Take a look at the companies making headlines in midday trading. Altice, USA — Shares of the cable TV company fell more than 12% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight. Analyst Steven Cahall wrote that the bank is now skeptical of Altice’s M&A prospects. Tesla – The electric car maker’s shares fell nearly 2% after Reuters reported its long-promised low-cost car plans to counter competition from Chinese electric carmakers. Investors have been counting on the entry-level car to fuel its growth into a mass-market automaker. CEO Musk responded to the report on social media platform X, saying “Reuters lied (again).” Krispy Kreme — Shares of Krispy Kreme rose 6% after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral. The company cited the donut chain’s partnership with McDonald’s announced last week as well as its narrative of ongoing improvements. Enphase Energy – Citi downgraded the solar stock to “neutral” from “buy,” citing “limited corporate liquidity” and noting “trends in the U.S. were weaker than last quarter.” Citi also downgraded Plug Power , the company’s stock price fell less than 1%. Cinemamark — Wells Fargo doubled-upgraded CinemaMark to overweight from underweight, sending the theater chain’s stock up 4.4%. The bank said demand for Cinemark is growing and it has a solid background in the film industry. Snowflake — Shares of the cloud company rose 2.5% after Rosenblatt upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing strong customer interest. Ollie’s Bargain Outlet — Shares of Ollie’s Bargain Outlet rose 4.5% after Loop Capital upgraded its rating on the off-price retailer to buy from hold. The company pointed out that its valuation is relatively low compared with its peers and its store expansion potential is huge. Agilent Technologies — The stock rose nearly 3% after Stifel upgraded the stock to buy from hold. Analyst Daniel Arias said good demand for tools and an attractive valuation will make the stock more attractive to investors. Shockwave Medical — Shares of Johnson & Johnson rose 2% after the company said it would acquire the medical device maker for $12.5 billion to expand its portfolio of cardiovascular disease treatment devices. Johnson & Johnson shares were little changed. McDonald’s – Shares of McDonald’s fell less than 1% after the fast-food chain said Thursday it has signed an agreement to acquire all 225 restaurants in its Israeli franchise. The move comes after months of declining sales in the Middle East due to support for the Palestinian boycott. —CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Alex Harring, Samantha Subin and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
