Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Novavax — Shares plunged more than 19% after the biotech company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration put a clinical hold on its application for a Covid and influenza combination shot as well as a stand-alone flu vaccine. United Airlines — The stock soared more than 12% after the airline posted an earnings and revenue beat for the third quarter and guided for a strong fourth quarter. In addition, United said it is starting a $1.5 billion share buyback, its first since before the Covid-19 pandemic. Morgan Stanley — Shares popped 6.5% after the bank reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s forecasts , boosted by higher profits from its wealth management, trading and investment banking divisions. The firm posted earnings of $1.88 per share, higher than the $1.58 expected by an LSEG analyst poll. Revenue was $15.38 billion versus the $14.41 billion consensus estimate. Cisco Systems — The technology networking stock advanced more than 4% to a 52-week high on the back of a Citi upgrade to buy from neutral. Citi said artificial intelligence can become a larger part of the business over time. Novocure — The stock rose marginally higher on the heels of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the company’s wearable treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, known as Optune Lua. ASML — Shares of the semiconductor equipment maker slumped more than 6%, building on a 16% loss from Tuesday after the Dutch company mistakenly released its third-quarter earnings earlier than expected . ASML Holding cut its sales outlook for 2025, citing a slower-than-expected recovery in segments beyond AI. J.B Hunt Transport Services — Shares added more than 3% after the company posted a top- and bottom-line beat. J.B. Hunt posted $1.49 in earnings per share on $3.07 billion of revenue in the third quarter. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast $1.41 in earnings per share on $3.02 billion of revenue. The company said demand for its intermodal service rose throughout the quarter. Aspen Aerogels — Shares gained more than 13% after the company announced that it received a conditional commitment for a proposed Department of Energy loan of up to $670.6 million. Aspen Aerogels also released preliminary results for the third quarter. For the period, the company is expecting revenue of about $117 million and adjusted EBITDA of an estimated $25 million, above the $95.1 million in revenue and $14.1 million in adjusted EBITDA that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. Prologis — The warehouse giant rose 4.6% after posting better-than-expected quarterly results . For the third quarter, Prologis reported core funds from operations of $1.43 per diluted share, above the $1.37 estimate from FactSet. In a statement, CEO Hamid Moghadam said: “Looking ahead, the supply picture is improving, and the long-term demand drivers for our business remain strong.” U.S. Bancorp — The stock moved 4.7% higher after U.S. Bancorp’s third-quarter earnings beat estimates, posting $1.03 per share versus the 99 cents per share that analysts were expecting, per LSEG. Revenue, however, missed estimates, coming in at $6.86 billion compared to the consensus estimate of $6.9 billion. General Motors — Shares increased more than 2% on the heels of the automaker’s agreement with Lithium Americas Corp. to establish a joint venture. The deal includes General Motors giving $625 million in cash and credit to the Canadian mining business. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin, Pia Singh and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
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