Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Salesforce, Five Below, Okta, Costco and more

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A shopper loads a car with bottled water at a Costco Wholesalers in Chingford, Britain March 15, 2020.
John Sibley | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Salesforce — Shares of the cloud-based software company slid more than 8.3% after the firm announced the sudden departure of co-CEO Bret Taylor. The Dow component dragged down the 30-stock average during Thursday’s sell-off. Salesforce did report earnings and revenue that beat analyst expectations for the most recent quarter, however.

Costco – Shares of retailer Costco shed nearly 6.6% after the company reported softer-than-expected sales figures for November that could signal a weak consumer heading into the holiday shopping season. The company announced that sales in November rose 5.7% to $19.17 billion on the year, less than the growth seen in October and September.

Snowflake — Shares of Snowflake gained more than 7.8% after analysts from Morgan Stanley and MoffettNathanson reiterated their bullish stance on the stock’s long-term prospects. The cloud data platform provider reported earnings that beat expectations but provided light revenue guidance, which sent the stock lower after-hours Wednesday.

Okta — The identity management software provider’s stock surged more than 26% after the company shared a better-than-expected outlook and topped Wall Street’s estimates for the recent period. Analysts had anticipated a loss of 24 cents for the quarter.

Five Below – Shares of the discount retailer jumped 16.6% after Five Below beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for the latest quarter. The company reported 29 cents of earnings per share on $645 million of revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting 14 cents of earnings per share and $613 million of revenue. Fourth-quarter guidance also topped expectations. CEO Joel Anderson said in a statement that ticket and transaction metrics improved during the third quarter.

Victoria’s Secret — Shares fell 6.3% after Victoria’s Secret reported mixed results from its most recent quarter. The lingerie company reported earnings of 29 cents per share on revenue of $1.32 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting earnings of 23 cents per share on revenue of $1.33 billion. JPMorgan downgraded the stock to neutral from overweight after the results, citing trouble in the company’s core business.

PVH — Shares surged 9.4% after PVH surpassed Wall Street’s expectations and posted strong quarterly guidance, saying it expects full-year revenues to finish within the higher end of its expected range.

Splunk — Splunk’s stock added 17.8% on solid quarterly results and an upbeat full-year forecast. The company also noted benefits from cost-cutting.

Designer Brands – Shares of the footwear retailer tumbled 25.2% after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street estimates. It also cut its profit outlook, citing the volatile economic environment.

Dollar General – The discount retailer saw its shares drop 7.6% after posting earnings for the latest quarter than fell short of analysts’ expectations by 21 cents per share and lowered its annual forecast due to higher costs.

Aclaris Therapeutics — Shares jumped 4.2% after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Aclaris Therapeutics with a buy rating. The firm said the biopharma stock could jump more than 60% on a possible new treatment for immuno-inflammatory diseases.

Nutanix — Nutanix’s stock gained 8.1% amid a Bloomberg report that Hewlett Packard Enterprise has recently held potential takeover talks with the cloud computing company, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Lands’ End — Shares toppled more than 30% after the apparel retailer posted an unexpected loss for the recent quarter and revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Ally Financial — Ally Financial’s stock slipped 4% following a downgrade to underweight by Morgan Stanley, citing a cautious consumer credit outlook ahead.

GoodRx — The stock jumped 18.4% after Citi initiated coverage of the discount drugs app with a buy rating and said the selloff in shares of GoodRx is overdone. The firm’s target suggests potential upside of more than 60%.

— CNBC’s Sarah Min, Tanaya Macheel, Michelle Fox, Jesse Pound, Carmen Reinicke and Yun Li contributed reporting