Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Nvidia – Shares of the chipmaker slid about 3% a day after Google revealed details about its artificial intelligence supercomputer and claimed that, compared to similar systems, it’s 1.2-1.7x faster and uses 1.3-1.9x less power than the Nvidia A100.
Palantir Technologies – Shares of the big data company, known for its many government contracts, fell about 5% after Palantir announced the expansion of its partnership with Microsoft to the public sector from the private sector. This development would give U.S. government customers and industry partners access to enterprise-grade capabilities by Palantir and Microsoft.
Western Alliance — The regional bank stock shed 17% a day after the bank provided an update on its deposit balance, saying that deposits as a percent of the total rose to 68% at the end of March. Western Alliance also said it has enough liquidity to cover the remaining uninsured deposits.
Johnson & Johnson — Shares rose about 3%. The action follows the day after the pharmaceutical giant said it will pay $8.9 billion over the next 25 years to settle allegations that talc in its baby powder and other products caused cancer. J&J, which said it continues to believe the claims lack merit, also refiled for bankruptcy protection for its LTL Management subsidiary.
FedEx — Shares of the shipping giant rose more than 1% after the company announced that it will fold its businesses that move freight and its divisions that offer other services into one organization. The move is viewed as FedEx’s effort to cut costs and increase efficiency across its operations.
First Citizens BancShares — First Citizens BancShares rose roughly 3% after UBS double-upgraded the regional bank stock to buy from a sell rating, saying that its acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank assets should foster higher-quality earnings.
Bed Bath & Beyond — Shares of the embattled retailer fell 6% on news that it entered a vendor consignment deal with Hilco Global’s ReStore Capital. As part of the agreement, ReStore Capital will buy up to $120 million in merchandise from Bed Bath & Beyond.
UnitedHealth, Cigna — UnitedHealth and Cigna each gained about 3% after Raymond James upgraded both health-care stocks to a strong buy. The firm said the set-up for shares looks more attractive after a valuation resent and improving regulatory backdrop.
Clean Energy Fuels — Shares advanced 1.5% on the back of an upgrade to outperform from market perform by Raymond James. The firm said the stock has a buy-the-dip opportunity.
Albemarle — Shares of the chemicals manufacturing stock lost 6.5% after Bank of America earlier downgraded Albemarle to underperform from neutral. The bank lowered its price target to $195, suggesting the stock could fall about 7% from Tuesday’s close.
Conagra Brands — The packaged goods food company rose 3% after topping Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines for the recent quarter, according to FactSet. Conagra also lifted its profit outlook.
MarketAxess – Shares of the electronic trading platform tumbled 11% after Piper Sandler trimmed its first-quarter estimates for per-share earnings. Though MarketAxess reported record total credit volume of $296.3 billion for March, the company’s preliminary variable transaction fees per million came in below Piper Sandler’s first-quarter estimates.
— CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Alex Harring, Yun Li, Pia Singh, Sarah Min and Darla Mercado contributed reporting