A box of Ozempic, an injectable semaglutide medication used to treat type 2 diabetes, made by Novo Nordisk.
Georges Frey | Reuters
Check out the companies making big moves at midday.
Novo Nordisk — Shares of the Danish pharmaceutical maker gained 6.27% after announcing late Tuesday that it was halting Ozempic’s clinical trial to treat kidney disease after a committee said an analysis showed signs of success. Elie Lillywhich makes the diabetes drug Mounjaro, rose 4.48%.
DaVita, Fresenius medical care, Baxter International — Shares of dialysis service providers DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care fell 16.86% and 17.57%, respectively, following Novo Nordisk’s announcement. Baxter International, which makes products for chronic dialysis therapies, slipped 12.27%.
Exxon Mobile, Pioneering natural resources — Exxon Mobil shares fell 3.59% after the largest U.S. oil and gas producer agreed to buy shale rival Pioneer Natural Resources for $59.5 billion in a deal an all-stock transaction, or $253 per share. Pioneer shareholders will receive 2.3234 shares of Exxon stock for each Pioneer share owned. The deal, Exxon’s largest since acquiring Mobil, is expected to close in the first half of 2024. Pioneer shares rose 1.44% on the news.
Human — Shares fell 1.39% after CEO Bruce Broussard announced he would step down in the second half of 2024. The company named Envision Healthcare’s Jim Rechtin as his successor.
Amgen — The biopharmaceutical stock added 4.55% following an upgrade from Leerink to outperform. Analyst David Risinger cited the rising earnings multiple and ongoing news flow as catalysts.
Shallow water technologies — Shares gained 5.26% after being upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. The investment bank discussed the valuation and the potential for gross margin growth.
Financial Ally — The mid-market business loan provider fell 2.12% after CEO Jeffrey Brown announced plans to resign, effective January 31, 2024.
Walgreens Boot Alliance — The drugstore chain added 0.98% after former Cigna executive Tim Wentworth was named CEO effective Oct. 23.
Consistent — The stock jumped 5.23% at midday. Coherent announced Tuesday that Japanese companies will invest $1 billion in Coherent’s silicon carbide business. B. Riley upgraded its shares to neutral on Wednesday, saying Coherent’s silicon carbide business could be worth more than the Street’s current estimate.
Plug in the power — The battery maker climbed 5.31% after forecasting a sharp increase in revenue to around $6 billion by 2027, according to a regulatory filing.
Take-Two interactive software — Shares rose midday but closed down 0.34% after being upgraded by Raymond James to outperform relative to market performance. The company said it soon sees a path toward more consistent video game releases and a reasonable valuation based on the upcoming release of Take-Two Interactive’s Grand Theft Auto 6.
— CNBC’s Michael Bloom, Hakyung Kim, Yun Li and Lisa Han contributed reporting.