Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Tesla, Uber, MGM Resorts & more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading on Friday:

Tesla — Tesla stock jumped 4.8% in midday trading after CEO Elon Musk told employees in an e-mail that the electric car maker would try to restart production at its U.S. plant in Fremont, California, on Friday afternoon. A separate email from Tesla HR chief Valerie Capers Workman said the Fremont facility would be bringing back around 30% of employees normally working. Tesla’s stock is up more than 10% from its close on May 1, the day Musk tweeted that he thought the company’s stock was overvalued.

MGM Resorts — Shares of MGM Resorts gained more than 1% as investors piled onto expectations of the economy reopening. The casino operator took a massive hit as the coronavirus forced global economies into a shutdown. However, the stock has jumped more than 28% this quarter.

L Brands — Shares of the retailer jumped more than 9% as the so-called “reopen trade” stocks continue to rally. Gap was among the other retailers on the move, gaining more than 6%, as optimism around states reopening their economies lifted the group.

Walt Disney Co. — Disney rose in midday trading as investors grew optimistic about efforts to reopen portions of the U.S. economy. The company announced that it sold out all tickets for the reopening of Shanghai Disneyland on Monday though the Chinese government had asked Disney to cap attendance at 30% of capacity. The stock gained 2.3%. 

EOG Resources — Shares of the energy company rose 4.3% on Friday after it reported first-quarter results and said that it has more than 4,500 net drilling locations that can generate “strong rates of return” even if West Texas Intermediate crude prices are below $30 per barrel. Mizuho said in a note to clients that EOG was the “AAPL of oil” and is “at the leading edge of global oil companies.” The company’s first-quarter earnings per share did miss Wall Street estimates, according to FactSet. 

Uber Technologies — Better-than-expected revenues in the first quarter of the calendar year pushed the ride-hailing company’s stock 6.2% higher Friday afternoon. Uber also said it saw a 5% drop in ridership during the quarter, but orders placed on its Uber Eats service jumped 52%. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi joined CNBC Friday morning, when he outlined his vision for a new way to provide health-care benefits for contract workers.

Airlines — Stock of United, American, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue all rallied Friday afternoon as broader Wall Street rallied on the so-called “reopen trade.” Airlines, which have seen an unprecedented decline in revenues amid the Covid-19 outbreak, tend to rebound as investors grow more confident both in state efforts to reopen commerce and persistent decline in the number of new coronavirus cases. United gained 5.8%, Delta added 3.1%, American rose 3.5%, Southwest advanced 4.2% and JetBlue popped 9%. Aircraft maker Boeing gained 2.8%.

— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens, Fred Imbert and Jesse Pound contributed reporting. 

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