Customers look at the Apple’s new iPhone 11 series smartphones in an Apple retail store on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai.
Alex Ta | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading on Thursday:
Apple – Apple shares climbed 2% to a record high after data from the Chinese government showed iPhone sales in the country jumped 18% last month on a year-over-year basis. In total, the tech giant sold 3.2 million iPhones in China last month.
Tesla – Shares of Elon Musk’s electric automaker fell nearly 4% after three Wall Street analysts cautioned investors after Tesla’s stock doubled in the past three months. Two of the firms downgraded Tesla shares, with Baird recommending that investors take profits after the recent run up.
Goldman Sachs – Shares of Goldman Sachs climbed over 2% after two firms upgraded the bank’s stock on the belief it is cheap and will benefit from a rebounding global economy. Bank of America and The Buckingham Research Group both upgraded Goldman Sachs to buy from neutral and hiked their price targets on the stock. Bank of America cited a “more favorable macro backdrop” and a “more attractive risk-reward.”
Costco – Costco’s stock rose nearly 2% after the wholesale retailer reported that December same store sales rose 9%, better than the 7.1% increase expected by analysts surveyed by StreetAccount.
Advanced Micro Devices – Shares of semiconductor company AMD rose nearly 4% following an upgrade to buy from neutral from Mizuho Securities. The firm said improving U.S.-China trade tensions and competitor price cuts in the rear view position the chip stock to continue its rally. AMD was the best performing stock in the S&P 500 last year, gaining nearly 150%. Mizuho also raised its price target to $55 per share from $38 per share.
Kohl’s – Shares of Kohl’s tumbled more than 9% after the retailer announced that its same-store sales declined 0.2% in November and December. The company blamed struggles in its women’s apparel business for the dip. Kohl’s also said full-year earnings will be toward the low end of its previous guidance of $4.75 to $4.95 diluted earnings per share.
J.C. Penney – The retailer’s stock fell more than 11% after J.C. Penney reported a decline in same-store sales during the holiday season. The company said those sales declined 7.5% over a nine-week period that ended on Jan. 4. The retailer reaffirmed its guidance for the 2019 fiscal year, projecting a same-store sales decline of 7% to 8%.
Bed Bath & Beyond – Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond dropped nearly 20% after reporting third quarter results that missed expectations. The retailer withdrew its guidance for the full year and saw same-store sales for the quarter declined by more than 8% year-over-year. Bed Bath & Beyond reported an adjusted loss of 38 cents per share and $2.76 billion in revenue, below the expected 2 cents of adjusted earnings per share and $2.85 billion of revenue, according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
Jefferies Financial – Shares of Jefferies rose 4% after reporting strong top and bottom fourth-quarter results. Jefferies delivered earnings per share of 62 cents and revenue of $1.1 billion, each topping handily topping the firm’s results for the same period last year.
Starbucks – Shares of Starbucks rose over 2% after Barclays upgraded the coffee giant‘s stock to overweight from equal weight. Barclays said in its upgrade of the stock that it saw “outsized global fundamental growth” in the consumer products and retail area.
Alphabet – Shares of Google’s parent company rose nearly 1% after Bank of America raised its price target on Alphabet’s stock, saying it sees a healthy advertising business for Alphabet among other things.
Coca-Cola – Shares of the beverage giant rose more than 1% after Credit Suisse upgraded Coca-Cola to outperform from neutral. Credit Suisse said the company is “considerably different compared to a few years ago” and expects Coca-Cola’s revenue to increase quickly in the year ahead.
Snap – Shares of the social media company rose nearly 7% following a Jefferies upgrade of Snap’s stock to buy from hold. Snap shares have “more room to run in 2020,” Jefferies said, noting that the company’s user growth is accelerating.
Virgin Galactic – Shares of the space tourism company rose more than 4% after CEO George Whitesides said the company has seen demand from prospective customers increase steadily each month. Whitesides told CNBC that Virgin Galactic will re-open ticket sales later this year, as the company plans to begin commercial operations in the middle of this year.
– CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Yun Li, Maggie Fitzgerald and Michael Bloom contributed to this report.