Investors are keeping a close eye on several companies that have been making headlines in midday trading. UBS' reiteration of a buy rating drove Skechers' 2.6% increase in shares, while Palantir Technologies' $250 million contract with the U.S. Army sent shares up by nearly 2%. PepsiCo's third-quarter earnings beat saw them gain 2.2%, and solar companies experienced a positive rally, with SolarEdge and First Solar both rising by 4.5% and 5%, respectively. Electronic Arts jumped 3% after being upgraded to a buy rating by Bank of America and optimism for the rebrand of the company's FIFA franchise. Defense stocks, such as L3Harris Technologies and Northrop Grumman, eased off by 1%, though they had risen the day before due to the start of the Israel-Hamas war. Rivian shares soared 5% on the heels of being upgraded to buy from neutral by UBS. Truist Financial surged 6% as rumors circulated that the company is in talks with private equity firm Stone Point on a potential $10 billion sale of its insurance brokerage. Block could see 81% upside according to Baird, leading to a 5.5% rise in shares. Akero Therapeutics' cirrhosis drug failing to meet a primary benchmark in its Phase 2B study caused shares to plunge 67%, and video game software company Unity Software saw a 3.2% increase in shares following the announcement of John Riccitiello's retirement and James Whitehurst's appointment as interim CEO. Arm Holdings was offered bullish calls from Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan, eliciting a 2% increase. Lastly, D.A. Davidson upgraded Ameris Bancorp to buy from neutral and upped its price target by $1, leading to a 2.9% rise in shares.—CNBC's Pia Singh, Tanaya Macheel, Jesse Pound, Michelle Fox, Lisa Kailai Han and Samantha Subin contributed reporting.
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