Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. JPMorgan — The bank fell 5% after disclosing that its net interest income level could fall short of Wall Street analysts’ expectations in 2024, despite beating both top- and bottom-line estimates in its last quarter. CEO Jamie Dimon also underscored the danger of inflationary pressures. Wells Fargo — Shares of the bank inched lower by less than 1% after it reported a decline in net interest income during the first quarter. Wells Fargo did beat analysts’ expectations for its first-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue. BlackRock — Shares of BlackRock fell nearly 2%. The asset manager reported total net inflows that came in below expectations, per StreetAccount. BlackRock posted first-quarter adjusted earnings of $9.81 per share on $4.73 billion of revenue, higher than the $9.35 per share on revenue of $4.68 billion that analysts polled by LSEG, formerly Refinitiv, had forecast. Globe Life — The life insurance stock bounced 10% after plummeting more than 50% during Thursday’s session. The slide was induced by a report from Fuzzy Panda Research , where the firm disclosed a short position in the stock and made allegations of insurance fraud. Paramount — The entertainment company slipped nearly 2% after disclosing plans to reduce its board to seven directors from 11. Paramount is currently in talks of a merger with Skydance Media. Corteva — The agriculture chemical stock lost 3.8% after JPMorgan downgraded it to neutral from overweight. The firm said shares were not worth purchasing ahead of the first-quarter earnings report, given the weakness expected. Ciena — Shares slipped nearly 3% after Citi initiated coverage of the software company with a sell rating. The bank said investors are too optimistic about the potential artificial intelligence tailwind, which is further out than they expect. Zoetis — The pet medication company sank more than 7%. The decline came after a report from The Wall Street Journal that looked into potential side effects from Zoetis’ arthritis drugs Librela and Solensia. Arista Networks — Shares dropped 9% following a double downgrade at Rosenblatt to sell from buy. The firm warned Arista’s AI opportunity may be smaller than expected. — CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Alex Harring, Tanaya Macheel and Pia Singh contributed reporting.
