A cup of Starbucks coffee sits on a table in a cafe.
Joel Boh | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Starbucks — Shares jumped 6% after the coffee chain raised its long-term financial forecast on Tuesday, and said it expects double-digit growth for revenue and per-share earnings as it makes changes to its cafes.
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Nikola — Nikola leapt 10% after BTIG upgraded shares to buy from neutral, saying the electric vehicle company is “well positioned” to get a boost from truck decarbonization.
Nucor — Shares tumbled 9.6% after the steel producer issued disappointing guidance for its third quarter, saying that it expects earnings to be in the range of $6.30 to $6.40 per diluted share.
Twilio — Shares of Twilio rose 12% after the company said it’s laying off 11% of its workforce, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The cloud communications software company, which is aiming to reach profitability by 2023, said the layoffs are part of a broader restructuring plan to improve operating margins, reduce operating costs and create a better selling capacity.
Moderna — Moderna spiked 6.5% after CEO Stéphane Bancel said the company is open to supplying Covid-19 vaccines to China, according to a Reuters report.
Coterra Energy, APA — Energy companies’ shares jumped alongside rising oil prices. Coterra Energy and APA leapt more than 7%.
Coty — Shares of the beauty company rose more than 4% after Bank of America reinstated coverage of Coty with a buy rating, saying that it’s a “turnaround story.”
Johnson & Johnson — Shares of the health-care company rose 2% after announcing it will repurchase up to $5 billion of its common stock. The move comes ahead of the Inflation Reduction Act’s 1% tax on buybacks, which goes into effect in 2023. Johnson & Johnson does not expect to incur debt to fund the repurchase program, the company said.
SoFi Technologies — Shares of the consumer finance app rose more than 4% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, saying it could benefit from the student loan payment moratorium ending. The bank also said SoFi’s high-profile NFL-aligned marketing investments are good for driving user growth and engagement.
Block — The payment stock dropped 3.2% after Evercore ISI downgraded Block to underperform from outperform and slashed its price target, saying challenges are mounting for the company.
Union Pacific, CSX — The two stocks slid on Wednesday as railroad companies deal with a possible strike that could limit service. Union Pacific dropped more than 3%, while CSX fell 1%.
Merck — Shares climbed 1.6% after Berenberg upgraded Merck to buy from hold, saying in a Tuesday note that the pharmaceutical stock is a solid “low-risk” option in its sector.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Michelle Fox and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting
