Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Hertz Global — The car rental company shed about 4% after it was downgraded to sell from neutral at Goldman Sachs. Investors have yet to fully price in some near-term pressures, the bank wrote. Block — The financial services stock lost nearly 2% following a downgrade to underweight from equal-weight at Morgan Stanley. As reasons for the change, the firm cited “high market penetration and limited additional opportunity.” Zeta Global — The software stock added 17% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the software firm to an overweight rating from equal weight. The bank wrote that it expects positive revisions to valuation and estimates going forward, as evidence pointing to Zeta’s near-term catalysts and “strong track record” of prudent guidance. Wayfair — Shares of the home-focused e-commerce retailer added more than 3% following an Evercore ISI upgrade to an outperform rating from in line. The firm foresees Wayfair gaining market share as the home furnishing space recovers. Levi Strauss — The apparel company’s shares rallied 16% after it topped first-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines and raised its profit guidance for the full year. Conagra Brands — The consumer packaged goods food company climbed 5% after exceeding analysts’ estimates for its fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue. Conagra posted adjusted earnings of 69 cents per share on revenue of $3.03 billion, exceeding the 65 cents per share on revenue of $3.01 billion expected by FactSet. Lamb Weston — Shares plunged nearly 20% after the fries producer missed its third-quarter earnings and revenue. Lamb Weston posted third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.20 per share, less than the $1.45 analysts polled by FactSet had expected. The firm’s revenue of $1.46 billion also came under the anticipated $1.65 billion. Alaska Air Group — The airline carrier gained 5%. Alaska said that it had received $160 million in compensation from Boeing after the grounding of the 737 Max 9. Grindr — The LGBTQ-focused dating app climbed 2.5% after Raymond James initiated coverage with an outperform rating. The firm said its sees several reasons to be optimistic on the stock, including its moat, consumer base and margins. HubSpot — Shares soared nearly 10% after Reuters reported that Alphabet was in talks to make an offer for the marketing software company. Alphabet has not yet submitted an offer for the deal. Solventum — The health-care stock rose 4.5%. Solventum was just spun off from 3M on Monday, with Thursday’s pop marking its first positive day since its debut. Solar stocks — Solar stocks rose higher during Thursday’s session as the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury moved lower. Enphase Energy rose 7%, while First Solar popped 6%. SolarEdge Technologies advanced more than 7%. — CNBC’s Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed reporting.
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