Major Midday Stock Movements: Accenture Surge and Legal Decisions Affecting United Therapeutics
- Accenture shares soared 18% after strong fiscal fourth-quarter results.
- United Therapeutics gained 6% following a court ruling favoring its patent.
- Sigma Lithium saw a 16% drop due to a suspension of its operations amid legal delays.
Accenture, the global professional services firm, experienced an 18% surge in its stock price after revealing its fiscal fourth-quarter results. The company reported revenue of $18.7 billion, exceeding its previous guidance of $17.8 billion to $18.4 billion, as well as the FactSet consensus estimate of $18.3 billion. Additionally, Accenture’s earnings per share (EPS) of $3.29 surpassed analyst expectations.
McCormick’s third-quarter results also exceeded expectations, with adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share compared to the anticipated 76 cents, and revenue of $2.02 billion against an average estimate of $1.98 billion. However, McCormick’s shares fell more than 2% due to its ongoing acquisition process by Unilever, whose shares also dropped over 2%.
In the healthcare sector, McKesson reaffirmed its earnings per share guidance for fiscal 2027, which positively impacted its shares by a 4% increase. The firm is set to report its fiscal second-quarter results on November 4 and has extended its partnership with CVS Health to distribute pharmaceuticals until June 2032.
A Delaware federal court ruled that Liquidia’s lung treatment infringed a patent held by United Therapeutics, causing United Therapeutics shares to rise by 6%. BTIG upgraded United Therapeutics to a ‘buy’ rating, asserting that the legal victory likely sets a path for growth through 2027, while downgrading Liquidia to ‘neutral’ due to expected restrictions on marketing Yutrepia. Liquidia’s stock fell 15% following the court’s decision.
Shares of Constellation Energy increased by nearly 3% in response to a 20-year agreement with Amazon aimed at expanding generating capacity at a Maryland nuclear power plant. Synopsys, a software firm, boosted its shares by more than 8% after outlining its growth strategy during an investor day event, projecting 2027 revenue growth of 15%, reaching between $11.1 billion and $11.2 billion—higher than analysts’ predictions of $10.82 billion. Synopsys also announced a strategic partnership with OpenAI.
Brazilian lithium producer Sigma Lithium faced a 16% decline in its stock after temporarily suspending all mining and industrial operations while awaiting a legal decision. The suspension was a result of a 15-day delay by the Federal Court of Appeals in Brazil regarding the company’s legal defense.
Acuity Brands, which specializes in lighting and building management systems, saw its shares drop nearly 4% as its forward guidance on net sales growth was below Wall Street’s expectations. Conversely, BJ’s Restaurants shares increased approximately 5% following an upgrade from Mizuho, which raised its price target to $76 per share and adjusted Q3 same-store sales growth estimate from 4.6% to 5.5%.
Vicor’s shares surged by almost 10% after the company raised its third-quarter revenue growth forecast to over 30%, up from its prior estimate of at least 20%, driven by increased royalties from its first non-exclusive license with Vertical Power Delivery.
Lastly, Corteva announced the formal spinoff of its Vylor seed and genetic business, resulting in Corteva becoming a pure-play global crop protection company. This spinoff followed a court’s denial of California’s request to delay the separation, causing the remainder of Corteva’s stock to plummet by 84% post-spinoff.
News Courtesy of CNBC
