Visits: 4
Snapchat co-founders Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), March 2, 2017 in New York City.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:
Fastenal— Shares of Fastenal fell 2.85% after the industrial supplies company posted disappointing quarterly results, mainly attributed to the trade war between the U.S. and China. The Minnesota-based company said they raised prices to offset the cost of tariffs but the prices hikes were not enough to counter overall inflation.
Weight Watchers— Shares of Weight Watchers rose 8.3% after J.P. Morgan upgraded the stock neutral from underweight and hiked its price target to $22 from $17. The firm said the first half of the year stabilization for the weight loss company should pave they way for second-half improvement.
CVS Health, UnitedHealth, Cigna— Shares of health insurers jumped after Trump Administration said it has withdrawn its proposal to eliminate rebates from government drug plans, which was a big step in the president’s effort lower prescription drug prices. Shares of CVS Health rose 4%, UnitedHealth rose 5.5% and Cigna soared 9% on the news.
Delta Air Lines— Shares of Delta rose 1% after the airline raised its profit forecast for the year as travel demand continues to grow. Delta reported second-quarter earnings of $2.35 per share, higher than the $2.28 Refinitiv estimate. Revenue came in roughly in line with estimates for the quarter at $12.5 billion.
Snap— Shares of Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, rose 2% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch raised its price target to $17 from $12, citing “improving user trends” and expectations of increased growth. The increase brought the stock to a new 52-week high on Thursday.
Take-Two Interactive— Shares of Take-Two Interactive, the maker of popular video game franchises Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, fell 0.5% after Wall Street firm Jefferies downgraded the stock to hold from buy, citing a “soft spot” between game releases.
International Paper— Shares of International Paper fell 1.4% after Citi downgraded the paper company to neutral from buy. Citi cited risk of “further price erosion” and negative earnings revisions. The firm said it prefers packaging companies to paper companies.
Allstate— Shares of Allstate ticked down 1% after Credit Suisse downgraded the insurance company to underperform from neutral, citing weather conditions and heightened price competition weighing on core home and auto margins.
— CNBC’s Marc Rod and Mallika Mitra contributed to this report.