Check out the companies making headlines midday Monday:
Snap — The social media company’s stock rose more than 4% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded it to outperform from sector perform, noting it is an “inflection point” amid improving fundamentals.
Boeing — Shares of Boeing dropped 4.21% after Bank of America Merrill Lynch cut its rating to neutral from buy after Boeing announced it plans to cut production of the jet on Friday. The bank expects delays with 737 will last six to nine months.
Southwest Airlines — The airline fell 2.57% after Raymond James downgraded it to hold from buy, citing concerns that Boeing jet groundings could last through peak summer travel. Southwest has 34 Max jets which account for roughly 4 percent of the airline’s passenger capacity.
General Electric — GE tumbled 7.3% after J.P. Morgan’s Stephen Tusa downgraded the stock underweight from neutral and cut his 12-month price target to $5 from $6. “We believe many investors are underestimating the severity of the challenges and underlying risks at GE, while overestimating the value of small positives,” wrote Tusa in a note to clients.
Sony — Shares of Sony surged 7.3% after Reuters reported that Daniel Loeb’s Third Point is building a stake in the company and plans to push for changes. Third Point is reportedly raising an investment vehicle to generate between $500 million and $1 billion to continue buying Sony shares. This is the second time in 6 years that the hedge fund has targeted Sony.
J. Alexander Holdings — The Southern restaurant chain’s stock rallied more than 8% after activist investor Ancora Advisors announced an offer to take the company private for $11.75 per share. The offering represented more than a 12% premium to Friday’s closing price.
Symantec — Symantec jumped more than 6% after an analyst at Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, highlighting an “undemanding” valuation and a “to sustained growth in current billings.”
AMC Entertainment — Shares of the movie theater company surged 10% after B. Riley FBR upgraded them to buy from neutral. The firm cited a strong line-up of films coming out in the spring and summer, which includes Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame.”
2U — Shares of the educational technology company dropped about 4.8% after 2U announced it is purchasing Trilogy Education Services for $750 million.
United Therapeutics —United Therapeutics fell around 4.7% after the company announced its clinical study of esuberaprost tablets did not meet its primary endpoint. The biotechnology company is discontinuing product development for the pulmonary arterial hypertension treatment.
—CNBC’s Jessica Bursztynsky , Tom Franck and Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
