Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Akamai Technologies, Genius Sports, People Inc & more
Akamai Technologies rose 5% after a $11.6B deal with Anthropic and a warrant issuance. Atlas Energy Solutions gained 17% on AI lab agreements. Genius Sports jumped 13% with an overweight rating from JPMorgan. Twilio fell 6% after HSBC downgraded it. People Inc. surged 10% on MGM Resorts acquisition interest. Scholastic dropped 9% on a wider Q1 loss. Costco gained 2.7% on better-than-expected earnings. Microsoft rose 3% with a refreshed Copilot app. Meta fell 3% after a recent rally.
How this was made

The 30-second read
Why it matters
The article aggregates several independent news items, each affecting individual stocks, but the overall market impact is modest.
Market read
Multiple large‑cap stocks moved significantly on fresh corporate news, offering short‑term trading opportunities.
What to watch
Potential regulatory scrutiny on AI partnerships and long‑term integration costs are not discussed.
Background
Midday market snapshot covering the biggest price movers and their catalysts.
Ticker impact
Akamai announced a seven-year contract and $11.6 billion deal with Anthropic, driving a 5% price rise.
Short‑term upside as investors price the large AI partnership.
Large AI deal and warrant issuance signal future revenue growth.
HSBC cut Twilio's rating to sell, contributing to a 6% decline.
Further downside if other analysts follow suit.
Sell rating reflects perceived overvaluation.
Scholastic reported an adjusted loss of $3.63 per share for Q1, sending the stock down 9%.
Short‑term pressure remains unless guidance improves.
Loss widening and revenue decline hurt outlook.
Costco posted Q4 earnings of $6.60 per share, beating expectations and lifting the stock 2.7%.
Likely modest upside as results exceed forecasts.
Better‑than‑expected earnings reinforce growth narrative.
Microsoft released a refreshed Copilot app, prompting a 3% share rise.
Potential upside as AI adoption expands.
New Copilot version positions Microsoft against Anthropic.
Meta fell more than 3% as traders took profits after a 12% weekly gain driven by its Muse AI product.
Short‑term pullback likely; long‑term trend depends on AI adoption.
Large weekly gain invites profit‑taking pressure.
Market effects
AI‑related contracts boost cloud and data‑analytics stocks; earnings beats support consumer‑discretionary and retail sectors.
U.S. equities see broad movement as multiple large‑cap names react to fresh news.
Highlights growing AI spending worldwide, influencing tech valuations globally.
Counterpoint
Some of the price moves may be overreactions; underlying fundamentals remain unchanged for several names.
Key entities
- companyAkamai Technologies
Cloud computing firm securing AI contract.
- companyGenius Sports
Sports data provider receiving JPMorgan coverage.
- companyPeople Inc.
Publishing group linked to potential MGM bid.


