The Airbnb logo is seen on a little mini pyramid under the glass Pyramid of the Louvre museum in Paris, France, March 12, 2019.
Charles Platiau | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
MGM Resorts — Shares of MGM Resorts jumped nearly 7% after Credit Suisse upgraded the casino stock to outperform from neutral. The firm said MGM’s new operations and solid cash flow should make the stock attractive to investors. “MGM has gone through a transformation, recently announcing four transactions, and we believe the market is not giving full credit,” Credit Suisse said.
CureVac – Shares of the German biotech firm slid more than 6% after it withdrew its Covid-19 vaccine application in Europe, following a decision by the European Medicines Agency not to fast-track the approval process for CureVac.
Solar power stocks — Solar stocks have been on a tear this week amid global worries about an energy shortage. Enphase Energy rose 5.7%, while Sunrun rallied 8%.
Airbnb — Shares of the lodging rental company jumped just shy of 4% after Cowen upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The Wall Street firm said Airbnb’s growth next year will top expectations amid strong demand for alternative lodging. Cowen hiked its price target on Airbnb to $220 per share from $160 per share.
Nike — Shares of the sportswear company rose about 1% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating. The firm said there could still be upside to the stock as Nike will likely benefit from more customers focusing on wellness, “a likely increased casualization of fashion trends post the pandemic.”
Signet Jewelers — Shares of the jewelry retailer slipped 0.3% after the company announced the acquisition of rival Diamonds Direct for $490 million in cash. SIgnet said the acquisition would add immediately to the company’s earnings.
Fastenal – Fastenal shares advanced more than 2% following the company’s third-quarter earnings report. The industrial products maker earned 42 cents per share, which was in-line with Wall Street’s expectations, according to estimates from Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $1.55 billion, slightly ahead of the $1.54 billion analysts were expecting.
General Electric — Shares of the industrial company dipped roughly 2% after JPMorgan reiterated its neutral rating on the stock. JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa said that the stock appeared overvalued even if he adopted more optimistic projections put forth by other analysts.
— with reporting from CNBC’s Hannah Miao, Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel and Yun Li.
