Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Scholastic — Shares tumbled about 12% after the publisher and distributor of children’s books reported a 4% year-over-year refuse in revenue for the fiscal second quarter, citing headwinds in the retail market. Quanex Building Products — The window and door screen manufacturer slid nearly 9% despite posting fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded analyst expectations. However, the company abstained from giving “premature” guidance, instead promising to revisit the topic next year during first-quarter earnings. Tractor Supply — Shares slipped 2.3% following a Bank of America downgrade to underperform from neutral. The bank said demand and pricing challenges would hurt the retailer’s earnings and investor sentiment. Elanco — The veterinary products company gained 2.5% after Bank of America upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight. Bank of America thinks Elanco has a promising pipeline in 2024 from several pending product approvals. STMicroelectronics — Shares of the semiconductor company added 2% after a UBS upgrade to buy from neutral. The bank said that near-term and mid-term headwinds had already been priced in at the stock’s current valuation. CyberArk Software — The software company rallied 1.6% after Jefferies initiated its stock at a buy, citing a well-positioned stance in a sizable market. Roku — Shares of the streaming media company dropped nearly 4% after MoffettNathanson downgraded them to sell from neutral. The Wall Street firm said it sees challenging comparables for Roku going forward. The stock has more than doubled this year. Omnicom Group — The media and marketing company gained more than 2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight. The bank cited upside to organic growth estimates as a catalyst for the change. Zions Bancorp — Shares of the regional bank fell more than 2% on Friday after Baird downgraded Zion to neutral from outperform. Zion has risen sharply over the past six weeks as interest rates have fallen, and Baird said that risk-reward is now more balanced. Costco — The wholesale retailer’s stock jumped more than 3% after posting fiscal first-quarter results that topped Wall Street’s expectations. Costco reported earnings of $3.58 per share on $57.80 billion in revenue and declared a $15 special dividend. Lennar — The company slipped 1% after posting gross margins on homebuilding that were lower than expected. — CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Alexander Harring, Hakyung Kim, Yun Li, Jesse Pound and Samantha Subin contributed reporting.
