Here are some of the stocks making headlines in midday trading. Circle — Shares of the stablecoin issuer tanked about 19% after its rival Tether said it has hired an unnamed Big Four accounting company to audit its USDT reserves. SAP — The software provider’s share price slid 4% after JPMorgan trimmed its rating to neutral from overweight and dialed back its per-share price target to 175 euros (US$202.48), down from 260 euros (US$300.83). “SAP’s current cloud backlog is likely to decelerate further as the migration base matures, making a re-acceleration difficult to underwrite,” wrote analyst Toby Ogg. Applied Optoelectronics — Shares of the manufacturer of optical components surged 14% after the company announced that it received a new order from a major hyperscale customer for 800G data center transceivers. Peers in the optical manufacturing space Corning and Lumentum saw shares jump around 9% each. Netgear — The San Jose, Calif.-based maker of Wi-Fi routers and network switches surged 16% after the Federal Communications Commission banned all imports of consumer routers made abroad, saying they pose national security risks. Jefferies Financial Group — Shares of the investment bank rallied nearly 3% after The Financial Times, citing people familiar, reported that Japan’s second-largest lender, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, is planning a possible takeover of Jefferies. CNBC’s David Faber reported, citing sources, that Jefferies is not interested in selling . Apollo Global Management — The asset management giant fell 1% after it was revealed the company will limit withdrawals from its flagship private credit fund to less than half of requests. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apollo said it had redemption requests that totaled to 11.2% of shares outstanding in the first quarter, exceeding the 5% cap per quarter the fund allows. Smithfield Foods — The packaged meats stock jumped almost 5% on better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. Earnings from continuing operations came in at 83 cents on an adjusted basis, while revenue totaled $4.23 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a profit of 68 cents per share on revenue of $4.14 billion. Earnings guidance for the full year also exceeded estimates, and the company increased its quarterly dividend by 25% to 31 cents per share. FS KKR Capital — Shares fell 2% after Moody’s downgraded the business development company’s bond rating to junk, saying its asset quality challenges has resulted in weaker profitability. The ratings agency lowered it to Ba1 from Baa3. Ralph Lauren — The fashion company was upgraded to buy from neutral at Citi, which believes affluent consumers will help Ralph Lauren navigate the current macro volatility. Shares gained 1%. Estée Lauder — Shares of Estée Lauder were last down almost 10% after the beauty company confirmed that it is in discussions with Puig about a potential merger . — CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Davis Giangiulio, Fred Imbert, Yun Li and Tom Rotunno contributed reporting Markets shift and headlines fade, but the core principles of building long-term wealth remain constant. Join us for our third CNBC Pro LIVE, where investors of all backgrounds – from financial professionals to everyday individuals – come together to cut through the noise and gain actionable strategies for smarter, more disciplined investing. No matter where you’re starting from, you’ll leave with clearer thinking, stronger strategies. Enter your email here to get a discount code.
