Midday Market Movers: General Motors, Stellantis, Planet Fitness, Adobe, and Other Notable Stocks

General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis — Ford’s shares remained relatively stable, while General Motors experienced a modest 0.9% uptick, and Stellantis saw a more significant 2.2% increase in the wake of a targeted strike initiated by the United Auto Workers. This labor action prompted workers to walk off the assembly lines of several plants affiliated with these three automotive giants on Thursday night. It all unfolded after a crucial deadline for negotiating a fresh labor agreement had come and gone.

Planet Fitness, on the other hand, endured a substantial setback, with its shares plummeting by a staggering 15.9%. This drastic downturn followed a surprising move by the gym chain’s board, which resulted in the removal of CEO Chris Rondeau. This sudden leadership change took even those in close proximity to Rondeau by surprise, according to a source with knowledge of the matter who spoke with CNBC. Filling the role of interim CEO is board member Craig Benson, a figure well-known for his past tenure as the governor of New Hampshire.

In the realm of steel production, Nucor faced a setback of its own, with a notable 6.1% decline in its stock value. The company cited challenges in pricing and volume as the key drivers behind its disappointing third-quarter earnings guidance. Nucor projected earnings ranging from $4.10 to $4.20 per share, a forecast that fell short of the $4.57 consensus estimate among analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv.

Meanwhile, PTC Therapeutics found itself in dire straits as its stock tumbled a daunting 29.8%. This significant downturn came in response to a negative opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use regarding the conversion of conditional marketing authorization to full authorization for a PTC drug designed to address nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In the wake of this development, Raymond James downgraded the stock from an outperform to an underperform rating.

Shifting focus to infrastructure, Core & Main experienced a decline of 4.1% in its stock value, one day after announcing a secondary stock offering. This offering involved the sale of 18 million Class A shares by existing shareholders, coinciding with the repurchase of 3.1 million Class A shares. Additionally, partnership interests within a company unit were slated for repurchase.

In the technology sector, Arm Holdings encountered a 4.5% dip during its second session as a publicly traded entity. Investment banking firm Needham initiated coverage of the stock with a hold rating and refrained from specifying a price target following Arm’s market debut, which bestowed a valuation of approximately $60 billion upon the company. Needham analyst Charles Shi cautioned, however, that the stock’s current valuation already appears to be at its peak.

In the domain of diabetes-focused healthcare, both Insulet and Dexcom saw their stock prices decline in response to a report from Bloomberg News. This report indicated that Apple had chosen a new leader for its team dedicated to developing a noninvasive blood sugar monitoring device. Insulet’s shares dipped by 2.9%, while Dexcom experienced a more substantial decline of 5.1%.

Turning our attention to the semiconductor industry, chip equipment manufacturers ASML Holding, KLA, Lam Research, and Applied Materials all faced declines in the wake of a report suggesting that Taiwan Semiconductor had advised vendors to delay deliveries due to concerns about demand. U.S.-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor registered a 2.4% loss.

Adobe, the maker of Photoshop, witnessed a 4.2% drop in its stock price following the release of its fiscal third-quarter earnings report. While the company reported earnings and revenue figures that exceeded expectations, its forward guidance aligned with Street projections. Although Goldman Sachs and Bank of America maintained buy ratings, JPMorgan remained neutral, citing macroeconomic headwinds and a lofty premium associated with Adobe’s impending acquisition of Figma for a substantial $20 billion.

In the realm of biopharmaceuticals, Apellis Pharmaceuticals made gains of 2.6% subsequent to a favorable upgrade by Wells Fargo, which shifted its rating from equal weight to overweight. The bank expressed confidence in Apellis’ risk/reward profile leading up to the third-quarter earnings announcement.

Conversely, DoorDash, the food delivery company, experienced a 2.5% decline in its stock price after being downgraded to a market perform rating from outperform by MoffettNathanson. This Wall Street firm highlighted the reintroduction of loan repayments as a factor introducing booking-related risks to the food delivery industry. Nonetheless, the stock has maintained a commendable year-to-date increase of over 60%.

On a more positive note, Axis Capital, a player in the insurance sector, saw a 3.1% increase in its stock value following an upgrade from underperform to buy by Bank of America. Despite recent underperformance in the reinsurance segment, the Wall Street firm indicated a shift in its pessimistic outlook.

Lastly, the cosmetics giant Estée Lauder experienced a nearly 1% advance in its stock price after receiving a less bearish assessment from Redburn Atlantic Equities. The firm upgraded Estée Lauder’s shares from sell to neutral, attributing this shift to technical improvements resulting from the normalization of customer ordering patterns.

In the waste management sector, Casella Waste Systems enjoyed a modest 1.6% uptick in its stock price after receiving an initiation of coverage from Goldman Sachs, which bestowed a buy rating upon the company. Goldman Sachs characterized Casella Waste Systems as a “compounder with pricing,” suggesting a favorable outlook for the company’s growth and profitability.