Global Courant 2023-05-12 21:55:22
Connie Black makes production line adjustments for the Series 6 solar panels, seen during a tour of a First Solar plant in Walbridge, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2021.
Dane Rhys | Reuters
Take a look at the companies that take the biggest steps in the afternoon:
First solar energy — Stocks rose 22% after the solar energy company announced it acquires Evolar AB for up to $80 million. First Solar said the acquisition of the European company, which develops thin film used in solar panels, should accelerate development of next-generation photovoltaic technology.
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News Corp Shares of the media company rose 6% after News Corp. reported a profit and revenue increase for its fiscal third quarter after the bell Thursday, according to FactSet. The company also said it expects to save $160 million annually by the end of 2023 from the previously announced job cuts.
Icon Enterprises — Carl Icahn’s holding company rebounded 4%, cutting this week’s losses to 12%. The stock took a wild ride after notable short seller Hindenburg Research took a short position, partly due to “inflated” asset valuations. Separately, Icahn Enterprises said its board approved a $500 million buyback authorization. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2 per share.
JD.com — The Chinese e-commerce company’s US-listed shares fell 5.6%, a day after gaining 7.2% on a profit margin. JD.com also announced on Thursday that CEO Xu Lei will step down in June for “personal reasons” and be replaced by CFO Sandy Ran Xu.
Karl Schwab — Shares of the brokerage firm rose more than 2% on Friday after the company reported that total client assets increased by 1% in April. CFO Peter Crawford said in a press release that cash sorting by customers continued to decline in May.
Twilio — Stocks fell nearly 5%. The move contributed to the decline that began after the communications software developer late Tuesday forecast second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. On Friday, Mizuho downgraded the stock to neutral from buy, seeing too many near-term challenges for Twilio.
Robin Hood — The stock lost 7.7%. It’s a reversal from Thursday’s 6.4% gain, which came a day after Robinhood posted a first-quarter profit and revenue hit. On Friday, Morgan Stanley said Robinhood’s new 24-hour trading, announced Wednesday, will not materially improve the company’s financial position.
Fox — Shares fell nearly 1% after Wells Fargo downgraded the media company from overweight to equal weight. The Wall Street firm cited demand challenges for linear TV and sports rights costs. Fox on Tuesday reported a net loss for its fiscal third quarter due to costs related to Fox News’ settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
Generation digital — Gen Digital fell 8% following its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report, which came after Thursday’s close. The cybersecurity firm posted adjusted earnings that beat analyst estimates, according to FactSet. However, bookings of $1.02 billion for the quarter fell short of the expected $1.06 billion.
– CNBC’s Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Michael Bloom and Sarah Min contributed to the reporting.
