Earnings news remained a critical driver of individual stock movement in Wednesday's midday trading. New York Times ( NYSE: NYT ) represented one of the notable movers, soaring in the wake of Street-beating quarterly results.
Elsewhere, Fortinet ( FTNT ) also rallied on its quarterly update. On the other side of the spectrum, Black Hills ( BKH ) dropped amid a disappointing forecast delivered as part of the firm's earnings release.
Looking at non-earnings headlines, Tripadvisor ( TRIP ) gained ground after Bank of America turned bullish on the online travel company.
Gainers
The release of better-than-expected earnings news sent New York Times ( NYT ) sharply higher, with shares of the newspaper publisher surging more than 11% in midday trading. The company reported non-GAAP EPS of $0.59, exceeding expectations by more than a third.
NYT also reported Q4 revenues of $667.5M, a 12% improvement from last year. Looking ahead, the company projected that its Q1 digital-only subscription revenues would rise 13%-16% from last year.
Fortinet ( FTNT ) also gained ground following its quarterly update. The cybersecurity firm beat expectations with its Q4 profit, with revenue that rose 33% from last year.
For Q1, FTNT forecast revenue of $1.18B-$1.22B, compared to analysts' consensus of $1.18B. On the earnings news, shares advanced almost 12% in intraday action.
Tripadvisor ( TRIP ) was another midday standout, rising by 4% following a bullish analyst comment . Bank of America issued a double upgrade on the online travel company, raising its rating to Buy from Underperform. The firm cited strong U.S. demand, a recovery in Europe and accelerating growth of the company's Viator business.
Decliner
Weak guidance included in the firm's latest earnings report spurred selling in Black Hills ( BKH ), with the stock falling 10% in midday action. While the company topped projections with its Q4 results, including revenue that rose 41% from last year, the firm cut its 2023 guidance.
For the year, BKH predicted EPS of $3.65-$3.85, reduced from its prior forecast of $4.00-$4.20. Analysts were looking for a figure of $4.11.
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Hot Stocks: NYT, FTNT rise on earnings; BKH slumps; TRIP climbs on analyst upgrade