Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, October 30, 2018.
Check out the companies making headlines midday Wednesday:
Aurora Cannabis — Shares of Aurora Cannabis rose 10 percent in midday trading after the company announced that billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz will join as a strategic advisor. The company added that it has granted Peltz options to purchase 19.96 million common Aurora shares; if exercised, he would be the company's second-largest shareholder.
Boeing — Shares of Boeing fell 0.37 percent after Canada announced it will restrict commercial use of the Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 from arriving, departing, or overflying Canadian airspace. Canada joins a list of dozens of other nations that took steps to ground the 737 jets after the second crash of the model in two months happened over the weekend.
Express — Shares of Express dropped 5.57 percent after the clothing company's fourth-quarter results showed its same-store sales fell 6 percent, exceeding a Refinitiv estimate of a 5.6 percent decline. Express also reported revenue that missed estimates by 1.2 million, bringing in $628.4 million. The retailer's earnings beat estimates by 3 cents at 19 cents per share.
Vera Bradley — Shares of the fashion company were up nearly 20 percent after the company reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street estimates. The company posted a fourth-quarter profit of 25 cents per share, 1 cent higher than Refinitiv estimates. Vera Bradley's revenue for the quarter also topped expectations.
Switch — The data center company rose 7.2 percent after reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. Switch posted earnings of 5 cents per share, 2 cents higher than a Refinitiv estimate.
Fiat Chrysler — The automaker's shares fell 0.83 percent after the company recalled more than 800,000 vehicles, citing new emission guidelines from the Environmental Protection Agency.
J.P. Morgan Chase — Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase rose 0.8 percent after the banking giant announced it would expand into nine new U.S. markets, several of which are dominated by rivals Bank of America and Wells Fargo.
Juventus Football Club — Shares of the Italian soccer club surged more than 17 percent after superstar player Cristiano Ronaldo netted three goals against Atletico Madrid, sending them to the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
Oaktree Capital Group — Shares of asset manager Oaktree Capital surged nearly 12 percent after news broke that Brookfield Asset Management will buy a 62 percent stake in the company. The firms together will have about $475 billion in assets under management and $2.5 billion of annual fee-related revenue, according to a press release.
—CNBC's Yun Li, Nadine El-Bawab and Jessica Bursztynsky contributed to this report.
