The Slack Technologies application is displayed on an Apple iPhone in an arranged photograph taken in Arlington, Virginia, on Monday, April 29, 2019.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines midday Friday:
Slack — Shares of Slack Technologies dipped nearly 2% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the business messaging service to sell from neutral. The Wall Street firm noted an “enduring battle” with Microsoft’s messaging offering Teams, which can impair Slack’s long-term growth and market penetration.
Spotify — The streaming company’s stock rose 5% after Rosenblatt Securities gave the streaming company’s stock a $275 per share price target, the highest on Wall Street. The firm said Spotify’s exclusive podcasts like “The Ringer,” “The Joe Rogan Experience,” and Kim Kardashian West’s “The Innocence Project” are emerging as a new monetizing channel.
Penn National Gaming — Shares jumped more than 5% after the company said more than 70% of its locations around the U.S. have reopened. Friday’s advance put the stock up more than 30% year to date.
Occidental Petroleum — Shares of the oil company gained 4% on Friday after SunTrust Robinson Humphrey upgraded the stock to buy from hold and nearly doubled its price target. The firm said in a note to clients that Occidental could see an “outsized benefit” from rising oil prices. West Texas Intermediate futures rose back above $40 per barrel on Friday.
CarMax — The stock sank 5.3% in midday trading after the company said that more than 80% of the days in its first quarter were negatively impacted by a mix of store closures and limited operations. Though CarMax topped revenue expectations, CEO Bill Nash added later that the used car retailer’s performance during the quarter was “significantly impacted” by Covid-19 and that, at the virus’s peak in April, sales were down more than 75%.
At Home Group — Shares fell 4.6% on Friday after the company Thursday evening reported a loss of about $359 million for the first quarter. Investors also grew concerned after the company said it wouldn’t issue second-quarter and fiscal-year 2021 guidance. “As the pandemic escalated and we temporarily closed our stores, sales were materially impacted,” Chief Executive Lee Bird said in prepared remarks.
AMC Entertainment — Shares of the movie-theater chain rose 1.6% on Friday after it said it plans to reopen nearly all of its U.S. locations by July 24 following four months of closures that have whacked its profits. The company said Thursday evening it will open 450 of its American theaters on July 15, with another 150 to open nine days later. Attendees will not be required to wear a face mask, but AMC will cap auditorium capacity at 30% during its initial reopening.
—CNBC’s Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald, Jesse Pound and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.