Take a look at the companies making headlines in midday trading. Eli Lilly – Shares of Eli Lilly fell more than 7% after the drugmaker said demand for its weight loss and diabetes drugs was failing to meet its lofty expectations. Eli Lilly said it now expects full-year 2024 revenue of about $45 billion, down from the $45.4 billion to $46 billion it forecast in October. Boeing – The airline will deliver more than 348 aircraft in 2024, about a third less than the previous year, and its stock price fell more than 2%, effectively widening the gap with rival Airbus. By comparison, Airbus delivered 766 aircraft last year. Applied Digital — Digital infrastructure shares rose more than 6% after Macquarie announced it had agreed to invest up to $5 billion in Applied Digital’s artificial intelligence data centers. Under the agreement, Macquarie will hold a 15% stake in Applied Digital’s high-performance computing (HPC) unit. Hesai – Shares of the Chinese automaker supplier rose 8% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to a buy rating from neutral. Analyst Tina Hou said the stock currently looks “attractive,” adding that the market appears to be underestimating the operating leverage of Hesai’s new product cycle. Signet Jewelers – Shares of Signet Jewelers fell 26% after the parent company of Kay Jewelers and Zales lowered its fourth-quarter guidance. Signet said holiday sales were weak as consumers tended to lower prices. KB Home – The homebuilding stock rose 3% after fourth-quarter profit beat estimates. KB Home reported earnings of $2.52 per share, above the $2.45 expected by analysts polled by LSEG. The company’s $2 billion in revenue also beat estimates of $1.99 billion. H & E Equipment Services – shares surged more than 105% after United Rentals announced it would acquire the company. United will pay $92 per share in cash, valuing H&E at about $4.8 billion. United Rentals also rose 3%. Instacart – Shares of the grocery delivery company rose more than 1% after BTIG upgraded the stock to a “buy” rating and called it a “long-term growth category leader.” The company cited strong order growth as one of the reasons for the upgrade. Celanese – Shares of the chemicals maker and supplier rose 5% as Bank of America doubled down on its rating in a rare move to buy out of an underperforming stock. Celanese’s valuation is healthy and demand for most products should recover, the bank said. —CNBC’s Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
