Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Hewlett Packard Enterprise — The tech hardware stock jumped 6% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to a buy rating from neutral. The Wall Street firm believes the stock’s valuation is now “compelling,” while highlighting a slew of positive catalysts including new Chief Financial Officer Marie Myers’ possible cost-cutting initiatives and a cyclical recovery across servers, storage and networking. Microsoft — The stock moved about 1% higher following the tech giant’s quarterly dividend hike. The company increased it 10.7% to 83 cents per share, which will be payable Dec. 12. Microsoft also approved a new share repurchase program of up to $60 billion. Intel — The chipmaker popped about 5% after announcing plans to make its foundry business a separate entity . The company was also awarded on Monday as much as $3 billion in funding from the Biden administration through the CHIPS Act. Shopify — The e-commerce stock advanced nearly 2% after receiving an upgrade to buy from neutral at Redburn Atlantic. The firm thinks Shopify is positioned to benefit from growth in the U.S. social e-commerce market over the next few years. Flutter Entertainment — The online sports betting company behind FanDuel said it would buy Playtech’s Italian gambling business Snaitech for 2.3 billion euros, or $2.56 billion, in cash. Shares traded more than 2% higher. AppLovin — The mobile software stock advanced about 6% following a UBS upgrade to buy from neutral. The bank cited opportunities for AppLovin in gaming and e-commerce as potential catalysts. Gannett — Shares soared 16% after Citi upgraded the newspaper stock to a neutral rating from sell. The bank expects Gannett could slow its rate of topline decline and generate “flattish revenue growth” in the fourth quarter, ultimately leading to multiple expansion. Carvana — The used-car seller added 2% following an upgrade to buy from neutral. “With efficiency gains and a relatively large fixed-cost base vs. Internet, we expect CVNA can maintain recent improvement in unit economics & leverage as growth accelerates,” analyst Michael McGovern said. GE Vernova — The energy stock rallied nearly 4% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Analyst Andrew Obin said GE Vernova’s gas power services, which make up 29% of its revenue, is “less appreciated by investors.” Philip Morris International — Shares slipped 2% after the tobacco company announced the sale of Vectura Group, its pharmaceuticals unit, to Molex Asia Holdings. Philip Morris acquired Vectura, which specializes in inhaled medicines, in 2021. Accenture — Shares dropped 4% after a Bloomberg report , citing people familiar with the matter, said the professional services company will move the bulk of its promotions to June from December. — CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Yun Li, Sarah Min and Samantha Subin contributed reporting.
