Palantir, Applied Materials, Deere & more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. 

Applied Materials — Shares of the chipmaker jumped more than 7% after Applied Materials beat estimates during the fourth quarter and issued upbeat comments for the current quarter. “We’ve seen a continued acceleration of demand in our semiconductor business as major macro and industry trends fuel increasing consumption of silicon across a wide range of markets and applications,” Gary Dickerson, president and CEO, said in a statement. The VanEck Vectors Semiconductor ETF gained more than 2%.

Deere — The agricultural machinery stock jumped more than 10% after Deere easily topped expectations for its fiscal first quarter. The company reported per-share earnings of $3.87 on $8.05 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting $2.14 per share and $7.22 billion in revenue. Deere’s net sales from its equipment unit were up 23% year over year.

Roku — Roku rose 3.8% in midday trading after it reported a quarterly per-share profit of 49 cents, compared to consensus forecasts of a 6 cents per share loss. The streaming video device maker’s sales numbers also topped forecasts with a 58% surge as consumers stuck at home during the pandemic.

Dropbox — Shares of Dropbox fell close to 2.5% around noontime in New York as better-than-expected earnings failed to offset underwhelming guidance. Profit came in 4 cents a share ahead of estimates, with quarterly earnings of 28 cents per share. Still, the company forecast full-year revenue below analysts’ estimates.

Palantir Technologies — Palantir rallied nearly 13% on Friday after investor Cathie Wood, whose picks have proved lucrative over the last year, said that she upped her bets on the data company. Wood’s Ark Innovation fund bought more than 5.2 million shares on Thursday, meaning that the holding is about 0.5% of its total weight.

Planet Fitness — Shares of the gym chain slipped more than 2.3% after Planet Fitness’ fourth-quarter earnings came in short of expectations. The company reported 17 cents in adjusted earnings per share, below the 23 cents per share expected by analysts, according to FactSet. Revenue was down 30% year over year.

— CNBC’s Pippa Stevens and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.

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