A Walmart in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023. Walmart Inc.’s profit forecast for this year fell short of analyst estimates, signaling more struggles for the worlds largest retailer after it was hammered by a surge in inventory. Photographer: Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Walmart — Shares of the big box retailer rose slightly after the company reported an earnings and revenue beat for the fiscal first quarter. Walmart also raised its guidance for the full year. However, its adjusted earnings guidance for the fiscal second quarter came in lower than expectations.
Netflix – Netflix shares jumped 9.8% a day after the streaming giant held its upfront presentation to advertisers, that many on Wall Street viewed optimistically. The media company said its new ad-supported tier has nearly 5 million monthly active users.
Bath & Body Works — The retailer’s shares jumped more than 9% after its fiscal first quarter earnings topped expectations. The company also raised its guidance for the full year. Bath & Body Works reported adjusted earnings of 33 cents per share, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had estimated 26 cents earnings per share. The company’s $1.4 billion in revenue came in-line with estimates.
FedEx — Shares of the shipping giant climbed 1.7% in midday trading. Deutsche Bank raised its price target on FedEx stock a day earlier and reiterated a buy rating, citing the potential for the company’s June 20 quarterly results to help lift shares on strong forward guidance.
Alibaba — The Chinese e-commerce giant’s stock slipped 3.5% after a mixed earnings report for the recent quarter. Revenue fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Alibaba also said it plans to spin-off its cloud division.
Procter & Gamble — Shares declined 2% after Truist downgraded shares to hold from buy. Truist said that, despite P&G’s success in refocusing its product portfolio and reducing costs, it believes the stock’s valuation “fully reflects those turnaround efforts.”
Synopsys — Shares rallied 8% the day after the software company announced its fiscal second-quarter results. Synopsys’ quarterly earnings and revenue came above Wall Street’s expectations. The company also raised its full-year guidance for earnings and revenue growth.
Micron Technology — The memory and storage solutions company’s shares jumped 4.9% on news that it plans to invest $3.7 billion in Japan to foster dynamic random access memory chip production.
Regional bank stocks — Shares of some hard-hit regional banks stocks rose, continuing the rally from the prior trading session. PacWest and Zions Bancorporation gained 8% and 1.7%, respectively. However, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF dipped 0.4%.
Nvidia — Shares jumped 4.5% Thursday, hitting a new 52-week high. Susquehanna said in a note that it expects better results and guidance from the ongoing “AI gold rush” from the company’s earnings announcement next week.
Take-Two Interactive — Shares surged almost 13% and hit a new 52-week high following the company’s earnings announcement Wednesday. The video game company posted $1.39 billion in revenue in the fiscal fourth quarter, topping analysts’ estimates of $1.34 billion, according to Refinitiv. To be sure, the company’s guidance for bookings in the first-quarter and full-year fell below Wall Street’s expectations.
Cincinnati Financial — Shares rose 2% after Bank of America upgraded the insurance company to buy from neutral. The firm said the worst should be over in relation to rising umbrella claims.
Copart — Shares gained 6% and reached a new 52-week high Thursday. The online vehicle seller’s fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue came above Wall Street’s expectations.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Alex Harring, Brian Evans and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.