Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Generac Holdings – Shares of the power generator manufacturer rose 8.5% as Hurricane Milton intensified into a Category 5 storm. Amazon – The e-commerce stock lost 3% 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 pharmaceutical company rose 2.2%. Citing family sources familiar with the matter, CNBC reported that activist investor Starboard Value has raised a nearly $1 billion stake as it seeks to turn around the company. Insurance Stocks – Property and casualty insurers saw stocks come under pressure as Hurricane Milton became a Category 5 storm as Florida prepares for evacuations. Allstate and Travelers both saw their shares fall more than 4%, along with Chubb. These insurance companies are exposed to weather disasters, so they could be exposed to potential insurance losses associated with Hurricane Milton. Shares of Universal Insurance, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, fell more than 19%. Air Products & Chemicals – Shares of the industrial gas supplier rose 9.5%. CNBC reported that Mantle Ridge had taken a stake in the company exceeding $1 billion, citing a person familiar with the matter. Garmin – US shares of the fitness equipment maker fell 4.1% in the wake of Morgan Stanley's downgrade to underweight from equal weight. The company cited slowing growth and easing pressure in margins, while noting that Garmin has been one of the best-performing hardware stocks this year. Coty – The beauty company rose 4.1% after a buy upgrade from Jefferies. Analyst Ashley Heljans highlighted the continued growth in the fragrance sector and attractive valuation. Arcadium Lithium PLC – Shares of the lithium producer jumped more than 35% after Arcadium said in a press release that it had been approached by Rio Tinto about a potential acquisition. This approach is non-binding, according to the statement. HERSHEY – Shares fell 2.3% after the chocolate maker was downgraded to neutral at UBS and Market Perform at Bernstein. UBS expects gross margin pressure to continue in 2025 due to cocoa inflation, while Bernstein sees the use of the GLP-1 drug impacting US chocolate volumes. KB Home – Shares fell 2.2% after a downgrade to Underperform to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo. The bank believes the homebuilder could lag behind its peers in the next stage of the cycle. Duckhorn Portfolio – Shares 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 – Driver assistance technology maker fell 4.6%. JPMorgan downgraded its stock rating to underweight from neutral, citing waning confidence in the Israel-based company as it faces concerns about a share loss and a scale challenge. Ciena – Networking stock lost 4.7%. JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral, citing limited earnings per share to the upside from here. Apple – Shares fell 2.3% due to Jefferies downgrading to Hold from Buy. The company said near-term expectations for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 are very high after weaker-than-expected initial demand, and that Apple's AI capabilities for its smartphones are a “premature” trigger because they are unlikely to reach commercialization. Another two to three years. CNBC's Yun Lee, Ha Kyung Kim, Alex Haring, Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox, Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed reporting.
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Stocks making the biggest moves at midday: GNRC, AMZN, PFE
