By Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Alphabet — The online search giant operator launched its latest quantum chip, called Willow. Alphabet said this marks a major breakthrough in the field of quantum computing, leading shares 4% higher. Quantum computing is considered as the next frontier for many tech companies. Oracle — Shares dropped 8% after the cloud infrastructure company fell short of Wall Street’s fiscal second-quarter expectations. The company also issued disappointing fiscal second-quarter guidance , saying it expects earnings per share to range between $1.50 and $1.54, versus an LSEG estimate of $1.57. Alaska Air Group — The airline carrier’s share price soared by more than 14% after Alaska Air issued better-than-expected guided fourth-quarter results higher and said it expects to grow profits by $1 billion through 2027. The company is also planning to launch nonstop flights next year to Tokyo and Seoul from its home hub of Seattle. SiriusXM — The radio operator tumbled 10% after the company appointed a new chief operating officer and announced cost-cutting initiatives. SiriusXM said it will target an initial incremental $200 million of annualized savings as it exits 2025, citing “marketplace headwinds.” The company also said it will move its marketing and other resources away from “high-cost, high-churn audiences in streaming.” Vail Resorts — Shares rose 3.4% after the ski resort operator beat revenue estimates and reported a smaller quarterly loss than analysts expected. Morgan Stanley and Barclays were among the firms that raised their price targets on the company after its financial report. HealthEquity — The health savings account custodian gave a disappointing revenue forecast, saying it expects revenue between $1.275 billion to $1.295 billion for fiscal 2026. That’s lower than the $1.32 billion analysts polled by FactSet had called for. In turn, shares lost more than 4%. Pinterest — Shares edged 3.4% lower after Piper Sandler downgraded the social media company to neutral from overweight, citing two quarters of mixed results from the company and a competitive advertising field suggested from the firm’s ad buyer survey. T-Mobile — The mobile communications services saw its stock rise 2.4% on positive comments from CEO Mike Sievert, who expressed optimism about the company’s growth plans. Centene — Shares of the managed health care company fell 3.6% after a downgrade to underperform from hold at Jefferies. The investment firm said Centene could be hurt by expiring federal health care subsidies and tighter government oversight, given its exposure to Affordable Care Act exchanges. MongoDB — Shares fell roughly 13.4% after the company’s CFO and COO stepped down, effective Jan. 31. The news overshadowed a better-than-expected third-quarter report and strong fourth-quarter guidance. eBay — Shares dropped more than 3% after Jefferies downgraded the online marketplace to underperform from hold. The firm cited decelerating advertising revenue and a China slowdown as headwinds to growth. American Airlines Group — The stock moved nearly 3% higher on the back of an upgrade at Bernstein to outperform from market perform. American Airlines’ ability to deleverage, due to an improving industry backdrop and the airline’s new credit card deal, improves its outlook, Bernstein said. CoreCivic — Shares advanced 3.4% on the back of a Wedbush Securities upgrade to outperform from neutral. Analyst Brian Violino said the private prison operator should benefit from mass deportations promised by President-elect Donald Trump, noting that the need for incremental Immigration and Customs Enforcement beds could be higher than previously expected. Toll Brothers — The home construction company tumbled 6%, despite posting a fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat. Toll Brothers reported per-share earnings of $4.63 on revenue of $3.33 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of $4.34 per share on revenue of $3.17 billion. Norwegian Cruise Line — Shares jumped 3.1% on the heels of Goldman Sachs’ upgrade to buy from neutral. Goldman said the cruise line has bettered its business and is deserving of a higher price-to-earnings multiple. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Samantha Subin, Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han, Jesse Pound and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
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