An employee walks past a quilt displaying Etsy Inc. signage at the company’s headquarters in the Brooklyn.
Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:
Etsy — Shares of e-commerce company Etsy fell 1.4% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the e-commerce website company to underweight from ‘equal weight. The bank said it sees slowing gross merchandise sales that will result in negative earnings revisions.
ViacomCBS — ViacomCBS shares rallied more than 3% after it announced on Wednesday evening the completion of the merger between CBS and Viacom. The new company is expected to focus on quality content as rivals like Disney, Apple and Amazon ramp up their own streaming and original shows and films.
Biogen – The biotechnology company’s stock rose 3.3% after Biogen released new data about its late-stage Alzheimer’s drug called aducanumab. While the data did not offer any significant differences from data Biogen released in October, analysts believe the lack of negatives in the most recent report means the company will soon bring the drug’s data to the Food and Drug Administration.
Signet Jewelers — Shares of the jewelry company popped more than 9% in midday trading after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss and topped analysts’ sales expectations in the third quarter. Despite a larger net loss than the year-ago period, the owner of Kay, Zales and Jared issued better fiscal 2020 guidance thanks to the success of its transformation plan, according to CEO Virginia Drosos.
Acadia Pharmaceuticals — Shares of the pharmaceutical company jumped 14.8% on positive trial results for its pimavanserin drug, which aims to treat psychosis on patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Acadia also said serious adverse effects were low during the trials.
Sage Therapeutics — Sage’s stock plunged nearly 60% after the company announced its oral depression therapy failed in a late-stage trial. After 15 days, the treatment did not produce significant improvements across 17 parameters, including anxiety.
Restoration Hardware – The furniture company’s stock surged more than 10% after reporting better-than-expected third quarter earnings. RH earned $2.79 per share on $677 million. Wall Street expected $2.23 per share on revenue of $676 million, according to Refinitiv. The company also raised its full year earnings guidance.
Five Below – Shares of the discount retailer popped 5% on strong third quarter earnings. Five Below reported earnings of 18 cents per share, topping estimates by 1 cents, according to Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $377 million, higher than the $374 million forecast by analysts.
Glencore – Shares of commodities trading company Glencore fell more than 8% after the company disclosed that the United Kingdom’s Serious Fraud Office is investigating the company for bribery. Glencore is also under investigation by the Department of Justice for the “Operation Car Wash” scandal in Brazil.
The Michaels Companies – The home goods store chain’s stock fell 11% after Michaels reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that were both below Wall Street’s expectations, according to a FactSet survey of analysts. Michaels lowered its fiscal year forecast, while the company also reported worse than anticipated same store sales for the most recent quarter.
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals — Shares of biotech Aurinia Pharmaceuticals surged a whopping 92% after the biotech company announced positive results from a trial for its lupus-related drug. The company said its phase three trial for drug voclosporin posted positive efficacy and safety results in the treatment of lupus nephritis. Some analysts expect the stock to quadruple on the better-than-expected trial results.