Hot Stocks: TSLA downgrade; AMZN, NOW climb; TMO falls on earnings; crypto stocks rise
Daniel Balakov
Following solid big-tech earnings, major market averages were mainly up in the midday session on Wednesday.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shares fell following an analyst downgrade, while Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) fell after Q1 results.
Meanwhile, the rise in bitcoin prices boosts the cryptocurrency stocks Marathon Digital (NASDAQ:MARA), Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR), Hive Blockchain (NASDAQ:HIVE), and Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT).
ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) shares jumped after Infosys announced its collaboration with the company.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares surged following upbeat Microsoft (MSFT) earnings.
Gainers

Coinbase Global (COIN) shares increased by more than 2% after bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices increased by 8%. Additionally, H.C. Wainwright initiated coverage of Coinbase Global (COIN) with a Buy rating, expecting the "dominant" U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange to profit from the burgeoning sector and gain market share this year.
Marathon Digital (MARA) +14.5%, MicroStrategy (MSTR) +9%, Hive Blockchain (HIVE) +9%, and Riot Platforms (RIOT) +9% all benefited from the rise in bitcoin prices.
Amazon (AMZN) shares climbed more than 3% following upbeat Microsoft (MSFT) earnings, increasing Amazon's optimism. In addition, the company began carrying out previously announced layoffs. It began laying off employees in the AWS Cloud Services Division.
ServiceNow (NOW) shares jumped about 2% after Infosys (INFY) announced collaboration with the company to launch the Infosys Live Operations platform. NOW will be announcing its quarterly earnings after the bell.

Decliners

Tesla (TSLA) fell almost 3% after Jefferies downgraded it to Hold from Buy and reduced its price target to $185 from $230 due to worries about the impact of aggressive pricing to gain market share on profitability.
Analyst Philippe Houchois warned the strategy to prioritize growing volume over higher sales margins, while logical, will also shift investor expectations. "However fascinating the investment case remains, relative price aggression is not supportive of a high multiple investment case while unfolding," he stated.
Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) plunged about 2% after reporting a ~9% Y/Y decline in its quarterly revenue driven by its underperforming life sciences segment.

To keep track of Wall Street's biggest winners and losers throughout the session, head over to Seeking Alpha's On The Move section.