Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. New York Community Bancorp — The regional bank added 3.1%, building on its sharp gains from Friday when the stock rallied after an influx of insider buying. Bank of America also reiterated its neutral rating on Monday, while noting that leadership has “the playbook to turn things around.” Diamondback Energy — The shale producer jumped 10.1% after announcing its purchase of Endeavor Energy, the biggest private company that produces natural resources from the Permian Basin. The deal, consisting of both cash and stock, is valued at $26 billion with debt factored in. CymaBay Therapeutics , Gilead — Shares of CymaBay soared 25% after Gilead agreed to buy the drug developer. The deal comes as Gilead, whose shares were up under 1% in Monday’s session, looks to expand beyond HIV drugs. VF Corp . — The clothing maker traded 11.5% higher after Reuters reported that a member of the company’s founding family said they support activist investor Engaged Capital. Elsewhere, CEO Bracken Darrell disclosed a purchase of 65,000 shares of the North Face parent. Trimble — Shares rose 3.1% after the technology company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, which helped investors overlook weaker-than-expected guidance for the current period. Monday.com — The Israel-based software company dropped 9% on the back of mixed full-year guidance. Monday.com expects revenue of $926 million to $932 million, about in line with a StreetAccount estimate. However, it also sees operating income between $58 million and $64 million. That’s below an estimate of $67.8 million. Mohawk Industries — Shares popped more than 5% after Deutsche Bank upgraded the flooring manufacturer to buy from neutral following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings results. Analyst Joe Ahlersmeyer said he expects “risk-reward has improved enough to support a Buy on the stock,” citing demand that should inflect in the second half of the year. Rocket Lab — The stock popped 7.7% on the back of Citi initiating coverage with a buy rating. Citi said liquidity conditions have improved, while a recent deal with the Space Development Agency signals more government work. Teva Pharmaceutical — Shares rallied 8.2% on the heels of a Piper Sandler upgrade to overweight from neutral. Piper Sandler said Teva can see its multiple recover and expand given its brand portfolio and improving capital structure. Lowe’s — The home improvement stock advanced 3.7% following an upgrade by JPMorgan to overweight from neutral. JPMorgan said Lowe’s should be helped as mortgage rates slide in tandem with expected interest rate cuts. Marqeta — The credit card technology stock added 6.6% after a Bank of America upgrade to buy from neutral. The bank said the recent correction in Marqeta shares was too strong. Big Lots — The stock dived 31.1% following a Loop Capital downgrade to sell from hold. Loop said the retailer is losing awareness among consumers and has a souring financial standing. The company also reaffirmed its fourth-quarter guidance on same-store sales. Nvidia — Shares rose more than 2%, lifting the chipmaker’s market cap to about $1.819 trillion. That’s slightly above Amazon’s valuation of $1.8 trillion. — CNBC’s Samantha Subin and Sarah Min contributed reporting.
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