Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Apple — Apple shares rose more than 3% after Nikkei reported the tech giant will ramp up its iPhone production by about 30% in the first half of 2021. The report also said that the tech giant has shared a preliminary plan with suppliers that calls for 20% more iPhones for the full year than in 2019, before the pandemic. Apple did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Eli Lilly — Shares of the drug maker gained 3% after the company announced a deal to acquire Prevail Therapeutics in an all-cash deal worth roughly $1 billion. Ely Lilly also announced a 15% increase in its dividend. Shares of Prevail jumped more than 80%.
Bristol-Myers Squibb — Shares of the drug maker popped more than 2.5% after Goldman Sachs added Bristol-Myers to its “Conviction List.” Goldman analysts said they see the company’s pipeline data driving “upward estimate revisions and multiple expansion.”
Baidu —Shares of Baidu rallied more than 10% after Reuters reports the company is considering making its own electric vehicles. The Chinese search engine giant already operates a unit that develops autonomous driving and internet connectivity technology.
RealReal – Shares of RealReal surged more than 9% after Piper Sandler initiated coverage on the luxury consignment platform with an overweight rating. The Wall Street firm said it’s optimistic that consignment activity will rebound as the economy reopens with the vaccine rollout. The stock is down more than 10% this year.
Chewy – Shares of Chewy jumped more than 5% after Chief Financial Officer Mario Marte told the Wall Street Journal that the pet retailer plans to build out its online catalog to boost orders. Marte also said the company is working to expand its telehealth service and begin monetize it soon. Shares of Chewy have soared more than 200% in 2020.
Zynga — The video game stock added 1.6% after Wells Fargo upgraded Zynga to overweight from equal weight. The investment firm said in a note that the November sell-off after Zynga’s third-quarter earnings report was “overdone.”
Deere — Shares of the farming equipment manufacturer rose more than 2% after Oppenheimer initiated the stock with an outperform rating. The Wall Street firm said it sees agricultural fundamentals improving.
Marriott International, Hilton — Marriott and Hilton rose 1.3% and 0.5%, respectively, after a Citi analyst upgraded the hotel operators to buy from neutral, noting the industry “is on the cusp of a multiyear recovery.”
— with reporting from CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Jesse Pound, Yun Li.
Source: Finance - cnbc.com
