Stocks wavered on Wednesday as traders looked ahead to key inflation data.
These stocks were made moves Wednesday:
General Motors
rose 9.4% after the auto maker reinstated its earnings guidance for 2023, said it would increase its dividend, and outlined plans for an accelerated $10 billion stock buyback program. GM said it expects net income in 2023 of $9.1 billion to $9.8 billion, compared with a previous range of $9.3 billion to $10.7 billion.
Cigna
fell 8.1% after The Wall Street Journal reported the health-insurance giant was discussing a stock-and-cash merger with
Humana
that could be finalized by the end of the year.
Humana
was down 5.5%.
Rover Group
soared 29% to $10.96 after the online marketplace for pet care said it would be acquired by Blackstone for $11 a share in an all-cash transaction valued at about $2.3 billion.
Petco Health & Wellness
fell 29% after the pet-goods retailer swung to a loss in the third quarter and slashed its adjusted earnings outlook for the fiscal year.
Fluence Energy
rose 24% after the energy-storage products company reported a surprise profit in its fiscal fourth quarter. The company earned 2 cents a share in the period, swinging from a year-earlier loss of 32 cents a share and beating analysts’ estimates that called for a loss of 8 cents.
GameStop
was up 20% after shares of the videogame retailer closed 13% higher on Tuesday. Traders have been loading up on high-risk options contracts that bet on the stock making huge gains after the company reports quarterly earnings next week.
Leslie’s
fell 10% after the pool and spa retailer was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at
Goldman Sachs
following disappointing quarterly earnings.
Foot Locker
reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 30 cents a share, beating analysts’ forecasts of 21 cents. The stock surged 16%.
NetApp,
the data and storage software company, said it expected fiscal 2024 revenue down “approximately 2%,” narrower than analysts’ estimates that called for a decline of 3.5%.
NetApp
said it expected adjusted fiscal-year profit of $6.05 to $6.25, higher than Wall Street estimates of $5.73 and a prior company forecast of $5.65 to $5.85 a share. The stock jumped 15% and was the best performer in the
S&P 500.
Workday,
the human-resources technology provider, reported third-quarter adjusted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations and said subscription revenue in the period rose 18.1%. Workday also raised its fiscal-year forecast for subscription revenue, saying it expects $6.598 billion, up from previous estimates of $6.57 billion to $6.59 billion. The stock rose 11%.
Hormel Foods
fell 4.6% after the owners of Planters and Spam issued an adjusted earnings range for fiscal 2024 that was below consensus.
Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com
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