Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:
Bank of America, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Chase — Bank shares jumped along with Treasury yields as worries over a U.S. recession dissipated on the back of strong economic data. Bank of America rose 1.69%, J.P. Morgan both rose 1.9% while Citigroup gained 1.5%. The benchmark 10-year yield shot up to 1.87 from around 1.78 in the previous session. Rates rose following the release of retail sales and consumer sentiment data that topped expectations.
Lumber Liquidators — Shares of the flooring company plunged 13.1% Friday after founder and former CEO Thomas Sullivan decided to opt out of his bid to take the company private, a week after he announced the buyout plan. Sullivan had upped his ownership of Lumber by 30% or 500,000 shares on Sept. 4 through his F9 Investments, saying he was taking his former company private.
Broadcom — Broadcom stock fell more than 3% after reporting adjusted quarterly profit of $5.16 per share, topping what Wall Street analysts had been expecting. The chipmaker’s revenue came in slightly below Wall Street forecasts, however, and Broadcom gave a cautious forecast for semiconductor market demand.
Netflix — Shares of streaming service Netflix rose more than 1.8% after Piper Jaffray said the recent dip in Netflix shares is a buying opportunity. The firm said despite new players entering the streaming service space like Apple and Disney, Netflix will be able to capture a good portion of content dollars. Piper Jaffray reiterated its outperform rating and a $440 price target on the stock.
Apple — Shares of the tech giant slipped nearly 2% after Goldman Sachs significantly cut its earnings outlook for Apple, citing a “material negative impact” on earnings for the accounting method the iPhone maker will use for an Apple TV+ trial. Goldman’s new price target is the lowest of the major Wall Street banks, according to TipRanks.com.
General Electric — Shares of the beleaguered industrials company rose about 1% Friday after CEO Larry Culp on Thursday said at an investor conference he expects asset sales to bring in about $38 billion in cash. The chief also said the company’s pension benefit obligations will rise by about $7 billion but not require a cash contribution.
Progressive — Progressive sank 5.5% in midday trading after the company reported August pretax net realized losses on securities of $33.7 million and operating income below what analysts had expected. The move put shares on track for their worst day on Wall Street since November.
