DWAC - Hot Stocks: Trump's DWAC rallies on Musk/TWTR breakdown; META PIPR downgrades; UBER files leaked

Analyst downgrades played a role in Monday's midday action, including driving selling in Meta Platforms ( META ). The Facebook parent retreated after Needham turned bearish on the megacap.

Elsewhere, a separate downgrade weighed on Piper Sandler ( PIPR ). At the same time, the release of unflattering documents undercut shares of Uber ( UBER ).

Looking at the upside, Digital World Acquisition ( NASDAQ: DWAC ) saw midday gains. The SPAC slated to take Donald Trump's media company public received a boost from the breakdown of Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter.

Decliners

Meta Platforms ( META ) suffered downward pressure in the wake of a bearish turn from Needham. The company lowered its rating on the Facebook parent to Underperform from Hold , citing "deteriorating" fundamentals.

"We lower our estimates because we believe cost growth will far exceed revenue growth for the next 2 years," analyst Laura Martin argued. META retreated almost 4% following the downgrade.

Piper Sandler ( PIPR ) also lost ground following a downgrade. Shares of the investment bank fell about 5% after Wolfe cut the stock to Peer Perform from Outperform .

The list of midday decliners also included Uber ( UBER ). The stock fell around 4% after the release of leaked files that spotlighted some checkered actions in the company's past.

The files, which include texts and documents from a period between 2013 and 2017, showed such activities as the use of offshore tax havens and moves to block authorities from gathering evidence during raids.

Gainer

The news that Elon Musk has pulled out of his deal to buy Twitter sparked gains in the SPAC bringing Donald Trump's media company public. Digital World Acquisition ( DWAC ) rallied almost 14% in midday action.

The gains came as investors bet that DWAC will continue to have a competitive niche, with Trump still banned from Twitter. Speculation that Musk could reinstate the former president had weighed on DWAC.

To look at more of the day's biggest winners and losers, head over to Seeking Alpha's On The Move section .

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