Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Kroger — Shares of the supermarket chain rallied more than 4%. Kroger reported mixed fiscal second-quarter results, posting adjusted earnings that beat expectations by 2 cents a share. Revenue came up shy of Wall Street’s estimates. Petco — Shares of the pet retailer soared 14%. That builds on Wednesday’s postearnings rally of nearly 33%, which marked the stock’s best day on record. Moderna — The stock plummeted nearly 16% after the drugmaker said it will cut $1.1 billion in expenses by 2027. Moderna also said it plans to launch 10 new products through 2027, but will also pause or stop work on some of the products in its pipeline. Gilead Sciences — Shares gained 2% after the biopharmaceutical company said a second pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial showed its twice-yearly Lenacapavir medication for HIV prevention reduced infections by 96% and exhibited superiority to the daily Truvada pill. Alaska Air Group — Shares of the airline rose 1% after lifting its third-quarter outlook on the heels of strong summer demand. Alaska told investors to expect between $2.15 and $2.25 in earnings per share, up from the prior range of between $1.40 and $1.60. Interpublic Group of Companies — The advertising stock was trading 2% lower following a downgrade from UBS to sell from neutral. Analyst Adam Berlin also lowered his 12-month price target. As a reason for the downgrade, he cited the advertiser’s loss of big accounts such as Amazon and Pfizer, which he said investors have not fully priced into the stock’s valuation yet. U.S. Bancorp — The bank stock slipped nearly 2% despite announcing a dividend hike and a $5 billion share buyback plan. Diageo — The alcohol stock popped about 3% on the heels of a Bank of America upgrade to buy from neutral. Bank of America said the hardest period for the company is in the rearview mirror. Roku — The streaming platform saw shares jump more than 5% after Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to outperform from peer perform. The Wall Street firm said it thinks Roku’s sales growth is poised to accelerate on the back of trimmed cost structure and new sales strategies. Oracle — Shares of the software company rose nearly 2% after Bernstein named it a top investment idea . The firm sees more gains ahead for the company, citing downside protection from the company’s diverse offerings and increasing revenue growth, among others, as catalysts. — CNBC’s Yun Li, Michelle Fox, Sean Conlon, Samantha Subin, Lisa Kailai Han and Sarah Min contributed reporting.
