Pre-Market:Pre-Market
Pre-Market active stocks
Gainers
- Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) shares climbed by 15% following an agreement with Aldevron, which would purchase a global exclusive license to Codexis’ Codex HiCap RNA Polymerase. The arrangement offers Aldevron manufacturing and commercialization rights, while Codexis receives compensation for technical milestones, commercial milestones, and sales-based royalties. The alliance seeks to provide a smooth transition for clients during the changeover phase. Aldevron is a subsidiary of Danaher Corp. (DHR).
- Pagaya (NASDAQ:PGY) shares jumped 8.6% after Jefferies launched coverage of the fintech business with a ‘buy’ recommendation, saying its artificial intelligence-driven technology has positioned it for continued success.
- Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) shares jumped 4% after Piper Sandler updated its position on the sportswear retailer to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’, in the aftermath of last month’s solid quarterly reports.
- Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) shares climbed 3.9% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the concert organizer to ‘overweight’ from ‘equal weight’,citing the solid fundamentals witnessed in the music and live events industry.
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) stock jumped 2.2% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) purchased approximately 10.5 million shares of the oil major for around $588.7 million.
Losers
- Ocular Therapeutix (NASDAQ:OCUL) shares dropped over 18% following a public offering of 30.8M shares for $3.25 per share, below the current price of $3.94. The business plans to earn $100.1M in gross proceeds, with underwriters having a 30-day option to purchase an additional 4.62M shares. The cash will be utilized for Phase 3 clinical development of AXPAXLI for wet AMD, supporting other clinical initiatives, and company objectives. The offering is projected to end around December 18, 2023.
- Mesa Air (NASDAQ:MESA) shares plummeted over 11% after the small airline stated it will delay its latest results announcement for up to 15 days, without offering a reason.
- Pembina Pipeline (NYSE:PBA) shares plummeted over 5% following the acquisition of Enbridge’s (ENB) holdings in joint ventures for C$3.1B. Despite estimates of modest integration risk, Pembina anticipates producing C$225M to C$250M in new, low-risk, fee-based cash flow. Upon completion, Pembina will own 100% equity interests, taking the role of operator. The deal is estimated to be immediately accretive to Pembina’s adjusted cash flow per share. To fund the acquisition, Pembina has collaborated with underwriters to issue 26M Subscription Receipts, equal to about $1.1B, offered to the public in Canada and the United States.
- Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) stock fell 3.2%: Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) shares slumped 3.2% after the business software giant announced it was facing regulatory scrutiny over its subscription models and anticipated annual and quarterly sales below projections.
- Nucor (NYSE:NUE) shares slumped 2.4% after the steelmaker estimated that fourth-quarter earnings would fall below the previous quarter’s level, citing weaker pricing and fewer volumes.
Stocks in focus
Moderna (MRNA)/Merck (MRK)
Shares of Moderna (MRNA) soared about 11% in pre-market trading while that of Merck (MRK) were little changed, after the firms announced an mRNA-based skin cancer treatment demonstrated good survival rates in patients after around three years. As per the follow-up results from the mid-stage study, Moderna’s (MRNA) experimental medication mRNA-4157 (V940) in conjunction with Merck’s (MRK) Keytruda decreased the risk of recurrence or death by 49% compared to Keytruda alone in patients with stage three or four melanoma. MRNA CEO Kyle Holen highlighted that the study was the “first demonstration of efficacy for an investigational mRNA cancer treatment” in a clinical trial.
Costco (NASDAQ:COST)
Costco (NASDAQ:COST) shares will be in focus, with the discount retailer on track to publish FQ1 2024 numbers after the closing bell. Wall Street anticipates COST to make $3.43 per share on revenue of $57.79B. This will be Costco’s (COST) first earnings report after the business announced that experienced top executive Craig Jelinek will step down and be replaced by current chief operating officer Ron Vachris. Investors will be looking out to see whether COST can continue to post top and bottom line beats, aided by its loyal customer base despite a reduction in general discretionary expenditure.
Nucor (NUE)
Shares of Nucor (NUE) dropped around 1% before of the opening bell, after the steel major published current quarter profit projection that was considerably short of expectations. For its Q4 ending December 31, Nucor (NUE) forecasts earnings of $2.75 to $2.85 per share, below a consensus expectation of $3.19 and Q3 profit of $4.57. The business said the projected fall in sequential profitability was attributable to weaker pricing and volumes across all three of its operational sectors. The fall in realized price is projected to be most significant in NUE’s sheet and plate mills.
Live Nation Entertainment (LYV)
Ticketmaster-parent Live Nation Entertainment (LYV) rose over 4% ahead of market open, as Morgan Stanley upgraded the company to Overweight from Equal Weight. The brokerage observed that, moving into 2024, the fundamentals in music and live events were among of the “healthiest.” Despite that, LYV shares “have underperformed the market by 2,000bps since YE21 even while returns on capital have increased. This underperformance together with heightened confidence in future growth” triggered the stock upgrading.
Downgrades
JPMorgan cuts Stanley Black & Decker
JPMorgan downgraded Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE:SWK) from Neutral to Underweight, with a price objective of $89.00. As a result, shares plummeted about 1% before the open today.
JPMorgan’s decision underscores the bank’s conservative outlook for profit growth over the next two years, which it anticipates to be lower than both Wall Street and buy-side projections. This cautious view is based on EPS estimates of $4.28 and $5.81 for 2024 and 2025, respectively. These results are approximately 5% and 10% below than the consensus expectations of $4.53 and $6.43, respectively. Lower expectations are mostly due to more cautious margin projections.
Green Dot stock drops after being downgraded by Barclays.
Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) shares slid more than 2% pre-market today after Barclays downgraded the firm to Underweight from Equalweight and reduced its price objective to $7.00 from $13.00, according to InvestingPro in real-time.
The downgrading is due to a lack of clarity regarding the company’s strategic orientation and the evolution of its business model. According to the experts, the investment and time necessary for Green Dot to shift from its heritage approach to a more focused digital strategy are larger than previously assumed. This considerable investment in change may cause the firm to underperform its industry counterparts.
There are two additional downgrades.
Deckers Outdoor (NYSE:DECK) has been downgraded to Hold from Buy, with a price objective of $709.00 (down from $600.00).
Wells Fargo downgraded EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) from Overweight to Equal Weight.
Upgrades
Foot Locker stock has risen as a result of the Piper Sandler upgrade.
Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) shares jumped more than 3% pre-market today after Piper Sandler upgraded the business to Overweight from Neutral and boosted its price objective to $33.00 from $24.00,
The firm announced its third-quarter results last month, with earnings per share of $0.30 and revenue of $1.99 billion above consensus projections.
Morgan Stanley promotes Live Nation Entertainment.
Shares of Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) climbed more than 1% in pre-market trading today after Morgan Stanley upgraded the firm to Overweight from Equalweight and increased its price objective to $110.00 from $100.00.
The improvement is based on the solid fundamentals seen in the music and live events industries as we approach 2024. Despite higher returns on capital, Live Nation shares have lagged the market by about 20% since the end of 2021. “This underperformance along with increased confidence in future growth lead us to upgrade to OW,” said one of the analysts.
two additional enhancements
JPMorgan upgraded Beacon Roofing Supply (NASDAQ:BECN) from Neutral to Overweight and increased its price objective to $103.00 from $86.00. As a consequence, shares gained more than 1% in pre-market trading today.
The decision to upgrade is based on the company’s relatively modest valuation and the hope that its strategic strategy would be implemented effectively in the future. Beacon Roofing Supply is now trading at roughly 7.9 times its expected EBITDA for 2024, a 20% discount to its 5-year average of nearly 10 times. This discount is significantly higher than the average discount found across JPMorgan’s universe, which is roughly 7%.
We believe this valuation is attractive in light of the company’s strong execution of its strategic Ambition 2025 plan over the last two years, which has resulted in organic sales and EBITDA CAGRs of 9.4% and 18.2%, respectively, well above our universe averages of 6.2% and 9.2%.
Invesco (NYSE:IVZ) shares gained more than 2% in pre-market trading today after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform and boosted its price objective to $20.00 from $15.50.
WEEKLY EARNINGS CALENDAR
Thursday, Dec 14
Costco Wholesale (COST), Jabil (JBL), Lennar LEN
Friday, Dec 15
Steel Dynamics, Darden Restaurants
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Airbnb suffers as a result of KeyBanc’s downgrade
Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) shares were down nearly 3% in premarket trading Tuesday after KeyBanc downgraded the business from Overweight to Sector Weight.
Following the split, WK Kellogg began at Sell.
Following the conclusion of Kellogg Company’s (NYSE:K) spinoff of its North American cereal division into the WK Kellogg standalone entity, Goldman Sachs commenced coverage on WK Kellogg (NYSE:KLG) with a Sell rating and a price target of $11.00.
WK Kellogg’s stock dropped significantly on the first day after the spinoff, closing more than 9% down on Monday.
Nortfolk Southern and Bread Financial have been downgraded.
Norfolk Southern (NYSE:NSC) shares fell more than 2% on Monday after BofA Securities downgraded the firm to Neutral from Buy and reduced its price objective to $215.00 from $266.00, citing operational difficulties and excessive costs.
Bread Financial (NYSE:BFH) has been downgraded to Sell from Neutral by Goldman Sachs, with a $32 price target. As a result, shares dropped about 2% on Monday.
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ell suffers as a result of a downgrade by Barclays.
Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) shares tumbled 3% before the bell on Thursday after Barclays downgraded the firm to Underweight from Equalweight, with a $53.00 price target.
Cloudflare began at Underperform.
Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) has been added to BofA Securities’ coverage with an Underperform rating and a $52.00 price objective.
Crocs (NASDAQ:CROX) shares were down more than 2% in pre-market trading today after B.Riley downgraded the firm to Neutral from Buy and reduced its price objective to $101.00 from $125.00.
Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT) was downgraded from Outperform to Perform by Oppenheimer.
Following the company’s announced Q2 EPS and sales misses, as well as dismal full-year forecasts, shares fell more than 17% pre-market today.