Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Paramount Global — The media and entertainment company shed 2% after it agreed to merge with Skydance Media . Skydance and its financial backers will invest more than $8 billion into Paramount and to acquire National Amusements, Paramount’s controlling shareholder. Morphic Holding — Shares rallied 75% on news that Eli Lilly will acquire the biopharmaceutical company in a $3.2 billion deal . The deal will give Eli Lilly access to Morphic’s portfolio of treatments in development, such as those for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Shares of Eli Lilly advanced 1.3% on the news. Ideaya Biosciences — The stock surged 19% after the precision medicine oncology company announced it had received positive results from the phase 2 trial of its cancer treatment. The monotherapy expansion dose is being developed to treat patients with urothelial and non-small cell lung cancers. SolarEdge — The energy company rose 12% after Bank of America upgraded the stock to neutral from underperform. While the firm cited an attractive entry point, BofA said it is waiting for a “more tangible path for margin and cash flow recovery.” Corning — Shares popped 12% after the company boosted guidance for its second-quarter core sales to $3.6 billion from $3.4 billion. Corning also said its core earnings per share are expected at the high end of or “slightly above” guidance of 42 cents to 46 cents. ServiceNow — The cloud computing company dropped more than 4% after Guggenheim downgraded shares to a sell rating, citing doubts over expectations for an uptick in its artificial intelligence business in the second half. Columbia Sportswear — The stock gained 3.7% after receiving an upgrade to buy from hold at Stifel. The firm sees positive revenue inflection potential as trends such as outdoor participation and a focus on health and wellness grow. Boeing — Shares fell slightly after the airplane maker agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud related to the fatal 737 Max crashes, sparing Boeing from a trial. If the plea deal is accepted, Boeing would be branded as a felon, which could complicate its ability to sell products to the U.S. government, CNBC reported . Devon Energy — The stock fell 2% after the company announced it is set to acquire Grayson Mill Energy’s Williston basin business. The cash-and-stock deal, which is worth $5 billion, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter and add 307,000 net acres to its position in the Williston Basin, the company said. Gilead Sciences — The pharmaceutical stock rose 1.6% after Raymond James upgraded Gilead Sciences to outperform from market perform, saying the biotech company is poised for multiyear growth on the strength of its drug pipeline. — CNBC’s Samantha Subin, Pia Singh, Hakyung Kim, Sarah Min and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
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