Walgreens Boots Alliance — Walgreens Boots Alliance popped nearly 6% in midday trading after sharing that it has made progress in its cost-cutting program. The retail pharmacy giant on Thursday missed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings estimates, reporting an adjusted 67 cents per share, while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, forecast 69 cents per share.
MongoDB — The stock added 2% after Bank of America initiated coverage of the software company at a buy rating, citing its solid footing to capture market share from competitors such as Amazon and Microsoft.
ResMed — ResMed shares dropped 3% after RBC downgraded the medical device company to sector perform from outperform, saying it expects slowing earnings growth.
First Solar — The solar stock slipped less than 1%. The drop in shares came even after Barclays upgraded First Solar to an overweight rating. The Wall Street firm said the company’s current valuation offers an attractive entry point for investors and shares trade at a discount to competitors.
Ford Motor — Shares of the automaker slipped roughly 2%. The action comes a day after the United Auto Workers union launched a strike against Ford’s Kentucky truck plant, signifying an escalation in its dispute with the automaker. The plant is Ford’s largest measured by both workforce and revenue.
Fastenal — The industrial supplies company jumped 8% after beating expectations for third-quarter earnings. Fastenal posted third-quarter earnings of 52 cents per share, while analysts polled by FactSet anticipated 50 cents per share. Revenue was in line with expectations at $1.85 billion.
Hormel Foods — Shares dropped nearly 9% in midday trading. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union on Thursday said it ratified a “historic” contract with Hormel Foods that includes hourly wage increases of $3 to $6 an hour. The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers in grocery, meatpacking and other industries. Separately, Hormel Foods also held its investor day on Thursday.
