C3.ai (AI) had fallen 15% Wednesday after closing down more than 26% on Tuesday after short seller Kerrisdale Capital published a letter to the artificial intelligence software company’s auditors alleging a series of accounting irregularities, including that it has been overstating revenue and margins. C3.ai denied any wrongdoing and said that Kerrisdale was misconstruing its financial filings.

Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL) tumbled 10% after telling investors that its end of quarter total deposits were $47.6 billion compared with $53.6 billion as of December 31. The stock was initially down over 19% after the regional bank issued a business update without providing an exact deposit balance.

Albemarle (ALB) fell 6.7% after shares of the lithium giant were downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA.

Tesla

(TSLA) was down 3.3% as investor sentiment over the electric-vehicle industry wavered following commentary from companies in the sector throughout the week on EV demand and supply constraints. News that

Ford Motor

(F) was losing half of the EV purchase tax credit for two of its electric vehicles also was hitting shares of EV makers and traditional auto makers with EV divisions. Ford tumbled 2.2%,

General Motors

(GM) declined 1.9%,

Lucid Group

(LCID) dropped 2.7%, and

Rivian Automotive

(RIVN) was down 4.8%.

Simply Good Foods

(SMPL), the parent company of health foods brands Atkins and Quest, reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and sales that beat analysts’ estimates, but said full-year gross margin would decline more than previously expected due to higher supply-chain costs. The stock declined 5.9%.

First Citizens Bancshares

(FCNCA) stock jumped 5.1% after a UBS analyst double upgraded shares of the regional bank to Buy from Sell on confidence in what is to come following its purchase of Silicon Valley Bank.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rose 4% after the healthcare giant said it proposed to pay at least $8.9 billion to settle claims that its talcum powder causes cancer. J&J also said that its subsidiary, LTL Management, which was set up to handle the litigation, would refile for bankruptcy protection and be funded with $8.9 billion over 25 years to cover talc liabilities. J&J hasn’t admitted to any wrongdoing.

Conagra Brands

(CAG) stock gained 2.9% after the processed food manufacturer reported sales and earnings for its fiscal third quarter that beat Wall Street estimates after raising prices to offset inflationary pressures. The company also raised its full year earnings outlook.

FedEx

(FDX) rose 1.4% after announcing it will be raising its annual dividend by 10%, or 44 cents a share, to $5.04 a share. FedEx also said it was consolidating all of its operating companies into “one organization,” meaning FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Services will come together and operate as one unit.

Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com and Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com