Stocks with the biggest gains at noon: NCLH, U, VKTX | Private Equity Weekly
Take a look at the companies making headlines in midday trading. Norwegian Cruise Line — The cruise operator soared 18% on strong forward guidance. Norwegian Air expects to earn 12 cents a share for the quarter, above analysts’ consensus estimate of a loss of 20 cents a share, according to FactSet. Unity Software — The video game developer’s shares fell about 9% after disappointing EBITDA guidance. Unity expects adjusted EBITDA to be between $45 million and $50 million, while analysts polled by FactSet expected $113 million. Viking Therapeutics — Shares of the clinical-stage biotech company soared more than 90% after achieving primary and secondary endpoints in its Phase 2 GLP-1 study. Viking said its Phase 2 risk trial showed weight loss in patients treated with VK2735. Hess Corporation — Chevron warned investors that ExxonMobil’s dispute with China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) over oil assets offshore Guyana threatens Hess Corporation’s acquisition plans after the oil and gas Exploration company shares fell 3%. Chevron fell 2%. Workday — Shares fell 3% after reporting quarterly results. Earnings were $1.57 per share, beating estimates of $1.47 per share, according to LSEG (formerly Refinitiv). Revenue of $1.92 billion was in line with analysts’ expectations. The cloud-based software provider also reiterated its guidance for fiscal 2025. Hims & Hers — The wellness platform surged more than 33% on better-than-expected earnings and forward financial guidance. Hims & Hers earned 1 cent per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $247 million, while analysts polled by LSEG expected a loss of 2 cents on revenue of $246 million. Hims & Hers also shared revenue guidance, with adjusted EBITDA above analysts’ forecasts. Macy’s — Shares of the department store chain rose 3% after cost-cutting moves aimed at fending off activist investors offset mixed quarterly results and lower same-store sales growth. Bloomingdale’s bosses plan to close about 150 department stores and open new stores in better-performing chains. Lowe’s — Shares of Lowe’s rose nearly 3% to a new 52-week high after the home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected earnings. Lowe’s earned $1.77 per share in the most recent quarter, beating estimates of $1.68, according to LSEG. Lowe’s revenue topped expectations. Zoom Video — Shares of Zoom Video rose nearly 5% after the video chat software provider reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates on revenue and profit. Zoom’s adjusted earnings per share were $1.22 on revenue of $1.15 billion. Cava – The restaurant chain gained 6% a day after its latest earnings and revenue beat analysts’ expectations. Cava’s fourth-quarter revenue was US$175.5 million, a 52% increase from the same period last year, higher than the US$174.3 million expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Cava also gave full-year EBITDA guidance that exceeded expectations. Roku — Wells Fargo downgraded Roku to underweight from equal weight, citing concerns that Walmart’s acquisition of Vizio could hinder growth, sending Roku shares down more than 1%. Sprouts Farmers Market — Shares of Sprouts rose 2% after BofA Securities upgraded the supermarket chain to buy from underperform, saying its differentiated assortment is driving sales. The bank raised its price target on the stock to $70 from $30, which would imply an upside of about 13% from Monday’s closing price. Duolingo — Shares of the language-learning company rose more than 6% after Seaport Research Partners initiated coverage with a buy rating. Duolingo is scheduled to release fourth-quarter results on Wednesday. CarGurus — CarGurus shares fell more than 7% on weak financial guidance for the quarter. The online car sales platform’s fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, but said first-quarter revenue and profit are expected to be in the range of $201 million and $221 million, respectively, and 24 cents and 29 cents. . That was below the $236 million in revenue and 31 cents in earnings per share expected by analysts polled by LSEG. AutoZone — AutoZone shares rose nearly 6% after its fiscal second-quarter revenue and profit beat Wall Street estimates. The auto and truck parts retailer reported earnings of $28.89 per share on revenue of $3.85 billion. Coinbase — Coinbase shares rose about 3% as cryptocurrency prices rose and Bitcoin topped $57,000. Other cryptocurrency-related stocks also rose, with CleanSpark rising 2.7%. After Microstrategy bought another 3,000 Bitcoins, its stock price soared more than 9%. —CNBC’s Sarah Min, Michelle Fox, Alex Harlin, Jesse Pond and Yun Li contributed reporting.
