Pampers Diapers, which are manufactured by Procter & Gamble, are displayed in an Associated Supermarket in New York.
Ramin Talai | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
SoFi – Shares of the mobile financial services company surged more than 16% after the company won long-sought regulatory approval to become a bank holding company. SoFi will acquire California community lender Golden Pacific Bancorp, a deal announced last year, and operate its bank subsidiary as SoFi bank.
UnitedHealth Group – UnitedHealth shares rose 1.4% after the health insurer’s fourth-quarter report beat earnings expectations. The company reported an adjusted profit of $4.48 per share, 17 cents above the Refinitiv consensus estimate. UnitedHealth’s revenue also topped forecasts.
Morgan Stanley — The bank stock climbed about 2.1% after the firm posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits on strong equities trading revenue. Unlike its rivals, which disclosed soaring compensation costs for Wall Street personnel in the quarter, Morgan Stanley kept a lid on expenses.
Procter & Gamble – Shares of the consumer goods company rose about 4.3% after it reported earnings topping Wall Street estimates. The company posted earnings of $1.66 per share, 1 cent higher than the Refinitiv consensus estimate. P&G also beat revenue expectations and raised its 2022 forecast.
US Bancorp — Shares of U.S. Bancorp fell 6.9% after a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report. The company posted profit below the consensus expectation from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Net interest income also came in lower than the StreetAccount estimate.
State Street — Shares of the asset manager fell more than 5% despite State Street reporting better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter on the top and bottom lines. However, the company’s revenue from servicing fees came in below analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet’s StreetAccount. Additionally, State Street announced that the CEO of its Global Advisors business will retire this year.
Sony – Sony shares fell 2.9% after Microsoft on Tuesday announced a deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. The acquisition would increase competitive pressure on Sony’s PlayStation operation.
Electronic Arts – Electronic Arts shares added roughly 2.7% after an upgrade to overweight from Atlantic Equities. The firm said shares are attractive as a standalone company after Microsoft announced it would buy Activision Blizzard.
Las Vegas Sands — The casino and gaming stock gained 3.3% on Wednesday following an upgrade to buy from neutral by UBS. The investment firm said in a note to clients that the new gambling regulations in Macao should benefit incumbents like Las Vegas Sands.
Lennar — Shares of homebuilder stocks fell after downgrades from KeyBanc. The firm downgraded Lennar, KB Home and Toll Brothers to underweight and cut its rating on D.R. Horton to sector weight. Lennar slid nearly 2% and D.R. Horton fell 1.6%. KB Home and Toll Brothers each dropped more than 2%.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed reporting
