A customer leaves an ATM at a Wells Fargo branch in Denver.
Rick Wilking | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:
Gilead Sciences — Gilead gained 2.1% after saying its coronavirus treatment candidate drug, remdesivir, was associated with an improvement in clinical recovery and a 62% reduction in the risk of mortality compared with standard of care in a trial.
Carnival Corp. — Shares of the cruise line operator jumped 8.2% after the company said it is seeing strong demand for trips in 2021. Carnival also said it can break even on cash flow with capacity running between 30% and 50%.
United, American Airlines — Shares of major U.S. airline companies rallied in unison after positive news about a coronavirus treatment raised hopes for a smooth economic reopening. American Airlines and Delta Air Lines rose 4.6% and 4.0%, respectively, while United Airlines jumped 5.5%.
Redfin — The real-estate company dropped 8.2% in midday trading after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock to sector perform from outperform. The brokerage cited an overly aggressive valuation in downgrading the stock after the stock soared 400% from its mid-March low. “Valuation has crept up to an extent we see the risk-reward reasonably balanced, given larger macro uncertainties,” RBC said.
Wells Fargo — Shares of Wells Fargo climbed more than 3% after Wall Street analysts grew bullish on the bank. Evercore ISI added the bank to its tactical outperform list and said it sees upside with the dividend cut “behind” the company. Meanwhile, Baird upgraded Wells Fargo to outperform from neutral, saying investor sentiment is too negative.
Foot Locker — Foot Locker’s stock rallied 4.2% in midday trading after an analyst at Susquehanna upgraded the equity to positive from neutral. The brokerage said it’s grown more bullish on the stock as younger customers head “to Foot Locker Inc.’s store banners and websites to spend the newfound money in their pockets to a greater degree.”
Beyond Meat — Shares of the alternative meat company dropped 4.3% after Citi initiated the stock with a sell rating. The bank said in a note that competition in the space is getting tougher and that Beyond Meat faces headwinds in the food-service space. Citi gave the stock a price target that was more than 12% below where shares closed on Thursday.
— With reporting from CNBC’s Yun Li, Jesse Pound and Fred Imbert.