Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday: Moderna , Merck — Shares of the pharmaceutical companies surged after a personalized cancer vaccine between the two companies showed positive results in a late-stage trial . Moderna’s skyrocketed 120%, while Merck’s jumped 10%. Pilgrim’s Pride — Shares rallied 15% after JBS, which owns more than 80% of the chicken producer, made a bid to acquire the remaining stock in the company. Pilgrim’s Pride was on pace for its best day since Aug. 13, 2021, when it jumped 21%. Gold miners — The group surged after an announcement by the Treasury Department to sharply increase government debt repurchases sent yields lower — giving gold a boost. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) jumped 9%, putting it on track for its best day since Nov. 4, 2022, when it advanced 10%. Coeur and Hecla led the way higher with gains of more than 13% each. Real estate, homebuilders — The Treasury’s announcement also gave a boost to real estate names and homebuilders. CoStar and Alexandria Real Estate Equities were both up more than 6%. Toll Brothers gained 7.1%, and D.R. Horton climbed 5.4%. Marvell Technology — The chipmaker was up more than 7% after it announced that it was giving Google permission to buy a $12 billion stake in the company as part of a deal to develop custom chips for the Alphabet subsidiary. Coinbase — Shares of the crypto trading platform surged 11% as bitcoin prices popped more than 5% to about $68,000. Robinhood advanced more than 6%, while bitcoin miners Riot Platforms and Mara Holdings gained 3% and 7%, respectively. Lowe’s — Shares were up more than 3% as Treasury yields fell. They were initially lower in early trading after the home improvement retailer after it updated its full-year sales and earnings outlook to the bottom end of its prior guidance. Revenue for the second quarter also missed expectations, and the company reported it saw pressure in home improvement spending. Target — The retailer gained 5% after reporting better-than-expected revenues in its second-quarter financial report and hiking its full-year guidance. Results were boosted by a $752 million boost to net earnings, or $1.65 per share, from tariff refunds. La-Z-Boy — The manufacturer of recliners tanked 16%. Fiscal first-quarter earnings came in at 43 cents per share on an adjusted basis, down 9% from the year-ago period. Adjusted operating income dropped 20% from a year earlier, landing at $18.7 million. La-Z-Boy said current quarter revenue would range from $500 million to $520 million, missing the FactSet consensus of $536.8 million. Mercury Systems — The maker of defense and aerospace electronics slid more than 6%. Mercury Systems said that revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2027 would approach about $1.1 billion, versus the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. Adjusted earnings of 37 cents in the fourth quarter missed the FactSet consensus call by one cent. Estee Lauder — The beauty care manufacturer and marketer rose more than 16% after it reported adjusted earnings and revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter that beat consensus estimates, according to analysts polled by FactSet. The company also reported that it expects earnings of between $3.10 to $3.35 per share in fiscal year 2027, about in-line with FactSet estimates for between $2.95 to $3.42.
