Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Salesforce — Shares of the cloud software vendor popped more than 7%, lifting the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average after the company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ estimates. Revenue also increased 11% from $7.84 billion a year ago. Still, Salesforce’s growth rate has slipped in 2023 as businesses look for ways to cut costs. Snowflake — Snowflake shares rallied more than 4% after the cloud company posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results and an upbeat fourth-quarter product revenue forecast. The company posted adjusted earnings of 25 cents per share on $734 million in revenue. That topped the profit of 16 cents per share and revenue of $713 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. Discover Financial — Shares jumped 4.7% after the digital banking company announced it was exploring the sale of its student loan portfolio. The company also said it would stop accepting new student loan applications in February. Victoria’s Secret — The women’s clothing retailer surged 15.9% after providing current-quarter guidance that was largely in line with analysts’ expectations. Victoria’s Secret posted a wider loss per share than analysts surveyed by LSEG had anticipated for the third quarter, while revenue came in line with the consensus forecast. Pure Storage — The data storage stock tumbled 14.5% after offering a weak revenue outlook. The company anticipates $782 million in revenue during the current quarter and $2.82 billion in the full year. Both estimates came in below Wall Street’s expectations, with analysts polled by FactSet forecasting revenue of $918.7 million in the quarter and $2.96 billion for the year. Phillips 66 — The oil refiner’s stock climbed 2.8% to a 52-week high after Phillips 66 confirmed it has had talks with activist investor Elliott Investment Management. On Wednesday, CNBC reported that Elliott took a $1 billion stake in the company and is seeking two board seats as the investor looks to better Phillips 66’s performance. Hewlett Packard Enterprise — The tech stock added 2.7% on the back of the company’s announcement of an expanded partnership with Nvidia . Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it will collaborate with Nvidia to build an enterprise computing solution for artificial intelligence. Morgan Stanley also upgraded HPE to equal weight from underweight Thursday. Nutanix — The cloud stock advanced 3% after beating expectations in the first fiscal quarter. Nutanix reported adjusted earnings of 29 cents per share and $511 million in revenue, exceeding the consensus estimates of 17 cents and $501 million from analysts polled by LSEG. Snap , Pinterest — The social media stocks added 6.8% and 1.5%, respectively, on the back of upgrades to buy from Jefferies. The firm said each company has catalysts to see upside on revenue growth next year. Synopsys — The software stock dropped 3.1%, reversing course from positive premarket trading. The move down comes despite Synopsys posting better-than-expected earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter and offering strong guidance for the current quarter and full year. Ally Financial — The digital banking stock rose 2.7% on the heels of an upgrade to outperform from peer perform by Wolfe Research. The firm said Ally is positioned to outperform regardless of whether the economy tips into a recession. Bilibili — U.S. shares of the Chinese video platform’s stock slid 4% on the back of a Barclays downgrade to underweight from equal weight. Barclays warned that it sees slowing growth adding to challenges ahead for the company. Spirit AeroSystems — Shares popped 6% in midday trading after Baird upgraded Spirit AeroSystems to outperform and raised its price target. The Wall Street firm said the aerospace company is a “turnaround story” after its sell-off this year. The stock is down more than 7% in 2023. Petco — The pet retailer added nearly 8% during Thursday’s trading session. The move came a day after the stock plummeted 29% upon reporting disappointing third-quarter results. Petco was downgraded Wednesday by both Wells Fargo and Baird. — CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Michelle Fox, Lisa Kailai Han and Sarah Min contributed reporting.
