Hot Stocks: AFRM, SQ fall on BNPL worries; DDOG downgrade; WB fine; NEOG deal with MMM

• A reappraisal of the Buy Now, Pay Later craze garnered attention during Tuesday's midday action, with an analyst comment driving down shares of Affirm (NASDAQ:AFRM) and Block (NYSE:SQ).
• Another analyst note prompted selling in Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG). Worries about the impact of higher interest rates on tech valuations spurred a downgrade.
• Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) represented another high-profile decliner during intraday trading. News of another regulatory action from Chinese authorities weighed on the stock.
• Looking at one of the day's notable gainers, Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) jumped on a deal to merge with 3M's (NYSE:MMM) food safety business.

Decliners

• Affirm (AFRM) dropped more than 6% in midday action as Mizuho took a cautious view of the Buy Now, Pay Later industry. The firm slashed its price target on AFRM to $140 from $180, citing potential risks from rising delinquencies for the BNPL business model.
• The slide also included Block (SQ), formally known as Square, which has a deal to acquire Afterpay (OTCPK:AFTPY). Mizuho noted that delinquent receivables nearly quadrupled at AFTPY. SQ slipped 2% on the news.
• Weibo (WB) also showed midday weakness, dropping 3% on news that the company faces a fine of more than $471K from a Chinese regulator. The penalty stems from claims the China-based social networking company published illegal information.
• An analyst downgrade put pressure on Datadog (DDOG). The stock dropped 6% after J.P. Morgan slashed its rating on DDOG to Underweight from Neutral. The firm blamed the prospects of upcoming rate hikes for its changed opinion, saying a higher rate environment will compress multiples.

Gainer

• Neogen (NEOG) rallied about 8% in intraday action following a deal to combine with 3M's (MMM) food safety business. Under the deal, MMM will split off its food safety unit and combine it with Neogen, forming a company valued at $9.3B.
• Looking for more of the day's top movers? Track Wall Street's biggest winners and losers at SA's On The Move section.

© seekingalpha. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors.