Check out the companies making the biggest moves in midday trading: Microsoft — Shares rose nearly 4% after Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman said he has been accumulating stock in the software company since its the stock fell in the wake of its second-quarter earnings report. The hedge fund manger disclosed the investment, but not its size, in a lengthy post on Friday ahead of his company’s quarterly 13F filing. He argued its valuation was “highly compelling.” ServiceNow — The AI platform’s stock rose nearly 5% after the company struck a multiyear partnership with Experian. The companies plan to work together on developing autonomous AI agents. Ford — Shares fell about 7% after the automaker’s stock popped more than 20% in recent sessions as investors caught on to its battery storage ambitions tied to the broader AI trade . Analysts on Friday said recent gains appear driven more by enthusiasm around the planned business than to any near-term fundamentals. RBC analysts estimated the unit could eventually be worth $1 billion to $5 billion. Applied Materials — Shares fell about 2% despite the semiconductor equipment supplier reporting fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations on the top and bottom lines. Applied Materials earned $2.86 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $7.91 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of $2.66 on revenue of $7.65 billion. Chip stocks — A slew of semiconductor stocks were lower as the iShares Semiconductor ETF was on pace to break a six-week win streak. Shares of Marvell Technology fell 3%, while Intel ‘s tumbled nearly 7%. Shares of ASML and Arm were down about 5% and 8%, respectively. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices shed 4%. Cerebras Systems — The chipmaker’s stock fell 5% after surging 68% Thursday in its Nasdaq debut. Starbucks — Shares were up less than 1% after the company announced plans to lay off about 300 U.S. corporate employees in its third round of cuts since CEO Brian Niccol took over the company. Figma — Shares surged nearly 9% after the collaborative interface design tool posted first-quarter earnings of 10 cents per share, on an adjusted basis, on revenues of $333 million. Analysts polled by LSEG had expected per-share earnings of 6 cents on revenues of $313 million. Magnum Ice Cream — The ice cream and frozen desert manufacturer’s stock jumped more than 17% after Reuters reported Blackstone and CD & R are some of the firms considering a bid for the company. Potential bidders are waiting to see summer sales before making any moves, Reuters reported. DexCom — Shares of the diabetes management company jumped almost 8% after DexCom said it’s agreed with Elliott Investment Management to identify two new independent directors to join the board. Papa John’s International — The stock jumped more than 4% after Reuters reported the company’s largest franchisee is looking to buy the company. Irth Capital is working with the franchisee, who owns 10% of the company’s domestic establishments, to take the company private. Gemini Space Station — The Winklevoss-owned crypto exchange’s shares surged 10% after the company reported a $100 million strategic investment from Winklevoss Capital Fund. The company also topped revenue expectations for the first quarter and posted a narrower-than-expected loss than analysts anticipated, according to FactSet. Freeport McMoRan — Shares of the miner fell almost 5% as metals sold off across the board in Friday trading. Precious metals gold and silver fell around 3% and 9%, respectively. Industrial metal copper tumbled nearly 5%. — CNBC’s Nick Wells, Sarah Min and Tanaya Macheel contributed reporting
