Micron sinks on guidance, TripAdvisor to buy Liberty TripAdvisor: Morning Buzz

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Micron (MU) reported upbeat Q1 earnings and revenue, though the company provided a lower-than-expected outlook for Q2
• Darden (DRI) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and reiterated its FY25 earnings guidance
• TripAdvisor (TRIP) agreed to acquire Liberty TripAdvisor (LTRPA) with a transaction value of $435M
• Lennar (LEN) reported lower-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue
• Agco (AGCO) provided a lower-than-expected outlook for FY25 at its analyst meeting

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Deutsche Bank cites three key points in upgrade of HP Enterprise (HPE) to Buy
• Zoom Communications (ZM) upgraded at Jefferies, here’s why
• Jefferies upgraded Tapestry (TPR) to Buy
• C3 AI (AI) downgraded to Underweight at KeyBanc
• Micron (MU) downgraded to Neutral at BofA while Western Digital (WDC) cut to Hold at Benchmark on softening NAND pricing and extended pricing pressure

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• The United Auto Workers has reached an agreement in recent months with Rivian Automotive (RIVN) that would make it easier to unionize the company’s workforce, Bloomberg reports
• Tesla (TSLA) is in early talks with the authorities in the city of Austin, Texas, about its autonomous vehicle technology, Bloomberg says
• Workers at seven U.S. Amazon (AMZN) facilities walked off the job early in an effort to pressure the company into contract talks with their union, Reuters says
• Apple (AAPL) is in talks with Tencent (TCEHY) and ByteDance about integrating their AI models into iPhones sold in China, Reuters reports
• Activist investor Irenic Capital Management has built a stake in government contractor KBR (KBR) and plans to push the company to separate its segment that serves the private sector, WSJ says

4. MOVERS:

• Soho House (SHCO) higher in New York after receiving an offer to be acquired for $9 per share
• Mesoblast (MESO) gains after the FDA approved Ryoncil as the first mesenchymal stromal cell therapy in the United States
• Personalis (PSNL) increases after receiving a $50M investment from Merck (MRK) and extending its pact with Moderna (MRNA)
• Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) falls after announcing a 1.04M share offering
• Hims & Hers (HIMS) lower after the FDA issued a new decision determining the shortage of Eli Lilly’s (LLY) tirzepatide is resolved

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Lamb Weston (LW) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue missing consensus
• Steelcase (SCS) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for Q4
• MillerKnoll (MLKN) reported Q2 results, with management commenting, “We are pleased with our Q2 performance, which was in-line with our expectations”
• Conagra Brands (CAG) reported Q2 results and cut its guidance for FY25
• Cintas (CTAS) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.63%, or 268.08, to 42,594.95, the Nasdaq was up 0.89%, or 172.71, to 19,565.40, and the S&P 500 was up 0.73%, or 42.66, to 5,914.82.