Shares that make the most important strikes round noon: Hole, Nordstrom, Deere, VMware, and extra

A Gap store in New York, August 2, 2020.

Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Check out the companies that are making headlines in midday trading.

Gap, Nordstrom – Gap and Nordstrom stocks fell after the companies reported disappointing quarterly results late Tuesday, citing rising labor costs, inventory levels, purchasing costs and factory closings as challenges. Gap stocks lost 24%. Nordstrom crashed 29%. Other retailers' stocks also suffered on Wednesday. Tapestry fell 4%, Ralph Lauren lost 2%, and PVH slipped more than 1%.

Autodesk – The software company's shares fell more than 15% despite seeing sales and earnings spike in the most recent quarter. Autodesk released fourth quarter earnings and revenue projections that were well below estimates.

HP Inc. – HP shares rose more than 10% after a better-than-expected earnings report. The company posted adjusted quarterly earnings of 94 cents per share, 6 cents above Refinitv's consensus estimate. The computer maker also looked good given solid consumer and business demand for personal computers and printers.

Deere & Co – Shares in the farm equipment maker rose roughly 5% after the company posted an unexpectedly strong quarterly profit. Deere posted earnings of $ 4.12 per share for the last quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $ 3.90, Refinitiv said. Deere said solid demand for its products helped cushion the effects of a month-long workers' strike. However, sales were slightly below analyst forecasts.

Dell Technologies – Dell stock rose 4.8% after announcing adjusted quarterly earnings of $ 2.37 per share, which broke the consensus estimate of $ 2.18 amid growing demand for its computers and servers and released a stronger than expected forecast for the current quarter.

VMware – The cloud computing company's stocks rose nearly 2% after the company posted a quarterly slap in revenue and earnings and given an optimistic forecast for the current quarter as global demand for cloud computing services soars.

Pure Storage – The technology and data storage company's stocks rose 13% after beating third-quarter earnings estimates and posting a better-than-expected quarterly revenue outlook.

Chevron – The energy giant's shares rose nearly 1% after RBC upgraded the company to an outperformance rating. The company said Chevron could benefit from a "strong commodity cycle" in the coming years, adding that the company "has a lot more stability in its portfolio than its competitors". RBC believes the stock can rise nearly 25% from Tuesday's closing price. Other names in the industry also rose on Wednesday, with Devon Energy and Diamondback Energy gaining more than 3% and Baker Hughes gaining 1.5%.

Buy Now, Pay Later Stocks – Installment names rose towards Thanksgiving and much of the Christmas shopping season. This year, shoppers are expected to spend more on gifts due to higher prices and product shortages. Confirm increased 4%. Afterpay, which Square is expected to acquire to close in 2022, gained 3%. Shares in Marqeta, a provider of Buy Now Pay Later solutions, rose nearly 10%.

– CNBC's Pippa Stevens, Yun Li and Hannah Miao contributed to the coverage