By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks were falling on fading hopes for an end-of-the-year rally as investors worry about a possible recession. Here are the midday movers for Dec. 16.

• Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: ADBE) stock is up 3% after it reported better-than-expected profit and met expectations for revenue. It also provided a positive outlook for the current quarter.

• Guardant Health Inc (NASDAQ: GH) shares fell 30.6% after the maker of cancer-fighting devices and tests revealed that a trial of its DNA blood kit to detect colon cancer wasn't as effective as the stool sample kit sold by EXACT Sciences Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAS). Shares of Exact Sciences rose 16%.

• Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) stock rose 3.7% after JPMorgan upgraded the social media company, saying it believes costs are coming under control and is expecting to see revenue growth from here.

• Darden Restaurants Inc (NYSE: DRI) shares fell after the parent of Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse beat expectations for the recent quarter and raised the lower end of the range for its outlook.

• Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) shares were down 1.5% as the movie studio and theme park operator has high expectations for the release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to Avatar. Estimates say the latest film could take in $150 million in its opening weekend, which would rank it among the top releases of 2022.