Take a look at the companies making headlines in midday trading. Astera Labs – Shares of Astera Labs rose more than 16% after the company sells data center connectivity chips and launched new fiber-optic switches for artificial intelligence. Norwegian Cruise Line – Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line soared 10% after Citi upgraded the company to buy from neutral. Citi said the company should see significant earnings per share growth, which could drive earnings higher and expand margins. Bayer – The life sciences company’s U.S.-listed shares fell about 7%. The Washington Supreme Court said it will review a case against the company alleging that several people at Sky Valley Education Center in Washington state were harmed by exposure to products made by a Monsanto subsidiary. Reddit – Shares of the social forum rose nearly 2% after Jefferies initiated a buy rating on the company. Analyst John Colantuoni said high user growth and a narrowing monetization gap could put Reddit ahead of peers and boost its bottom line. Arcadium Lithium – Shares of Arcadium Lithium soared nearly 31% after mining company Rio Tinto announced it would acquire the company for $5.85 per share. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto shares edged lower on the news. GitLab – The software stock rose more than 7% after Morgan Stanley initiated an overweight rating. The company believes that GitLab can become a key consolidator in the market due to its broad offering in the software delivery pipeline. Helen of Troy – Shares of Helen of Troy soared more than 19% after the company’s second-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations. Helen of Troy reported earnings of $1.21 per share on revenue of $474.2 million, above the $1.05 per share and $458.9 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Chewy – Shares of the online pet products retailer rose 3% after TD Cowen issued a buy rating on the stock. The Wall Street firm said Chewy is the leading pure-play e-commerce product in the $144 billion U.S. pet industry. Boeing Co. — Shares of the aerospace giant fell another 2% on Wednesday as a strike by the machinists union continued. Boeing withdrew its contract offer to the union on Tuesday after talks failed to reach an agreement. S&P Global Ratings also issued a negative outlook on the company’s credit rating. Alphabet – The big tech stock fell nearly 2% after the Justice Department revealed it was considering potentially breaking up Google. This comes after a U.S. judge ruled in August that Google has a monopoly in search and text advertising. —CNBC’s Alex Harring, Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
