Stocks moving big midday: WMT, CVS, WOLF

Check out the companies making headlines during midday trading Thursday.

Cisco Systems — Shares of the computer networking giant added 4% after reporting earnings postmarket Wednesday that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Adjusted earnings per share for its fiscal fourth quarter came in at $1.14, topping the $1.06 expected from analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue was $15.2 billion, compared to the $15.05 billion expected.

Walmart — Shares of the big-box retailer fell nearly 2% even after Walmart topped estimates for the recent quarter and lifted its full-year forecast due to strong grocery and e-commerce growth. The company reported adjusted earnings of $1.84 a share, ahead of the $1.71 expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenues came in at $161.63 billion, topping an estimate of $160.27 billion.

Hawaiian Electric — The utility stock tumbled 15% and hit a new 52-week low as investors remained concerned about the company’s potential liability in Maui’s wildfires. The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that Hawaiian Electric is in talks with firms that specialize in restructuring. 

CVS Health – Shares of the pharmacy giant slid more than 9% after Blue Shield of California ended its pharmacy benefits partnership with CVS Caremark and announced it will instead join forces with Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs and Amazon Pharmacy in a move to help members save on drug costs.

Coherent — The semiconductor stock gained 3.9%, after a nearly 30% drop on Wednesday. While Coherent beat expectations when reporting fiscal fourth quarter earnings earlier in the week, the company’s guidance for current-quarter and full-year earnings and revenue came in below what was expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Investment firm Rosenblatt recently upgraded shares to buy from neutral, noting the post-earnings selloff was “overdone” and the weak full-year guidance should be conservative.

Ball — The stock edged up 3% on Thursday on news that BAE Systems is acquiring Ball’s aerospace business for $5.55 billion in cash.

Adyen — Europe’s Stripe rival Adyen lost 36% in midday trading after the company reported worse-than-expected sales and a profit drop in the first half of the year, driven by increased hiring and competition from rivals. Adyen reported 739.1 million euros ($804.3 million) in revenue over January to June 2023, which fell short of analysts’ expectations of 853.6 million euros, according to Eikon data.

Wolfspeed — Shares of the semiconductor developer dropped 16% following the company’s earnings report after the bell Wednesday. Wolfspeed posted an adjusted loss of 42 cents per share for its fiscal fourth quarter, missing expectations of a 20-cent loss per share, according to Refinitiv.

VinFast Auto — Shares of the Vietnamese electric vehicle company plunged 18% in Thursday midday trading as the stock searches for its level after its Nasdaq debut on Tuesday. The stock rose more than 250% in its first trading session, after VinFast merged with a special purpose acquisition company, but retreated nearly 19% on Wednesday. 

América Móvil — The Mexican telecom stock gained about 4% after Citi upgraded the company to buy from neutral in a Wednesday note and hiked its price target, with the new forecast implying more than 26% upside from Wednesday’s closing price. The firm expects the stock’s latest pullback, which they attributed to capital expenditures and sellers fleeing due to an August MSCI rebalance, to abate over the short term.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel, Alex Harring, Samantha Subin and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.