Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Paramount, Lululemon, RH, HashiCorp and more

Published Fri, Dec 8 202311:51 AM ESTUpdated Fri, Dec 8 20234:06 PM EST

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Carrier Global — Shares jumped 3.7% after Carrier agreed to sell its Global Access Solutions Business for $4.95 million in cash to Honeywell . Honeywell's stock dipped 1% on the news. Synaptics — The computer touchpad maker rose more than 4.8% after JPMorgan initiated the stock at overweight. As a catalyst, the firm cited the company's best-in-class Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combination technology, which it said Synaptics is leveraging for further market share gain. JPMorgan's December 2024 price target of $130 implies upside of 31%. First Solar — Shares of the solar company jumped more than 4% on an upgrade to overweight from equal weight by Morgan Stanley, but ultimately ended the day down 0.4%. The firm pointed to several drivers, including declining interest rates and earnings growth, which can significantly boost the stock next year. Morgan Stanley also hiked its price target on the stock to $237. Lululemon — Shares jumped more than 5% as traders assessed the company's latest quarterly figures. The company posted better-than-expected earnings for the third quarter . However, Lululemon gave a tepid holiday season outlook. Qorvo — The stock rose nearly 4% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the wireless company to an overweight rating from equal weight. "The momentum from a China Android snapback and content gains from 5G transition should drive revenue growth and expand gross margins," wrote analyst Joseph Moore, who also cited a cheap valuation and strong earnings power as additional catalysts. SLM — Sallie Mae gained 4% following an upgrade from Wells Fargo to overweight from equal weight. The firm sees upcoming opportunities for Sallie Mae to grow its market share, and also believes the company will be relatively more insulated in the case of a recession due to its high credit quality portfolio and strong growth in student lending. Cushman & Wakefield — Shares added 1.7% after Wolfe Research upgraded the real estate company to outperform from peer perform, calling it the "last inexpensive [commercial real estate] services stock." Equifax — Shares of the credit reporting agency added nearly 2% following an upgrade to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank. The firm cited a mortgage rate recovery as a catalyst. Wix.com — The stock rose 1% after being reinstated as a buy at Bank of America. The bank cited the company's underappreciated margins alongside its artificial intelligence strategy as reasons for the upgrade. RH — Shares of the company formerly known as Restoration Hardware fell 14% after its third-quarter report missed expectations. RH reported $751 million in revenue, below the $757 million expected by analysts, according to LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. The company also narrowed its full-year revenue guidance range and said the home furnishings market is seeing heavy promotions. HashiCorp — Shares of the software firm plunged 18% after TD Cowen downgraded them to market perform from outperform. Analyst Derrick Wood cut his price target to $23 from $28, implying an 8% downside. Wood thinks the company will continue to be hurt by macro headwinds that show no signs of fading, while growth visibility will also remain highly constrained for the near future. Paramount — Paramount shares were up more than 14% after multiple reports said Skydance and RedBird Capital were pursuing a takeover of National Amusements, which owns the majority of the media giant's voting shares. — CNBC's Michelle Fox, Fred Imbert, Hakyung Kim, Jesse Pound and Pia Singh contributed reporting.