A Johnson & Johnson building is shown in Irvine, California.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines midday Monday:
Johnson & Johnson — Johnson & Johnson shares jumped more than 7% after the company announced it has a coronavirus vaccine candidate, noting that human testing on the medication will begin in September.
Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment — Eldorado Resorts and Caesars Entertainment tumbled 15% and 9%, respectively, extending a deep rout in casino stocks as the coronavirus pandemic forced these facilities to shut doors. Last year, Eldorado announced it has agreed to buy Caesars for about $8.5 billion in cash and stock, but regulators are delaying the merger due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus outbreak. Shares of Eldorado and Caesars have lost 78% and 54% this year, respectively.
Regeneron — Regeneron shares rose more than 4% after the biotech company, along with Sanofi, announced it is expanding a clinical trial for a potential coronavirus treatment using a rheumatoid arthritis drug.
LaZBoy — The furniture company announced that it was suspending production and slashing jobs due to the coronavirus crisis, and its stock fell 3.2% Monday. LaZBoy is furloughing 70% of its workforce, and it also eliminated its dividend for June and terminated its stock buyback program. The company will also pause processing and shipping of new online orders.
Tegna — Shares of the media company plummeted more than 23% after the company announced that the coronavirus crisis led two potential acquirers to end discussions. Apollo Global Management had reportedly offered $20 per share for the company. The stock was trading just above $10 share on Monday.
Amgen — An analyst at Raymond James upgraded Amgen to outperform from market perform, sending the stock up 3.7%. “We think that management already provided conservative guidance for 2020 during the 4Q19 earnings call, and general disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic would not be outsized relative to Amgen’s peer group,” the analyst said.
Marriott International — The hotel company slid more than 1% after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the stock from outperform to sector perform. The firm also slashed its price target to $97 from $148, citing the ongoing impact of the coronavirus. The new target is about 26% above where the stock currently trades.
Apple — Apple rose more than 2% even after Reuters reported the technology giant could see an 18% year-over-year drop in iPhone orders during the current quarter, according to a senior official at one of Apple’s major contract assemblers. Apple’s factories in China, however, are back up and running after the coronavirus shutdown.
American, United Airlines — American Airlines and United Airlines dropped 9.4% and 5.4%, respectively, as the coronavirus damage to the industry outpaced relief actions from the government. The $2 trillion stimulus bill that President Donald Trump signed Friday included $25 billion in grants for passenger airlines and $4 billion for cargo airlines and $3 billion for airline contractors, about half of what the industry originally requested. Shares of American and United have tumbled 55% and 65% this year.
Zoom Video — Shares of the video conferencing platform gained 3%, building on their massive gains as more people rely on video calls amid the coronavirus pandemic. Monday’s gains bring the stock’s rally this quarter to 130%. In that time, the S&P 500 is down nearly 20%.
Mondelez — Mondelez rose more than 4% following an upgrade to buy from hold at Stifel Nicolaus. “We find the pullback in the shares quite intriguing for a best-in-class Consumer Staples business that has experienced an acceleration in growth,” the firm said in a note to clients Sunday. Stifel maintained its $57 target on the stock.
Boeing — Shares of airplane maker Boeing fell more than 11%, the biggest drag on the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Boeing’s stock gained 70% last week but Monday’s move shows the rebound may have been overdone and pain in the airline industry is persisting from the coronavirus crisis.
—CNBC’s Michael Bloom, Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald and Jesse Pound contributed to this report.