Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during afternoon trading on Friday:
UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH): Reports that the Department of Justice is investigating UnitedHealth Group’s (UNH) Medicare billing practices have continued to hammer the stock, sending shares lower by nearly 9% on Friday. The civil fraud investigation, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, examines how UnitedHealth records diagnoses that boost payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Celsius (CELH): Shares of the energy drink maker surged Friday after announcing a $1.8 billion deal to acquire rival Alani Nutrition in a transaction expected to close in 2025’s second quarter. Celsius stock soared by more than 30% as the plans became public. The deal is Celsius’s largest acquisition and highlights the power of social media branding and influencer partnerships, both key to Alani Nu’s success.
Block (XYZ): The financial services company is still reeling from an earnings miss after the bell on Thursday. Stocks continued to slide in the afternoon session Friday, falling 16%. For the fourth quarter, the parent company of Cash App and Square fell short of expectations for net revenue ($6.03 billion vs. $6.28 billion expected) and adjusted earnings ($0.71 vs. $0.89 expected).
Novo Nordisk (NVO): Shares of the pharmaceutical company rose nearly 6% Friday after the Food and Drug Administration said that shortages of their popular weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic had been resolved. Relatedly, the telehealth company Hims & Hers (HIMS), which has been selling a copycat weight-loss drug during the shortage, nosedived Friday, losing 22%.