Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Harley-Davidson, Visa, Microsoft, Biogen and more

Market Insider

A mechanic works on a motorcycle at a Harley-Davidson showroom and repair shop in Lindon, Utah, on Monday, April 19, 2021.
George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Harley-Davidson — Shares of the motorcycle company climbed 13% after Harley reported quarterly earnings beat top- and bottom line estimates. The Wisconsin company said higher shipments and strong pricing helped its performance.

Rollins — The pest control services company jumped 10% following strong Q3 earnings. Rollins posted earnings of 22 cents per share, compared to FactSet estimates of 21 cents per share. Revenue came in at $729.7 million for the quarter against analysts’ $714.9 million estimate, according to FactSet.

Spotify — Shares of the streaming audio company fell more than 8% after Spotify reported a wider-than-expected Q3 loss. The per-share loss was 0.99 euros per share on 3.04 billion of euros in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting a loss of 0.85 euros per share and 3.02 billion of euros in revenue. Spotify’s gross margin declined year over year even as subscribers grew.

Hess Corp — The oil and gas explorer saw shares increase 5% midday following a better-than-expected quarterly earnings report, according to FactSet. Hess also reported Guyana net production of 98,000 barrels of oil per day, compared with 32,000 in the prior-year quarter.

Carnival Corp — The cruise company saw its shares add 3% after announcing the closing of $2.03 billion of senior priority notes due 2028, issued by one of its subsidiaries for refinancing.

Alphabet — Shares of the Google parent slipped 6% Wednesday after it reported quarterly results that missed Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines. A revenue miss for YouTube ads weighed on the quarter. Alphabet also said it would reduce headcount going forward.

Microsoft — Microsoft fell about 5%, one day after the maker of Windows software released its fiscal first-quarter earnings and offered weak guidance for the quarter ending in December. The drop came despite Barclays analysts’ comments Wednesday, which said management is still guiding for revenue and profit that “should ensure relative outperformance.”

Visa — Shares jumped 5.4% after the credit card company beat expectations on the top- and bottom lines in its most recent quarter, and raised its dividend by 20%. Visa reported earnings of $1.93 per share on revenue of $7.79 billion. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were forecasting earnings of $1.86 per share on revenue of $7.55 billion.

Discover Financial Services — The financial services stock gained 3.5% following an upgrade to overweight by Morgan Stanley. The bank said Discover can use its excess capital to restart its buyback program.

Biogen — Biogen shares gained 3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the biotech stock Wednesday, saying it has a lot more potential upside thanks to positive new data around the company’s early Alzheimer’s drug. Goldman also raised its price target on Biogen, implying about 35% upside from where it closed Tuesday.

Chipotle Mexican Grill — Shares of the chain dropped 2.5% despite Q3 earnings that beat analyst expectations. CMG reported revenue of $2.22 billion versus the $2.23 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Chipotle raised menu prices during the quarter, offsetting decreased traffic. FactSet noted analysts’ concern that higher prices might eventually hurt comparable sales.

 — CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Carmen Reinicke, Michelle Fox, Sarah Min and Samantha Subin contributed reporting.

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