An Airbus A320-212 operated by Delta Airlines takes off from JFK Airport on August 24, 2019 in New York City.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
J.P. Morgan — Shares of J.P. Morgan jumped nearly 2% after the nation’s biggest bank by assets reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results. J.P. Morgan’s fourth-quarter profit rose 21% to $8.52 billion, or $2.57 a share, compared with the $2.35 estimate of analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank produced record fourth-quarter revenue as its bond trading revenue surged by nearly 90%.
Citigroup — Shares of Citigroup rallied 2.5% after the banking giant reported quarterly results that easily beat analyst expectations. Citigroup posted fourth-quarter earnings of $1.90 per share, compared to $1.84 per share expected by Refinitiv. The bank’s bond-trading revenues saw a 49% surge from the same quarter a year ago. It also experienced growing sales from the bank’s consumer business.
Wells Fargo — Wells Fargo shares were on track for their worst day since August after the bank said legal fees and low interest rates weighed on its fourth-quarter earnings results. The 4% slide for Wells Fargo equity came after filings showed its fourth-quarter profits fell more than 50% year-over-year and that it booked a $1.5 billion charge for litigation fees in the three months ended Dec. 31.
Delta Air Lines — Shares of Delta Air Lines jumped 3.9% on Tuesday after the company beat Wall Street expectations for its fourth quarter. The carrier reported $1.70 in adjusted earnings per share and $11.44 billion in revenue, while analysts expected $1.40 and $11.35 billion, according to Refinitiv. The airline saw lower fuel prices and higher travel demand in the fourth quarter.
Pinterest — Shares of Pinterest surged more than 11% after a report from eMarketer said the online platform surpassed Snapchat as the third-biggest social media platform in the U.S. in 2019. The report said Pinterest had 82.4 million users last year, compared to Snapchat’s 80.2 million.
SmileDirectClub – Shares of SmileDirectClub soared more than 16% after the company said it will now offer its clear teeth aligners at dentist and orthodontist offices. Since its partnership with Align Technology expired at the end of last year, SmileDirectClub is focusing on a direct-to-consumer channel, the company said. Shares of Align Technology fell more than 3% on the news.
First Republic — Shares of First Republic Bank jumped 4% after reporting quarterly earnings that topped analysts’ estimates. The bank earned $1.39 per share, above the $1.28 expected on the Street, according to Refinitiv. Net interest income also topped estimates at $720.1 million, up 7.9% from the year prior.
Five Below — Shares of discount retailer Five Below jumped nearly 5% following an upgrade to outperform from neutral from Credit Suisse. The firm said this is a good entry point to the stock after the holiday calendar shift forced Five Below management to guide to the low end of the range prior to the fourth quarter.
Tesla — Shares of the electric automaker gained nearly 2%, surging to a new all-time high, as analysts become increasingly bullish on the stock following Tesla’s recent production milestone. On Tuesday, Jefferies and Deutsche Bank raised their price targets on the stock to $600 and $455, respectively.
Take-Two Interactive — Shares of Take Two Interactive fell roughly 2.5% in early trading after Stephens downgraded the video game company to equal weight from overweight. Stephens analyst Jeff Cohen said in a note to clients that he did not see a hit from a non-sports game in Take Two’s lineup for the 2021 fiscal year and that the company would struggle to meet analyst expectations. Cohen also lowered the price target to $110 from $145, below where the stock currently trades.
Aphria — Shares of Canadian cannabis company Aphria sunk more than 4% following its disappointing second quarter earnings results. Aphria reported a loss of 3 Canadian cents per share, while analysts forecast a loss of 2 Canadian cents per share, according to Refinitiv. Revenue came in at C$120.6 million, below the C$132.1 million expected on Wall Street.
Boston Scientific — Shares of Boston Scientific tanked 7% after the medical device maker put out disappointing preliminary sales results. The company said it expects sales of $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter, below expectations of $2.93 billion, per Refinitiv.
Hexcel, Woodward — Shares of the two manufacturing companies dropped more than 2% each on news of a merger of equals. The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, will give Woodward shareholders 55% of the combined company while Hexcel stockholders will have a 45% stake.
— with reporting from CNBC’s Thomas Franck, Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Fred Imbert and Pippa Stevens.