Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Exxon Mobil, GameStop, Palo Alto Networks, Blackstone & more
HS 03/06/2026
Here are the companies making headlines in midday trading. Quantum computing stocks – A slate of quantum computing plays slid Wednesday as investors cashed out after shares rallied in the prior session. Rigetti Computing lost 10%, D-Wave Quantum fell 7%, and IonQ fell 4%. IBM , which recently announced plans to invest more than $10 billion toward quantum computing, lost more than 7% and weighed on the Dow Industrials. GameStop — Shares of the brick-and-mortar video games retailer gained 6%. GameStop reported first-quarter revenue of $835.3 million, reflecting a 14% gain from a year earlier. The company’s board also approved a $2 billion share repurchase authorization. Lumentum , Coherent – Investors sold off the photonics stocks after two consecutive winning days. In the prior session, Coherent rose 17% and Lumentum gained nearly 14% on optimism around artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure. Coherent was last down almost 3% and Lumentum was off more than 8%. Energy stocks – Oil prices rose, lifting the energy sector of the S & P 500. West Texas Intermediate futures were last up nearly 2% after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNBC that the country and the U.S. are ready to attack Iran again if necessary. Exxon Mobil and Marathon Petroleum rose 3%, and APA Corp was last up 2%. Private equity firms — The group fell after Bloomberg News reported Partners Group, a Swiss-based private equity firm, capped withdrawals from one of its private equity funds. Blackstone and KKR tumbled more than 4%. Blue Owl Capital was off 3%. Palo Alto Networks — The cybersecurity stock fell almost 6%. Palo Alto posted stronger-than-expected revenue guidance for its current quarter and lifted its full-year revenue guidance. The company also posted fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings of 85 cents per share on $3 billion in revenue, beating the earnings of 80 cents and $2.94 billion in revenue that analysts had expected, per LSEG. GitLab — Shares lost 2% after the software company guided for adjusted earnings per share of 17 cents to 18 cents, while analysts polled by LSEG had penciled in 19 cents per share. GitLab also said that it would reduce its full-time workforce by approximately 14%, or 350 team members, and exit 22 countries. The company also expects to incur between $30 million and $35 million in pretax restructuring charges. Marvell Technology — The stock rose on Wednesday after it posted its best day ever on Tuesday, when it jumped 32%. Marvell was up almost 6%. Cboe Global Markets — The exchange was up 3% after a three-day decline in which the stock tumbled nearly 20%. Fears of what the introduction of perpetual futures to the U.S. may do to traditional exchanges has weighed on these stocks this week. Ulta Beauty — The beauty stock lost 4%. Though Ulta raised its full-year guidance on earnings to $28.36 to $28.80 per share, the range was inclusive of the FactSet consensus call for $28.65 a share. Ulta also reaffirmed its revenue growth expectations of 6% to 7% for the year, versus analysts’ estimate for an increase of 6.8%. Shake Shack — Shares were off 3% after Morgan Stanley and Raymond James downgraded the stock. Morgan Stanley moved its rating to equal-weight from overweight, while Raymond James moved its outlook to outperform from strong buy. Analysts at Raymond James said margin volatility has increased as beef and energy prices have risen. Medtronic — The medical device company was up almost 5% after it delivered better-than-expected revenues of $9.81 billion in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter. Adjusted earnings came in-line with estimates, while full-year earnings guidance for the current fiscal year missed expectations slightly. Yum Brands — Shares rose 2% after a Morgan Stanley upgrade to overweight from equal-weight. Analysts noted the stock is cheaply valued and should trade at a higher multiple thanks to a strong growth profile. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han and Nick Wells contributed reporting.
