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Check out the companies that make headlines during afternoon trading.
Tilray, Canopy Growth, Aphria, Aurora Cannabis – Several cannabis stocks fell Thursday, giving up some of the sharp gains from earlier this week as Reddit merchants piled up the names. Shares of Tilray were down more than 40% after rallying 50% on Wednesday. Canopy Growth is down 21%, Aphria 31% and Aurora Cannabis more than 21%.
Bank of New York Mellon – Shares of BNY Mellon rose 2.7% during afternoon trading after it announced it will fund bitcoin and other digital currencies. The announcement represents an important step by one of the country’s most prominent custodian banks to validate the banking and financing of bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Zillow – Shares of the real estate tech company were up more than 15% after stronger than expected earnings report. Zillow reported 41 cents earnings per share and $ 789 million in revenue for the fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected 27 cents a share and $ 741 million. Citi upgraded the stock to buy from neutral in response to the report.
Kraft Heinz – Food inventory increased 5.6% after Heinz beat top and bottom line estimates for the fourth quarter. The company also announced that it was selling its nut business to Hormel Foods for more than $ 3 billion in cash. The deal includes the Planters and Corn Nut brands.
Under Armor – Shares of the retailer rose 3% after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to an overweight rating. “UAA’s stock remains the ‘most unloved’ stock in our coverage,” the company said in a note to customers. The company also doubled its stock price target from $ 14 to $ 28. The new target is about 25% above where the stock closed on Wednesday.
Simon Property Group – Shares of the shopping center operator were up more than 3% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to an overweight rating. “As the retail industry faces increasingly secular challenges, we see multiple drivers of profit growth for SPG,” the company wrote in a note to customers. Morgan Stanley has a target price of $ 125, which is 18% higher than Wednesday’s closing price.
Spirit Airlines – Shares of the discount airline fell more than 8% after reporting disappointing fourth quarter earnings. Seaport also lowered Spirit Airlines from buy to neutral.
Generac – Shares of the energy system company were up 11% after beating the top and bottom lines of quarterly earnings. Generac made $ 1.97 a share on sales of $ 761 million. Wall Street was expected to make $ 1.96 per share on sales of $ 731 million, according to Refinitiv.
Virgin Galactic – Shares of Virgin Galactic were up more than 7% in trading on Thursday after a message from the FAA indicated that the company’s next space flight attempt is on track as early as Saturday. A message from the FAA posted Thursday said that airspace around Virgin Galactic’s operational base at Spaceport America in New Mexico would be restricted for spaceflight operations from Saturday at 9 a.m. ET through Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Restaurant Brands – Shares of Restaurant Brands fell more than 4% after reporting disappointing earnings. Restaurant Brands reported earnings of 53 cents a share, compared to analyst estimates of 65 cents a share, according to Refinitiv.
Tempur Sealy – Shares of the mattress maker were up 10% by noon after the company reported earnings of 67 cents a share for the previous quarter, surpassing Refinitiv’s estimate by 15 cents. The company also said it expects revenue growth to be between 15% and 20% by 2021.
MGM Resorts – The casino operator’s share fell more than 3% after disappointing quarterly results. MGM reported a 53% revenue decline in the fourth quarter, and sales were also below a FactSet estimate. It posted a quarterly loss of 90 cents, slightly better than expected, according to FactSet.
Zynga – Shares of the mobile games developer were up nearly 9% by noon after CEO Frank Gibeau said the company was open to a takeover bid. However, he added that Zynga was not actively looking for a buyout. The company also reported a 61% increase in net bookings for the previous quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
Sonos – The maker of high-end smart speakers saw its shares jump more than 16% after a strong earnings report. According to Refinitiv, Sonos beat estimates in both the top and bottom lines in the last quarter. The company also increased its full-year revenue forecast.
– with reports from CNBC’s Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Tom Franck, Pippa Stevens and Richard Mendez.