Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Goldman Sachs, United, Discovery and more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America — Bank stocks led the market comeback on Friday as bond yields rebounded. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America climbed more than 3% each as the 10-year Treasury yield bounced 6 basis points to 1.35%. The benchmark yield tumbled to 1.25% at its low on Thursday, intensifying concerns about an economic slowdown.

American Airlines, United Airlines — Airline stocks rebounded on Friday after losses associated with the highly infectious delta Covid variant fueled worries about the global economic comeback. Shares of American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Air Group all rose more than 2.5%. Shares of United popped 2.8% in midday trading.

Carnival Corp., Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean — Shares of reopening plays like cruise operators rose on Fridays, clawing back losses from the previous session. Carnival climbed about 1.9%, while Norwegian Cruise Line popped 2%. Royal Caribbean rallied nearly 3%.

Discover Financial Services — The credit card stock rose 5.6% after Citi upgraded the stock to buy from neutral following a change in analyst coverage. Citi said Discovery “has the clearest near-term path to benefit from the return of consumer card spending and lending as pandemic-related benefits expire and elevated payment rates return to lower levels.”

General Motors — General Motors shares gained more than 4% after Wedbush initiated coverage of the stock with an outperform rating and $85 price target. That target implies an upside of more than 51% from Thursday’s close. “CEO Mary Barra along with other key executives has led the legacy auto company back to the top of the auto industry in the United States,” Wedbush’s Dan Ives said in a note.

Levi Strauss — Shares of Levi Strauss added over 2% after the retailer crushed Wall Street expectations in its fiscal second-quarter results. Levi reported adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $1.28 billion. Analysts expected earnings of 9 cents per share on revenue of $1.21 billion, according to Refinitiv.

Didi and U.S.-listed Chinese companies — Shares ride-hailing company Didi rose more than 5% Friday, reversing course from a sell-off earlier this week after Chinese regulators announced a cybersecurity review of the company last week, days after Didi’s public debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The U.S.-traded shares of several other Chinese companies also rebounded. Tencent Music Entertainment Group added 1.7%, and Pinduoduo gained 1.6%. Baidu and Alibaba climbed more than 3%.

Virgin Galactic — Shares of the space tourism company fell over 3% after Susquehanna raised its price target on Virgin Galactic’s stock to $45 from $20 but reiterated its neutral rating on the stock and said its price has run too far, too fast.

Signature Bank — The New York-based bank rose more than 5% after UBS reiterated its buy rating on it, driven in part by the company’s “early advantage” in crypto adoption combined with the reopening of New York City. Signature Bank is known for being friendly toward cryptocurrency businesses, which often find it challenging to secure banking relationships.

Bumble, Match Group — The dating service stocks rose on Friday after RBC Capital Markets initiated coverage of both Bumble and Match at outperform. The firm said in a note to clients that online dating still has significant growth ahead. Shares of Bumble rose about 4%, while Match Group added more than 2%.

AMC Entertainment — Shares of the movie-theater chain dropped 1.9% in midday trading as Wall Street analysts bemoaned the company’s decision not to issue more equity. AMC, a popular trade among Reddit users and now considered a “meme” stock, is making a “huge mistake for the shareholders to not allow the company to issue more stock at what we perceive to be highly inflated prices,” Loop Capital’s Alan Gould said in a note released Friday.

— CNBC’s Maggie Fitzgerald, Jesse Pound, Yun Li, Tom Franck and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting