The headquarters of German immunotherapy company BioNTech stands on April 22, 2020 in Mainz, Germany.
Thomas Lohnes | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines midday Monday:
Pfizer, BioNTech — Shares of Pfizer and BioNTech jumped 4.4% and 12.6%, respectively, after two experimental coronavirus vaccines jointly developed by the U.S. pharmaceutical giant and German biotech firm received “fast track” designation from the U.S. drug regulator. The companies expect to have 100 million doses of a vaccine by the end of 2020 and more than 1.2 billion doses by the end of 2021.
Maxim Integrated Products, Analog Devices — Maxim shares jumped more than 10% on news Analog Devices would buy chipmaker for $21 billion in an all-stock deal. The transaction is expected to close next summer.
Apple — Apple rallied nearly 4% after two Wall Street firms raised their forecast on the tech giant. Morgan Stanley hiked its price target on Apple to $419 from $340, saying its iPhone trade-in program gives it a competitive advantage. Meanwhile, Wedbush raised its price target on Apple to a Street high of $450 from $425, saying the company is on track to be the first company to hit $2 trillion market valuation in 2021.
Tesla — Tesla rose more than 12% to hit an all-time intraday high as investors continue to favor the Elon Musk-led company. With Monday’s move, the electric vehicle maker’s valuation is now $321 billion, making it the tenth largest U.S. company by market value, according to data from FactSet.
PepsiCo — Shares of the beverage company jumped nearly 3% following its strong quarterly earnings. PepsiCo reported earnings per share of $1.32 on revenue of $15.95 billion. Wall Street was expecting earnings of $1.25 per share on revenue of $15.376 billion, according to Refinitiv. While revenue fell due to the coronavirus, PepsiCo’s food business posted strong growth.
CF Industries — The manufacturing company rose nearly 6% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from underperform, citing a “more favorable inflection in nitrogen prices and rebound in oil prices.”
Quest Diagnostics — Quest Diagnostics shares popped more than 5% after the medical lab testing company raised its second-quarter earnings and revenue guidance. Quest expects to report earnings between $1.39 per share and $1.42 per share. Revenue is expected to come in at $1.83 billion, above a FactSet estimate of $1.53.
Denny’s — Denny’s shares fell more than 1% after a Stephens analyst downgraded them to equal weight from overweight, noting “the re-closing of many California dining rooms will put a dent in that recovery and increase the risk of incremental unit closures.”
Redfin — A Bank of America analyst downgraded Redfin to underperform from neutral, citing an unfavorable risk-reward scenario at current valuations. “We see current valuations leaving little room for multiple expansion or upward estimate revisions and believe continued COVID outbreaks skew risks heavily to the downside,” the analyst said in a note. Redfin shares dropped more than 1%.
Moderna — The drugmaker surged nearly 10% after Jefferies initiated coverage of Moderna with a buy rating. The Wall Street firm said Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate will be approved and that it could generate about $5 billion in orders over the next few years.
—CNBC’s Pippa Stevens, Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald and Michael Bloom contributed to this report.