Market Insider

Midday movers: Sotheby's, Google, Praxair & More

A man bids on a piece of art at Sotheby's.
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Take a look at some of Wednesday's midday movers:

Sotheby's - The auction house gave up opening gains. Sotheby's said it would return $450 million to investors through a special dividend and a share repurchase, but the moves drew a less-than positive reaction from two activist investors who have been pushing for changes.

Google - The internet search engine's shares fell after Reuters cited two sources in reporting Google is close to settling a three-year European antitrust probe and potentially escape a fine of as much as $5 billion.

Praxair - Shares of the coating and atmospheric and process gases distributor rose after it raised its quarterly dividend by eight percent to 65 cents a share and authorized a new share repurchase program for up to $1.5 billion of its stock.

JetBlue Airways - The carrier's shares fell rose after it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and warned that flight cancellations this month due to bad weather in the Northeast would hurt first-quarter results.

American Airlines Group - The carrier gained after Raymond James upgraded its shares to outperform from market perform.

llumina - The life science tool maker's shares rose after it posted fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates.

Medivation - The company's shares gained after its drug for advanced prostate cancer showed promising results in a large late study.

Hess - The oil and natural gas producer's shares gained after its fourth-quarter net income rose sharply on asset sales.

Energizer Holdings - The battery maker's shares declined after it reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings.

Vringo - Shares jumped after a judge increased the royalty rate Google must pay for violating patents related to its AdWords business.

Freescale Semiconductor - Shares gained after Needham upgraded the stock to strong buy from buy.

RPC - The oilfield services firm's shares declined after it posted weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings.

(Read More: )

—By CNBC's Rich Fisherman.

Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com

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