Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading Friday.
Albertsons — Shares of the Safeway owner dropped 7% on news that Kroger has agreed to purchase Albertsons in a deal valued at $24.6 billion, or $34.10 a share. Kroger‘s shares slipped 4.8%.
JPMorgan Chase — The bank gained 2.8% after topping estimates for the recent quarter. JPMorgan Chase said net interest income surged 34% to $17.6 billion in the period due to higher rates.
Morgan Stanley — Morgan Stanley’s stock slumped 4.6% after the bank posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Revenue also fell short of expectations as a result of a decline in investment banking.
Citigroup — Citigroup rose more than 1% after its third-quarter revenue climbed more than analysts expected, helped by rising interest rates. Citi’s earnings per share also topped Wall Street expectations. However, its earnings fell 25% from the year-earlier period as it bulked up its credit loss provisions and investment banking slumped.
Wells Fargo — The bank stock was up 3% after Wells Fargo reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped analysts’ expectations. The strong numbers came even after Wells set aside $784 million for credit losses. CEO Charlie Scharf said the bank is positioned well to continue to benefit from higher rates.
Delta Air Lines – The airline got a 3% lift after Cowen upgraded its shares, citing recovery in the travel industry, which has seen increased business and international travel with the easing of pandemic restrictions.
Nasdaq — The exchange operator’s stock dropped 5% following a double downgrade to underperform by Bank of America. Among the reasons for the downgrade, the bank cited Nasdaq’s premium valuation and 2023 headwinds likely expected to weigh on earnings per share.
Beyond Meat — Shares declined 6.8% after Beyond Meat said it plans to cut 19% of its workforce as the plant-based meat company struggles with falling sales. Several top executives are leaving, including chief operating officer Doug Ramsey — who was arrested after allegedly biting a man’s nose.
Tesla — Tesla shares fell more than 6% after a Wells Fargo analyst trimmed its price target on the electric vehicle stock to $230 from $280 a share. The analyst cited concern over higher interest rates for the target cut.
UnitedHealth Group – Shares of the health insurer rose 1.2% after the company reported a beat on both the top and bottom line for the third quarter, helped by lower costs for Covid-related testing and treatments. UnitedHealth also raised its financial outlook.
US Bancorp – Shares of US Bancorp rose 3.7% after the bank’s third-quarter earnings came in above Wall Street analyst expectations. The firm reported earnings-per-share of $1.18, excluding items, compared to a StreetAccount estimate of $1.15, and $6.33 billion of revenue, versus StreetAccount’s estimate of $6.24 billion.
Nutanix — Shares surged 23.1% on a Wall Street Journal report that it’s exploring a possible sale after receiving takeover interest. The cloud computing company will reportedly target private equity firms and industry rivals as its potential buyers.
PNC Financial Services — The financial stock dipped about 1% despite a stronger-than-expected earnings report. Higher yields on interest-earning assets and loan growth fueled a rise in net interest income for the bank, but PNC said it experienced a decline in fee income.
First Republic Bank — The bank stock dropped more than 14% after First Republic posted its third-quarter results. The bank’s net interest margin came in below a StreetAccount forecast, as did the company’s overall revenue for the quarter.
ViaSat — Shares of the satellite internet company fell nearly 1% after the U.K.’s competition regulator launched an in-depth probe into ViaSat’s $7.3 billion deal to buy British rival Inmarsat. The Competition and Markets Authority is concerned the takeover would make it harder for competitors to do business in the aviation sector and would lead to higher prices for onboard Wi-Fi on airplane flights.
Howard Hughes Corp. — Howard Hughes’ stock jumped 4% after Pershing Square Intl. tendered for 6.34 million shares at as much as $60 a share.
Northop Grumman — The defense stock shed 6% on Friday amid a downgrade to neutral by JPMorgan. The bank cited Northop Grumman’s recent outperformance as the reason for the shift.
— CNBC’s Yun Li, Tanaya Macheel, Michelle Fox, Sarah Min and Scott Schnipper contributed reporting