Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Zoom Video Communications — The software stock added nearly 2% ahead of its third-quarter earnings due after market close. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $1.08 per share in earnings and revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarterly period, compared to the company’s guidance of between $1.07 and $1.09 per share in earnings and between $1.115 billion and $1.120 billion in revenue. Paramount Global — Shares of the entertainment giant popped nearly 7%. The Professional Fighters League announced on Monday that it completed its acquisition of mixed-martial arts brand Bellator from Paramount. Penn Entertainment — The gambling stock jumped 7% on the heels of a Bank of America upgrade to buy from neutral. The firm said shares could get a boost from ESPN Bet, the company’s new sportsbook. Spectrum Brands Holdings — Shares dipped 2% after Wells Fargo downgraded the home essentials company to equal weight from overweight, saying it is less convicted about fundamentals. Microsoft — Shares jumped 1.9% after Microsoft announced that former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president and board chair Greg Brockman will be joining the tech giant to head a new artificial intelligence research team. Analysts viewed the hirings as a positive catalyst for Microsoft in the long term. Nvidia — The chip giant’s shares rose by about 1%. Raymond James reiterated Nvidia as a strong buy ahead of Nvidia’s fiscal third-quarter report due late Tuesday, forecasting “another strong quarter.” The company is expected to have earned $3.37 per share on revenue of $16.19 billion, according to consensus estimates from FactSet. Boeing — The aerospace stock jumped 4% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares to a buy rating from hold. The Wall Street firm said that aircraft deliveries are accelerating, which could carry through to a positive inflection in free cash flow revisions. Chegg — Shares of the education technology company dropped 5% following a downgrade to underweight from equal weight by Morgan Stanley. The bank said the stock’s recent run higher created an unattractive risk/reward and noted Chegg is seeing weaker web traffic and download trends. Krispy Kreme — Shares of the doughnut chain declined by 2% following a downgrade by JPMorgan to neutral from overweight. Analysts said that although Krispy Kreme has enormous underlying appeal, the company has execution issues. Iovance Biotherapeutics — The biopharmaceutical stock popped nearly 9% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the company with a buy rating and $12 price target, suggesting the stock can more than double from Friday’s close. The firm said Iovance is developing a “best-in-class” autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapies for solid tumor cancers and is optimistic about its commercial opportunity. Caterpillar — Shares of the global leader in construction machinery were down 1.3% after HSBC initiated coverage of the stock at a hold rating. The firm said it likes the stock for its “leading position,” but attributed its rating to headwinds facing the U.S. machinery market. United Rentals — United Rentals fell about 2% after director Terri Kelly on Friday disclosed selling 630 shares of the equipment rental company, according to a regulatory filing. Kelly still owns 6,249 shares. Bristol-Myers Squibb — Shares dropped nearly 4% after the drug company, along with 2seventy bio , announced a delay in gaining expanded approval for Abecma for earlier lines of triple-class exposed relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Energizer Holdings – Shares of the battery maker fell more than 2% midday after UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy. “We believe the risk/reward is no longer attractive as current valuation remains above recent history,” analyst Peter Grom said. JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley and RBC Capital Markets have all recently trimmed ratings on the stock as well. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han, Sarah Min and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
