Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Lockheed Martin, Paychex, CVS and more

Here’s your must-read midday business news, with some of the day’s headline movers:

New Fortress Energy’s stocks have shot up by 17% following its underwriting of around 46 million shares at $8.63 each through Morgan Stanley, despite Deutsche Bank downgrading it to “sell” citing high risk and impending equity dilution.

Energy companies saw a boost today with U.S. crude oil futures climbing 4% due to concerns over potential Iranian attacks on Israel. APA Corp increased by 5%, Halliburton by 3%, and both Hess and Occidental Petroleum leaped over 2%.

Arcos Dorados’ shares leaped over 11% as the company announced its decision to renew its master franchise deal with McDonald’s. The updated agreement is likely to include a possible 20-year extension after its expiration, commencing from 2045.

Defense stocks also experienced an uptick following the White House’s warning of a possible missile attack on Israel. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman saw shares rise by 3.7% and 4.1% respectively, L3Harris Technologies also saw growth of 3%.

Paychex stocks also experienced a boost, reaching a new 52-week high following its release of fiscal Q1 results that surpassed expectations.

HP Inc., however, saw shares fall over 4% after a downgrade from Citi from “buy” to “neutral” due to a deteriorating industry setup and limited artificial intelligence tailwinds.

Walt Disney’s stocks also slumped 2.6% after Raymond James downgraded it to “market perform” from “outperform” following weakening demand and a softening consumer market impacting the outlook for Disney’s parks.

CVS Health shares also dipped by 2% as CNBC reported that the health-care company is reviewing its business strategies, considering a possible breakup of the insurance and strategic business.

Lastly, Clorox stocks rose nearly 2% following an upgrade to “buy” from “hold” by Jefferies, predicting an earnings boost for the company in the near future.