Stocks making the biggest moves midday: The Honest Company, Kroger, Nvidia and more
CureVac — Shares of the German biopharmaceutical company continued to fall after it released primary efficacy results Wednesday for its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, which demonstrated an interim efficacy of just 47%. The stock closed down 39% Thursday.
Novavax — After CureVac reported disappointing results from a study of its Covid-19 vaccine, shares of Novavax added 2%. Novavax on Monday said its Covid vaccine is 90% effective.
The Honest Company — The Honest Company's stock dropped 7.37% following the baby and beauty store's first earnings report. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $81.0 million compared with analysts' estimate of $79.3 million, according to Refinitiv. Guggenheim downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. "Although we remain positive on the underlying fundamental outlook, we are downgrading the shares to neutral given the more balanced risk-reward and lack of an apparent catalyst, in our view, to materially increase our top-line expectations or valuation multiple," Guggenheim said.
Nvidia — Shares of Nvidia gained 4.7% after Jefferies raised its price target on the semiconductor stock to a Wall Street high of $854. "We see NVDA as a major beneficiary of the 4th Tectonic Shift in Computing, in which parallel processing captures share in the computing market," Jefferies' Mark Lipacis said. "We think NVDA's decade-long investment in CUDA has resulted in a multi-year competitive advantage."
Lennar — Shares of the homebuilding company rose 3.6%. On Wednesday, Lennar reported earnings of $2.65 per share, topping estimates of $2.36 per share, according to Refinitiv. The company is dealing with higher input costs and a labor shortage, but the lack of homes for sale in the U.S. helped raise prices and expand Lennar's profit margins significantly over a year earlier.
Danaher — The medical equipment maker's stock rose about 4.5% after announcing it will buy the privately held biotech company Aldevron for $9.6 billion in an all-cash deal. Aldevron produces plasmid DNA, mRNA and proteins to help biotechnology and pharmaceutical customers and has a deal with Moderna to supply plasmid DNA, a requirement for making vaccines.
Kroger — The supermarket chain's stock rose over 4.3% after it reported earnings, lifted its profit guidance and dialed up buybacks. Kroger reported earnings per share of $1.19, beating analyst estimates by 19%, and revenue of $41.3 billion.
Fisker — Shares of the auto company rose more than 3% after finalizing a long-term manufacturing agreement with Magna International. Production of the Fisker Ocean SUV is set to begin November 2022 at Magna's carbon-neutral facility in Graz, Austria.
— CNBC's Hannah Miao and Maggie Fitzgerald contributed reporting
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