adminCheck out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Walgreens Boots Alliance — Walgreens Boots Alliance popped 7% in midday trading after sharing that it has made progress in its cost-cutting program. The retail pharmacy giant on Thursday missed fiscal fourth-quarter earnings estimates , reporting an adjusted 67 cents per share, while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, forecast 69 cents per share. Spotify Technology — The streaming stock gained nearly 1% after Morgan Stanley named Spotify a new top pick, saying it’s positioned for the long term and can claim greater market share amid rising engagement levels. MongoDB — The stock dipped 0.2% after Bank of America initiated coverage of the software company at a buy rating , citing its solid footing to capture market share from competitors such as Amazon and Microsoft. ResMed — ResMed shares dropped 5.5% after RBC downgraded the medical device company to sector perform from outperform, saying it expects slowing earnings growth. Birkenstock — Birkenstock shares extended their slide Thursday with a 6.6% drop. The German shoe brand fell more than 12% in its stock market debut Wednesday. First Solar — The solar stock slipped 1.4%. The drop in shares came even after Barclays upgraded First Solar to an overweight rating . The Wall Street firm said the company’s current valuation offers an attractive entry point for investors and shares trade at a discount to competitors. Ford Motor — Shares of the automaker slipped 2%. The action comes a day after the United Auto Workers union launched a strike against Ford’s Kentucky truck plant, signifying an escalation in its dispute with the automaker. The plant is Ford’s largest measured by both workforce and revenue. Fastenal — The industrial supplies company jumped 7.5% after beating expectations for third-quarter earnings. Fastenal posted third-quarter earnings of 52 cents per share, while analysts polled by FactSet anticipated 50 cents per share. Revenue was in line with expectations at $1.85 billion. Hormel Foods — Shares dropped 9.8% in midday trading. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union on Thursday said it ratified a “historic” contract with Hormel Foods that includes hourly wage increases of $3 to $6 an hour. The UFCW represents 1.3 million workers in grocery, meatpacking and other industries. Separately, Hormel Foods also held its investor day on Thursday. — CNBC’s Brian Evans, Lisa Kailai Han, Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin and Darla Mercado contributed reporting.
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