F, SCHL, SQSP, DE and more

Global Courant

A visitor views a titanium hybrid 2020 Ford Escape FWD small SUV at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada, Feb. 18, 2020.

Chris Helgren | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Ford — Shares popped about 2% in midday trading after a CNBC report said both Ford and the United Auto Workers union are making headway on negotiations as the strike continues.

Squarespace — The website builder popped 4.2% after UBS initiated coverage of the stock at a buy. UBS said the company has a solid product suite and growing brand awareness.

Scholastic — The publishing and media company stock plummeted 13.2% after reporting an earnings miss on the top and bottom line. Scholastic reported an adjusted loss of $2.20 per share on $228.5 million in revenue, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast a loss of $1.35 per share and $268.79 million in revenue.

Arm Holdings — The recently listed chip design stock lost 1.6% during Friday’s trading session after Susquehanna initiated a neutral rating on the company in a Friday note. Shares popped nearly 25% during its Nasdaq debut Sept. 14 but are now trading just above the stock’s $51 initial public offering price.

Seagen — Shares of the biotech firm rose 3.5% after the company reported positive results from a clinical trial for patients with previously untreated bladder cancer. The results showed the treatment improved both overall survival and progression-free survival, compared with chemotherapy.

Deere — Shares of the farming equipment manufacturer fell 1.7% after Canaccord Genuity downgraded shares to hold from buy. The firm mentioned headwinds including slowing growth for large agricultural equipment and normalizing dealer inventories.

Chinese e-commerce stocks — U.S. shares of both PDD and Alibaba added roughly 4% and 5%, respectively, while JD.com stock climbed 2%. A report from Bloomberg said earlier Friday that the Chinese government is considering loosening foreign investment cap rules in publicly traded domestic companies.

Activision Blizzard — Shares of the video gaming firm added about 2% after U.K. regulators said a new deal proposal from Microsoft cleared major antitrust worries.

— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed reporting.

F, SCHL, SQSP, DE and more

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