Companies making the biggest premarket moves
Here are some of the names moving in the premarket:
- Tesla – The electric vehicle maker rose nearly 8% after reporting record fourth-quarter revenue and a decline in profit. CEO Elon Musk said the company could potentially produce 2 million cars this year.
- Las Vegas Sands — The hotel and casino operator rose about 4%, despite the company reporting a weaker-than-expected fourth quarter. Wall Street analysts cited upbeat comments on the company’s earnings announcement about its reopening in Macau for their upbeat outlook on the stock.
- American Airlines – Strong holiday demand and high airfares helped American Airlines’ fourth-quarter earnings beat Wall Street expectations. The airline is up more than 1% in premarket trading.
– Michelle Fox
JPMorgan DowngradeEVgo
JPMorgan downgraded EVgo shares to overweight from neutral, citing headwinds for the company’s long-term growth.
“We continue to like the company’s strategy of having a core focus on city and suburban charging in good locations with notable partnerships with vehicle OEMs, ride-sharing and autonomous vehicle companies,” wrote analyst Bill Peterson. “However, we believe network throughput growth will likely be muted due to slower site growth.”
Higher inflation and input costs, as well as permitting delays and supply chain bottlenecks mean the company’s growth prospects remain difficult.
The stock was up 2.1% premarket despite the downgrade.
UBS downgrades Pfizer, citing slower product pipeline
UBS has downgraded Pfizer shares to neutral from a buy rating as Covid-19 stabilizes and the company’s pipeline slows.
“While we see minimal downside from here, the lack of catalysts (see inside) and the potential for further downside to the COVID estimates is driving our move to the sidelines,” analyst Colin Bristow wrote in a note Thursday.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
– Sarah Min
Southwest declines on a bigger than expected loss
Southwest Airlines shares are down more than 2% premarket after the company posted a $220 million loss last quarter as it grappled with the aftermath of its year-end Christmas debacle.
The airline reported an adjusted loss of 38 cents a share on revenue of $6.17 billion. Analysts had expected a loss of 12 cents a share on sales of $6.16 billion. Southwest said the winter storm meltdown contributed to an $800 million pre-tax profit drop.
Southwest falls on lost earnings
European markets are rising as positive momentum builds
European markets made headway on Thursday, building on positive momentum from the previous trading session.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.6% in early trade, with financial services adding 1.3% to the leading gains as most sectors and major bourses moved into positive territory.
Markets were buoyed this week by data showing improved business sentiment in Germany and a pick-up in euro-zone services and manufacturing activity, prompting optimism that a euro-zone recession might be avoided.
CNBC Pro: Lithium is in for a strong year — and China’s reopening will boost this stock, analyst says
Thanks to China’s reopening, things are looking up for the electric vehicle industry — particularly in the second half of the year, says an analyst.
Corinne Blanchard, vice president of lithium and clean tech equity research at Deutsche Bank, names a top stock pick.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Wheat Tan
CNBC Pro: Want to cash in on China’s reopening? Bank of America and UBS have some less obvious stock picks
Stocks in certain key sectors directly related to China’s reopening, such as B. Domestic consumption and travel have performed well in recent months.
Investors looking to gain exposure to these stocks may find them unpalatable at current valuations. But there could be another way to gamble the reopening, with Bank of America and UBS after identifying a number of less obvious beneficiaries outside of China.
Pro subscribers can read more here.
– Zavier Ong
CNBC Pro: Wall Street majors share when global stock markets could bottom and by how much
As stocks continue their rally, several major financial institutions are now forecasting a significant downturn in global equity markets.
The S&P 500 index is up more than 10% since its lows in October last year. In Europe, the STOXX 600 has gained more than 15% over the same period.
But some investment banks say those gains are now at risk amid concerns that the lagged impact of monetary tightening will weigh on profits and lead to a contraction in profit margins this year.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read when and by how much the market is likely to bottom here.
— Ganesh Rao
IBM could take over shares of competitors, says Link
Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors, saw positive results in IBM’s fourth quarter, which saw earnings meet expectations while revenue beat estimates.
“Software up 8%, consulting up 9%, infrastructure up 7%. All three fought. The software line was certainly a very important part given what we received from Microsoft last night. So I think they’re getting involved. Red Hat is absolutely participating,” Link said on Closing Bell: Overtime. Link owns shares in IBM.
Despite the results, IBM slumped about 2% in extended trading. Link said she could strengthen her position.
“The stock is very cheap with a good dividend yield. So if for some reason it’s cheap, I’m a buyer,” Link said.
The company said Wednesday it would cut 3,900 jobs, about 1.5% of its workforce.
Tesla gains in after-hours trading on earnings hit
— Lora Kolodny, Alex Harring
Chevron adds 2.5% after buyback and dividend announcement
Energy giant Chevron is up 2.5% in after-hours trading after it announced a $75 billion share buyback program and a dividend increase on Wednesday night.
The buyback program will take effect on April 1 with no set expiration date, according to a press release. The dividend increase increases Chevron’s payout per share from $1.42 to $1.51. This will be distributed on March 10th.
Chevron’s market cap was about $350 billion as of Wednesday’s close, meaning the buyback would represent more than 20% of the company’s stock at current prices.
Stocks make the biggest moves after hours
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves after hours:
- ServiceNow — The software stock plummeted 4% after ServiceNow released its latest quarterly earnings report. ServiceNow posted earnings per share of $2.28, beating a Refinitiv guidance of $2.02 per share. Revenue, meanwhile, matched a consensus estimate of $1.94 billion.
- Levi Strauss – The denim company rose 7% after its profit and revenue for the fourth quarter beat expectations. The company also shared full-year guidance of earnings per share of between $1.30 and $1.40, compared to StreetAccount’s estimate of $1.35.
- Las Vegas Sands — Shares of the casino operator rose more than 4% after Las Vegas Sands released its latest quarterly results. The company lost 19 cents a share on revenue of $1.12 billion. Analysts were expecting a loss of 9 cents a share on sales of $1.18 billion. However, the company’s adjusted real estate EBITDA of $329 million beat a StreetAccount forecast of $319 million.
The full list can be found here.
– Alex Harring
Stock futures are nearly flat
When futures trading started, the major indices were trading slightly bearish, but close to the zero line.
Futures linked to the Dow lost 0.08%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.09% and 0.04%, respectively.
– Alex Harring