Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Johnson & Johnson — Shares of Johnson & Johnson fell 2.2% after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Moderna and Pfizer vaccines for Covid-19 over the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Thursday. The CDC confirmed 54 cases of people developing blood clots and showing low blood platelet levels after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Moderna shares gained nearly 3%. Pfizer lost 2.7%, however, after it said it would amend its study with BioNTech of its Covid-19 vaccine in children between 6 months and under 5 years of age.
Cerner — The health-care information company’s stock jumped more than 12% following new that it’s in talks about a potential sale to Oracle. The deal could be worth $30 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Shares of Oracle fell 5.7%.
FedEx — Shares of the shipping company jumped more than 4% after quarterly earnings and revenue results topped expectations and it announced a $5 billion buyback. FedEx also reinstated its original 2022 EPS forecast.
General Motors — GM lost more than 5% following news that Dan Ammann, CEO of its San Francisco area-based self-driving car company Cruise, has left the company. Cruise founder Kyle Vogt will be interim CEO.
Rivian Automotive — Electric vehicle maker Rivian saw shares fell more than 11% after reporting its first quarterly results as a public company and cut its 2021 vehicle production target, expecting to fall “a few hundred vehicles short” of its 1,200 vehicle target.
Darden Restaurants — Shares of the restaurant company slid more than 4% after CEO Gene Lee announced plans to retire on May 29. The Olive Garden parent earned $1.48 per share during the second quarter on $2.27 billion in revenue. Wall Street analysts were expecting the company to earn $1.43 per share on $2.23 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv.
Winnebago — The camper slipped 0.2% after reporting a sizeable beat on the bottom line for its fiscal first quarter. Winnebago earned $3.51 per share, compared with FactSet’s consensus estimate of $2.34 and revenue that also came in above analysts’ forecasts.
Banks — Financial stocks were among the biggest laggards Friday as bond yields fell amid heightened fears about the omicron variant. Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs slid 3.9%. Morgan Stanley lost more than 3%, and JPMorgan lost roughly 2.4%.
Eli Lilly — Shares of the pharmaceutical company fell 4% after competitor Biogen’s drug for Alzheimer’s Disease received a negative opinion from European health regulators. Eli Lilly began the application process for approval of its own Alzheimer’s drug in the U.S. in October and is expecting a regulatory decision next year. Goldman Sachs also initiated Eli Lilly stock as neutral with a $236 target, implying 15% downside.
— CNBC’s Yun Li and Pippa Stevens contributed reporting.
