealth will pay $25.75 per share in cash, compared to Change’s Tuesday close of $18.24.
Tesla – The electric automaker’s sotck jumped more than 4% amid broad strength in the renewable energy space. The company also got a bullish call from Morgan Stanley, with the firm raising its target on the stock to a Street high of $810.
DraftKings — Shares popped more than 6% after the New York Daily News reported Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to make mobile sports betting a key part of his policy proposals in his State of the State address.
China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom — The three Chinese telecom giants dipped after the New York Stock Exchange said it will delist the stocks. The decision marked the NYSE’s second reversal in two days. Shares of China Telecom and China Mobile lost more than 4% each. China Unicom fell 2.4%.
KeyCorp, JPMorgan – Banks of all sizes and scopes rallied Wednesday as a rise in long-term rates promised to allow financial firms to hike the interest banks can charge on their loans, a key driver of commercial lending profits. Regional banks KeyCorp and Comerica rallied 9.3% and 9.5%, respectively, while Zions Bancorporation soared 11.5%. More diversified banks JPMorgan, Bank of America and Citi added 4.6%, 6.8% and 6.7%.
MetLife — Shares of the insurance giant rallied more than 7% after an analyst at Piper Sandler upgraded them to overweight from neutral citing a “material” stock repurchasing program and the company’s apparent push to “dispose of legacy liabilities when that market appears to be coming unlocked.”
Coca-Cola — A Deutsche Bank analyst downgraded Coca-Cola to hold from buy, sending the stock down 2.7%. The analyst highlighted tax issues surrounding the beverage giant as well as uncertainty around its broader recovery.
— CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Pippa Stevens, Maggie Fitzgerald, Fred Imbert and Thomas Franck contributed reporting.
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