A visitor views a titanium hybrid 2020 Ford Escape FWD small SUV at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada, Feb. 18, 2020.
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
Ford — Shares popped about 2% in midday trading after a CNBC report said both Ford and the United Auto Workers union are making headway on negotiations as the strike continues.
Squarespace — The website builder popped 4.2% after UBS initiated coverage of the stock at a buy. UBS said the company has a solid product suite and growing brand awareness.
Scholastic — The publishing and media company stock plummeted 13.2% after reporting an earnings miss on the top and bottom line. Scholastic reported an adjusted loss of $2.20 per share on $228.5 million in revenue, while analysts polled by FactSet forecast a loss of $1.35 per share and $268.79 million in revenue.
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Arm Holdings — The recently listed chip design stock lost 1.6% during Friday's trading session after Susquehanna initiated a neutral rating on the company in a Friday note. Shares popped nearly 25% during its Nasdaq debut Sept. 14 but are now trading just above the stock's $51 initial public offering price.
Seagen — Shares of the biotech firm rose 3.5% after the company reported positive results from a clinical trial for patients with previously untreated bladder cancer. The results showed the treatment improved both overall survival and progression-free survival, compared with chemotherapy.
Deere — Shares of the farming equipment manufacturer fell 1.7% after Canaccord Genuity downgraded shares to hold from buy. The firm mentioned headwinds including slowing growth for large agricultural equipment and normalizing dealer inventories.
Money Report
Chinese e-commerce stocks — U.S. shares of both PDD and Alibaba added roughly 4% and 5%, respectively, while JD.com stock climbed 2%. A report from Bloomberg said earlier Friday that the Chinese government is considering loosening foreign investment cap rules in publicly traded domestic companies.
Activision Blizzard — Shares of the video gaming firm added about 2% after U.K. regulators said a new deal proposal from Microsoft cleared major antitrust worries.
— CNBC's Pia Singh, Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim and Samantha Subin contributed reporting.
