Stocks making the biggest moves midday: UnitedHealth, First Solar, Morgan Stanley, Taiwan Semiconductor and more
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Netflix — The streamer shed 0.7% on the back of Seaport’s upgrade to buy from neutral. The firm put out its call ahead of the company’s earnings report next week. UnitedHealth Group — The stock dipped 6% after UnitedHealth’s fourth-quarter revenue missed analysts’ expectations. The company posted $100.81 billion, below the consensus estimate of $101.76 billion, according to LSEG. UnitedHealth did beat earnings estimates, however, posting adjusted earnings of $6.81 per share versus the $6.72 per share that analysts were expecting. DigitalOcean Holdings — Morgan Stanley upgraded the software company to overweight from equal weight, leading shares about 3% higher. The firm said DigitalOcean’s stock is not pricing in its ability to serve larger customers and is giving “little to no credit” to artificial intelligence and machine learning opportunities. Morgan Stanley — The bank’s stock price rallied 4% after its fourth-quarter results exceeded Wall Street estimates. The firm enjoyed a 29% gain in investment banking throughout the quarter, and reported earnings per share of $2.22 on revenue of $16.22 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG forecast $1.70 per share and $15.03 billion. First Solar — Shares of the solar company jumped 2.2% after Seaport said First Solar is one of the “few established blue chips” in its sector that has the “best risk-reward profile specific to policy.” The firm upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Target — The retailer slipped nearly 1% after raising its fourth-quarter guidance for comparable sales, but not its profit outlook. That could indicate shoppers were motivated by deals. Target expects comparable sales to grow by 1.5% in the fourth quarter and forecasts quarterly earnings to range from $1.85 to $2.45 per share. Sezzle — Shares of the buy now, pay later company gained 1.1% after Sezzle updated its guidance and said it expects revenue for the full year to go over its prior forecast, which called for 55% growth. Southwest Airlines — The airline carrier slipped nearly 2% following a downgrade to sell from neutral at Citi. Analyst Stephen Trent said that he sees “Southwest’s valuation correcting to more normalized levels” over time amid concerns around earnings quality. Blue Owl Capital — Shares of the alternative asset management company added 2.1% after TD Cowen upgraded Blue Owl to buy from hold ahead of its investor day in February. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing — The chipmaker’s shares rose 3.9% after reporting higher-than-expected revenue guidance for the current quarter. The company now forecasts revenue to range from $25 billion to $25.8 billion, while analysts polled by FactSet expected $24.6 billion. U.S. Bancorp — The bank’s shares declined 5.6%. U.S. Bancorp posted mixed fourth-quarter results. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.07 per share topped consensus estimates of $1.05 a share, per LSEG. However, the bank’s net interest margin of 2.71% fell short of the Street’s forecast of 2.72%, per FactSet. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Lisa Han, Sean Conlon and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
