Stocks rose Wednesday after jobless claims fell more than expected and durable goods orders also declined.
These stocks made moves Wednesday:
Nvidia
(NVDA) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.02 a share, easily topping analysts’ forecasts of $3.37, while revenue of $18.1 billion set a record. Data center revenue in the period rose 279% from a year earlier to $14.5 billion. For the fourth quarter,
Nvidia
issued a revenue forecast range with $20 billion at the midpoint, above the consensus of $18 billion. Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said on a conference call that Nvidia’s sales to China and other destinations affected by the U.S. government’s export restrictions were expected to “decline significantly” in the fourth quarter, but the “decline will be more than offset by strong growth in other regions.” Shares of the chip maker fell 2.5%.
Microsoft
(MSFT) shares rose 1.3% after the announcement that Sam Altman would be returning to OpenAI as chief executive.
Microsoft
is the largest investor in OpenAI. Altman was fired by the previous board of OpenAI last Friday, causing the majority of OpenAI’s employees to threaten to resign. That left Microsoft scrambling to contain the fallout by offering to hire OpenAI’s staff. Microsoft had announced it was hiring Altman to lead a new advanced AI research team.
Deere
(DE) reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates but the agricultural equipment maker issued an outlook for fiscal 2024 that was below expectations. The stock dropped 3.1%.
Travel stocks such as
United Airlines
(UAL),
American Airlines
(AAL), and
Carnival
(CCL) were rising on the day before Thanksgiving, which is one of the busiest travel days of the year. United was up 0.9%, American gained 1.5%, and Carnival rose 1.9%.
HP Inc.
(HPQ) was up 2.8% after the personal computer and printer maker’s earnings report continued to show the effects of weak demand, but the company said it sees a turnaround coming in the year ahead.
Autodesk
‘s (ADSK) third-quarter earnings and revenue beat analyst estimates, and the software company raised its forecast for the fiscal year ending in January.
Autodesk
said it sees revenue rising 9% to between $5.45 billion and $5.465 billion, boosting the range from a previous forecast of $5.405 billion to $5.455 billion. Guidance for billings was unchanged, with the company targeting a range of $5.075 billion to $5.175 billion. Shares fell 6.9%.
Urban Outfitters
(URBN) reported third-quarter earnings and sales that topped expectations. But the retailer noted during its conference call it was seeing a “slight moderation in demand” that started early last month. The company also was less optimistic about its namesake
Urban Outfitters
stores. The stock fell 12%.
Third-quarter adjusted earnings at
Guess
(GES) were lower than expected and the retailer cut its fiscal-year profit and revenue outlooks. The stock fell 12%.
Nordstrom
(JWN) posted third-quarter adjusted profit of 25 cents a share, beating analysts’ forecasts of 12 cents. Chief Executive Erik
Nordstrom
said the retail company was headed into the holiday shopping season in “a favorable inventory position” but was seeing “continued uncertainty and softening consumer spend.” Nordstrom fell 4.6%.
Virgin Galactic
(SPCE) was downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at
Morgan Stanley
and the price target was reduced to $1.75 from $4. Shares of the space tourism company declined 6.6% to $1.99.
Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com
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