Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Pinterest — Shares of Pinterest surged more than 11% after the company issued early guidance for its fiscal first quarter that beat analysts' expectations. The company said it expects revenue for its first quarter in the range of $269 million to $272 million. Average consensus estimates according to Refinitiv was $267 million, but this included many estimates that have not been updated since the coronavirus pandemic began. A FactSet survey of analysts who did update numbers in the past month put estimated revenue at $252 million, a number that Pinterest beat handily.
American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest, Alaska Air Group — Airline stocks rose on Wednesday amid hope the U.S. could start to turn a corner on the coronavirus outbreak. The airline and travel industry has been one of the most punished industries from the COVID-19 pandemic. Shares of American Airlines rose more than 7%, United surged nearly 10% and Southwest Airlines popped 2.3%. Alaska Air Group gained 3.5%.
PulteGroup, KB Home, Lennar — Shares of major U.S. home builders rebounded sharply, trimming their big losses this year. PulteGroup climbed over 10%, while KB Home and Lennar are up 11% and 9%, respectively. The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF is up 4.2% on Wednesday, on pace for its third straight day of gains. The exchange-traded fund has risen 20.8% this week, headed for its best week since March 2009.
Wynn Resorts, MGM Resorts — Shares of Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts gained 10% and 9%, respectively, as casinos came back from the brutal sell-off triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Hotels and casinos have been hurt the hardest as the outbreak forced them to shut down their business entirely. Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts still lost more than 50% this year each.
Levi Strauss — The denim apparel company reported better-than-expected sales in Europe and the Americas and topped earnings forecasts for its first quarter, and its stock rose 10%. The company did withdraw its guidance for the full year, but inventories were down 7% compared with the same point last year. The company reported 40 cents in adjusted earnings per share for the quarter, above the 35 cents expected by analysts, according to FactSet.
Nordstrom — Shares of the retail chain jumped 9% after saying in a securities filing that the current quarter and beyond would be "adversely impacted in an significant manner" due to the pandemic. The company said that it is still selling and shipping online orders from both its warehouses and store locations. It warned that July is a key month for its seasonal sales patterns.
Boeing — Boeing shares rallied more than 7% to lead the Dow higher as improving sentiment around the coronavirus lifted the broader stock market. Boeing also identified two new software problems with the grounded 737 Max as it moves toward securing regulatory approval to return the jet to service. Wednesday's jump put the stock up more than 21% week to date. However, Boeing is still down more than 50% for 2020.
Gap — Gap shares added to their strong weekly gains, surging more than 11%. Those gains put the stock up more than 37% for the week.
— CNBC's Maggie Fitzgerald, Fred Imbert, Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
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Source: cnbc.com
