Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Novavax, Shake Shack, Tesla & more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: 

Novavax — The biotech stock soared 31.6% after the company announced that it was awarded $1.6 billion in funding from the federal government to help develop its Covid-19 vaccine candidate. The company said it could possibly deliver the vaccine by the end of the year.

Shake Shack — Shares of the restaurant chain fell 6.6% on Tuesday after the company announced its sales numbers for the second quarter, which showed a 49% decline in same-store sales compared with last year. The company said that the speed of its sales recovery is uncertain due to the “ongoing volatility related to COVID-19” and that stores that reopened in June still saw “significantly reduced sales volumes.” The company also said that nationwide protests and the associated curfews took a bite out of second-quarter sales.

United, American, Delta and Southwest Airlines — Shares of the major U.S. airline companies fell across the board in midday trading as another wave of coronavirus angst checked travel stocks. United and American dropped 7.5% and 5%, Delta lost 5% and JetBlue shed 2.5% as investors grew more worried about Covid-19 infections and government efforts to restrict transit and business. Southwest also declined by 3.8%. Airlines have been one of the hardest-hit industries as people refrain from vacations and non-essential travel.

Tesla — Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose 1.3% to hit an all-time intraday high. Morgan Stanley auto analyst Adam Jonas raised his base case price target and bull case target on the stock to $740 and $2,070 respectively, although he did reiterate his underweight rating based on longer-term concerns.

Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises — Shares of cruise lines dropped on Tuesday as investors ditched riskier stocks on concerns about an uptick in coronavirus cases. Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line fell 5.3% and shares of Carnival Corp. dropped 6.7%. Royal Caribbean ticked 5% lower.

Nikola — Shares of the battery-electric and hydrogen-powered truck maker slid 17.8% after RBC initiated coverage on the stock with a sector perform rating. “Still more of a business plan than business … truck specs look attractive, but real-world driving/tech applications unproven. As such, biz model economics are illustrative,” the firm said. RBC’s $46 target is about 6% below where the stock closed on Monday.

Gap, Kohl’s, Nordstrom — Shares of retailers ticked lower on Tuesday as an increase in coronavirus cases in the U.S. worried investors about reopening plans. Gap fell 4.3%, and Kohl’s and Nordstrom both lost more than 3%. TJX Companies lost 3.5%.

MGM Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts — Casinos stocks fell on Tuesday as coronavirus spread dented sentiment. MGM Resorts and Wynn Resorts lost 3.4% and 4.3% and Las Vegas Sands fell 4.3%. 

— With reporting from CNBC’s Pippa Stevens, Yun Li, Jesse Pound and Tom Franck.