People queue outside Shake Shack in London. The recent Covid-19 lockdown is hitting British entrepreneurs hard.
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Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Shake Shack – The fast-food chain’s stock rose 7.8% after The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Engaged Capital is planning a proxy battle for three seats on the company’s board. Engaged Capital acquired a 6.6% stake in Shake Shack, including swaps. The stock has recovered more than 60% this year.
Magellan Midstream Partners, oneok – Magellan Midstream Partners rose 13% after Oneok agreed to acquire the company for about $18.8 billion. Oneok shares fell 9.1%.
Western Digital – Western Digital was up 11.3% in midday trade. A Reuters report, citing two sources familiar with the matter, said the company is intensifying merger talks with Kioxia Holdings, the Japanese computer memory maker.
H&R block, Intuitive – Shares in Tax Advisors fell 2.8% and 0.3%, respectively, after reports of the possible creation of a government-run online tax filing program were announced. The IRS is scheduled to release the report this week, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has been investigating this as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Newmont – Shares of the gold miner rose about 2.5% after the company announced it would acquire Australian miner Newcrest. According to Reuters, it is the third-largest global deal so far this year, valued at about $17.8 billion.
Charles Schwab – Shares in the brokerage firm rose more than 4.1% at midday after Raymond James upgraded the stock and said it could rise nearly 30% as concerns over the stability of US banks hampered Schwab’s ability to acquire new accounts and assets to put on, would not have affected.
Microsoft, Activision Blizzard – The European Union on Monday approved Microsoft’s proposed plan to buy gaming company Activision Blizzard for $69 billion. Activision shares gained 1.2% while Microsoft gained 0.2%.
SoFi Technologies — The company lost nearly 5% in midday trade. Wedbush downgraded the stock earlier Monday amid concerns that SoFi could be nearing a cap with fee growth, prompting SoFi to raise capital for further growth.
Albemarle — Shares of the lithium company rose 4.1% after an upgrade from Baird. The company said that Albemarle is “a leading supplier of catalyst products” and has the potential for greater market share. However, lithium prices have been noted to have fallen more than 40% year to date.
Dupont de Nemours — The chemicals maker rose 2.9% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to a buy. The Wall Street company said shares are trading at a significant discount to peers.
AeroCap – The aircraft leasing company rose 3.1% on an upgrade from Citi, suggesting demand should remain strong.
Lam Research – Lam gained 4.8% after Citi provided a positive catalyst watch on the stock. The bank said the semiconductor company has a “self-help” story as it expands into Asia.
Crocs – The shoemaker rose 2.6% after Baird called the stock a new choice. Baird said he believes the company can meet or exceed its 2023 guidance.
tapestry — Shares rose 4.5% after Bernstein upgraded the rating to “outperform” from market performance. Coach and Kate Spade’s parent company has a strong valuation and speaks for a long-term investment, the Wall Street company said.
— CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Hakyung Kim, Michelle Fox, Yun LI, Brian Evans, Tanaya Macheel and Sarah Min contributed coverage