Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk unveils a new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California October 9, 2014.
Lucy Nicholson | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Tesla — Shares of the electric carmaker popped 1.6% after an SEC filing showed Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin. The company said it bought the bitcoin for “more flexibility to further diversify and maximize returns on our cash,” according to the filing. Tesla also said it would start accepting payments in bitcoin in exchange for its products as well.
Palantir Technologies — Shares of the big data company rose more than 8% after it announced a new global partnership with IBM that will expand Palantir’s sales reach. The deal will also augment IBM’s artificial intelligence offerings and make them easier to use. Palantir saw its shares more than quadruple since its September public market debut.
Hasbro – Shares of the toy maker slid about 3% despite the company beating top and bottom line estimates during the fourth quarter. Hasbro earned $1.27 per share on an adjusted basis, and reported $1.72 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting earnings of $1.14 per share and $1.69 billion in revenue.
Energizer — Shares of the battery maker jumped more than 4% after beating the top and bottom lines of its quarterly earnings. Energizer earned $1.17 per share on revenue of $849 million. Wall Street expected earnings of 89 cents per share on revenue of $790 million, according to Refinitiv.
Target – Shares of the retailer advanced about 2% after Stifel upgraded the stock to a buy rating. “Our positive stance reflects our view that share gains in recent years across most categories, especially digital (~18% of F2020 sales) continue,” the firm wrote in a note to clients. Stifel also lifted its target on the stock to $225 from $200, with the new target indicating a 19% rally from where shares closed on Friday.
Exxon Mobil — Shares of the oil and gas company jumped 3.5% after BNP Paribas upgraded the stock to neutral from underperform. The Wall Street firm cited Exxon Mobil’s plans to cut fossil fuel capex. The stock has risen 25% in 2021 after losing more than 40% last year.
Hershey – Shares of Hershey rose nearly 1.2% in midday trading after the chocolate company said it saw higher profit and revenue in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as customers bought treats even amid the pandemic. CEO Michele Buck added that the company is poised for a strong Valentine’s Day and Easter seasons.
Westport Fuel Systems – Westport Fuel soared more than 39% in midday trading following news that Amazon has ordered about 1,000 truck engines that run on compressed natural gas for its fleet of delivery vehicles. The engines are a joint venture between Vancouver-based Westport and Cummins.
— with reporting from CNBC’s Yun Li, Pippa Stevens and Tom Franck.