Here’s a look at the companies making headlines in midday trading: Generac Holdings – Shares of the generator maker soared 8% as Hurricane Milton upgraded to a Category 5 storm. Amazon – The e-commerce stock fell 2.9% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight and cut its price target, citing slowing growth and competition from Walmart. Pfizer — Shares of the drugmaker rose nearly 3%. CNBC cited people familiar with the matter as saying that activist investor Starboard Value has taken a stake of nearly $1 billion in a bid to turn the company around. Insurance Stocks – Shares of property and casualty insurance companies are under pressure as Florida prepares for evacuations as Hurricane Milton upgrades to a Category 5 storm. Allstate and Travelers both fell more than 3%, as did Progressive and Chubb. These insurance companies have weather catastrophe exposure, so they may be exposed to potential coverage losses related to Hurricane Milton. Shares of Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based Universal Insurance plunged more than 15%. Air Products and Chemicals — Shares of the industrial gases supplier rose nearly 8%. CNBC quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying that Mantle Ridge has acquired a stake in the company worth more than $1 billion. Garmin – U.S. shares of the fitness equipment maker fell 4.7% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the company to underweight from equal weight. The company cited slowing growth and declining profit margins, while naming Garmin as the best-performing hardware stock this year. Coty — Shares of the beauty company rose more than 3% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy. Analyst Ashley Helgans highlighted the fragrance sector’s continued growth and attractive valuations. Arcadium Lithium PLC — Shares in the lithium producer Arcadium jumped 33% after the company said in a press release that Rio Tinto had approached the company about a potential acquisition. The method is non-binding, according to the release. Hershey — Shares of the chocolate maker fell 2% after UBS downgraded the chocolate maker to neutral and Bernstein downgraded it to market perform. UBS expects gross margin compression to continue in 2025 due to rising cocoa prices, while Bernstein believes the use of GLP-1 drugs will affect U.S. chocolate sales. KB Home — Wells Fargo shares fell 2% after it was downgraded to underperform from equal weight. The bank believes the homebuilder could lag its peers during the next phase of the cycle. Duckhorn Portfolio – Shares of Duckhorn Portfolio more than doubled after private equity firm Butterfly Equity announced it would acquire the California-based luxury wine company in a deal valued at $1.95 billion. Mobileye Global — Shares of the maker of driver-assistance technology fell more than 3%. JPMorgan downgraded the stock to underweight from neutral, citing declining confidence in the Israeli company as it grapples with stock loss concerns and sales challenges. Ciena — Internet stocks fell 3.5%. JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral, citing limited upside to earnings per share. Apple — Shares fell about 1% after Jefferies downgraded the stock to hold from buy. The company said near-term expectations for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 were too high due to weaker-than-expected initial demand, and that Apple’s artificial intelligence capabilities for its smartphones were a “maturing” catalyst because they were unlikely to be commercialized. In another two or three years. —CNBC’s Yun Li, Hakyung Kim, Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox, Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed reporting.
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