Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Spirit Airlines — The budget airline’s shares fell more than 7% amid news that advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services told Spirit shareholders to vote for the proposed merger with Frontier Airlines. It comes after Frontier Airlines upped the cash portion of its offer by $2 a share and increased the reverse break-up fee.
Robinhood — Robinhood rose more than 3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock trading company’s shares to neutral from sell. That upgrade came despite the release of a Congressional report detailing its difficulties in handling the meme-stock frenzy of January 2021.
Coinbase — Shares of the cryptocurrency exchange fell 9% after Goldman Sachs downgraded it to sell from neutral, highlighting the pressure that cryptocurrency prices are putting on Coinbase’s exchange business and saying the company needs to reduce costs to slow its cash burn.
Digital World Acquisition Corp. — The blank check company connected to former President Donald Trump’s social media venture saw its shares sink more than 9% after it revealed in a filing that its board of directors received subpoenas from a federal grand jury. DWAC, which is already under investigation by the SEC, said the probes and subpoenas could affect its merger with Trump’s media company.
BioNTech — Shares of the biotechnology company jumped about 6% following news that its Covid-19 booster shots with Pfizer to combat omicron, improved immune response to the variant. Pfizer shares rose about 1% on the news.
AutoZone — Shares of Autozone rose nearly 1% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a buy from a neutral rating and said the company is “defensively positioned” to weather the current environment.
Etsy — Shares dropped more than 4% following a downgrade from Needham. Analyst Anna Andreeva lowered the rating to hold from buy, saying Etsy’s business will suffer from rising inflationary pressures.
— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel and Sarah Min contributed reporting
