A man passes a Wells Fargo Bank branch on a rainy morning in Washington.
Gary Cameron | Reuters
Check out the companies that are making headlines in the midday trading session.
Wells Fargo – The bank’s shares jumped more than 5% after Bloomberg News reported that Fed officials signaled to Wells Fargo that they would approve its review plan. Wells Fargo has operated under several restrictions, including an asset field, related to the fake accounts scandal under previous leadership.
Shopify – The shares of the e-commerce company fell about 5%, even after a fall in profits and revenues. Shopify earned an adjusted $ 1.58 per share in the fourth quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $ 1.26, according to Refinitiv. The company has been one of the biggest winners of the pandemic, as companies sought to bring their operations online. The shares soared 184% in 2020 and another 21% this year.
Palantir – The technology company’s stock rose about 3% on Wednesday after an upgrade from Goldman Sachs. The investment firm updated the shares to buy from the neutral company, saying that the company’s growth visibility was improving and praising its efficiency. The increase follows a drop of more than 12% on Tuesday in the wake of Palantir’s latest quarterly report.
Chevron, Verizon – The shares of Chevron and Verizon rose nearly 2% and more than 4%, respectively, after SEC filings revealed that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought a $ 4.1 billion stake in Chevron and $ 8.6 billion in Verizon shares during the fourth quarter.
La-Z-Boy – The furniture maker’s shares fell more than 8% after the company said its third quarter results fell year after year due to Covid-19’s impacts. For the period, the company reported a 74 percent earnings per share excluding items, at $ 470.2 million in revenue. There were few analysts’ estimates for any kind of Street consensus reading. The company also announced that its CEO will retire from April 25.
Vir Biotechnology – Vir Biotechnology’s stock soared nearly 11% after the announcement that its Covid-19 antibody partnership with GlaxoSmithKline will be expanded to research therapies for other diseases.
DoorDash – Food delivery service shares fell more than 6% in midday trading, even after a SEC document showed that Tiger Global Management Fund bought more than one million shares in DoorDash in the fourth quarter.
Choice Hotels International – Hotel shares fell more than 2.8% after the company reported a loss of revenue. Choice Hotels made $ 51 cents in the fourth quarter, less than FactSet’s estimate of 64 cents. Its revenue came up to expectations, however.
AIG – The insurance giant’s shares rose about 1.6% after its better-than-expected quarterly results. AIG reported earnings of 94 cents per share, 1 cent above estimates, according to Refinitiv.
SolarEdge Technologies – The shares of the solar energy company rose about 1% in the noon trading session, after the release of stronger than expected quarterly results. SolarEdge earned 98 cents per share, exceeding Refinitiv’s estimate by 11 cents. The company added that it expects better sales this quarter in the United States.
– with reports by CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Pippa Stevens, Yun Li and Rich Mendez.