Midday movers: First Republic, Meta Platforms, Novo Nordisk and more

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks rallied on Tuesday after inflation data stoked hopes the Federal Reserve would be less aggressive with interest rates when it meets next week and bank stocks led the indexes higher. Here are the midday movers for March 14.

• First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) shares rebounded after a sharp sell-off on Monday. They were up 41% at midday. Shares of PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW) were up 51%, while KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY) shares were up more than 11% and Comerica Inc (NYSE:CMA) rose 5.9%.
• Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) shares rose 6.5% after the social media giant announced plans to lay off another 10,000 workers, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said economic uncertainty could linger.

• Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) shares rose 1.4% after the pharmaceutical company said it would slash the price of its insulin and related products by as much as 75%, following on a similar announcement by Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY). President Joe Biden has urged drug makers to cut the price of insulin.

• Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN) rose 0.2% after the meat processor said it was closing two chicken plants in May, a move that will affect 1,700 workers. The demand will be shifted to other Tyson plants.

• United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) shares fell 3.9% after it said weaker demand and higher fuel costs in the first quarter would lead to a per-share loss for the period versus an earlier forecast for a profitable quarter.