CAVA, at the New York Stock Exchange during its initial public offering, June 14, 2023.
Source: NYSE
Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday.
Cava Group — Shares soared 91% in midday trading during its first day as a public company. Cava Group priced its initial public offering at $22 per share and began trading Thursday at $42 per share.
SkyWest — The airline stock gained 5.7% after being upgraded by Deutsche Bank to buy from hold. The Wall Street firm said it believes there will be “significant improvement” in the company’s return on invested capital over the next two to three years. Deutsche Bank also upgraded Allegiant, which was up 1.4% in midday trading.
Domino’s Pizza — The pizza chain gained 6.2% after Stifel upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The firm said delivery sales should stabilize further while carryout sales pick up in the next year.
Kroger — Shares dropped 3%. On the company’s earnings call Thursday, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said, “The economic environment is more significantly impacting our budget-conscious shoppers.” The company reaffirmed identical sales, without fuel, and adjusted earnings-per-share guidance for the full year. Kroger also posted revenue that came in slightly below Wall Street’s expectations. Sales for the first quarter were $45.17 billion, compared with analysts’ forecast of $45.26 billion, according to FactSet.
Target — Shares of the big-box retailer jumped nearly 3% after Bernstein reiterated its outperform rating on the stock. The Wall Street firm said investors should buy the weakness in Target shares, which are down 15% over the past month.
Lennar — Shares of the homebuilder rose more than 3% Thursday. Lennar reported better-than-expected results for the fiscal second quarter Wednesday evening. The company said it generated $3.01 in earnings per share on $8.05 billion in revenue. Analysts were expecting $2.33 in earnings per share on $7.22 billion of revenue, according to FactSet. The company’s earnings were boosted by gains on technology investments, but Lennar still would have beaten expectations excluding that benefit. Lennar also hiked its full-year guidance for home deliveries.
SoFi Technologies — The financial technology stock slid 4.2% following a downgrade by Oppenheimer to perform from outperform. The Wall Street firm said it was bullish long term, but believes the stock price has been seeing appreciation much stronger than experienced in the broader market.
AutoZone — The stock added 3% after the auto parts retailer authorized the repurchase of an additional $2 billion of the company’s common stock late Wednesday.
Corning — Shares gained 2% after Citi upgraded Corning to buy from neutral. The Wall Street firm also boosted its price target to $40 from $36, suggesting upside of more than 20% from Wednesday’s close. Citi said it has “greater conviction” in the glass maker’s margin recovery potential.
John Wiley & Sons — Shares sank about 16% in midday trading. The company reported adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal fourth quarter of $1.45, up from $1.08 per share a year ago. However, revenue declined, coming in at $526.1 million, compared with $545.7 million last year. Management also announced a restructuring plan, divesting its noncore education businesses.
Coinbase — The stock fell 1% after Mizuho questioned if traders were moving to Robinhood. Mizuho reiterated its underperform rating on the crypto platform in a note to clients.
Patterson-UTI Energy, NexTier Oilfield Solutions — The two companies agreed to merge in an all-stock deal with an enterprise value of $5.4 billion. Shares of Patterson-UTI Energy rallied nearly 11% while NexTier Oilfield Solutions gained 4%
T-Mobile — T-Mobile popped 3.9% during midday trading. Morgan Stanley reinstated the telecommunications stock as a top pick, saying T-Mobile is well-positioned to take advantage of market volatility with a strong buyback program.
— CNBC’s Yun Li, Alex Harring, Jesse Pound and Sarah Min contributed reporting.
