Pre-Market: losses for Meta, UPS, Hasbro, and Align; Gains for IBM and Ford . OCT-26

Pre-Market:Pre-Market

Pre-Market active stocks

Gainers

• The stock of Ford (NYSE:F) increased 2.4% after the automaker negotiated a tentative labor agreement with the United Auto Workers union to end a strike. 
• IBM (NYSE:IBM) (IBM) stock jumped 1.3% after the tech major topped third-quarter profit projections and reiterated its outlook. 
• Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) (NOC) shares increased 1% after the defense business upped its annual sales estimate for the second time this year following a jump in third-quarter revenue and earnings, aided by strong weapon demand. 
• Merck (MRK) climbed 0.6% as the drugmaker announced higher-than-expected third-quarter sales and profit due to surprisingly strong demand for its COVID-19 therapy, particularly in Japan. 

Losers

• The stock of Align (NASDAQ:ALGN) fell 24% after the dentistry business cut its full-year revenue outlook. 
• Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS) stock dropped 10% after the toymaker lowered its annual revenue projection for the second time in a row, warning of bumpy toy sales heading into the important holiday quarter. 
• The shares of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) declined 3.8% after the Facebook-parent beat third-quarter estimates, but management stated on the earnings call that brand advertising demand weakened at the start of the fourth quarter. 
• United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) stock declined 3.4% after the transportation company decreased its revenue prediction for 2023 owing to lower e-commerce delivery demand as it battles to reclaim clients lost during harsh labor negotiations. 
• Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) stock declined 3% after the airline reported a 30% drop in third-quarter profit due to rising labor and fuel costs. 
• The stock of Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) declined 1.2% after the Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) spinoff decreased its annual profit prediction due to lower demand for its cough, cold, and flu treatments. 

Upgrades

Adobe gets two improvements

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) received buy ratings from Oppenheimer and DA Davidson.

Oppenheimer expected the stock to reach $660, 25% higher than Wednesday’s close. The analysts noted Adobe’s strong business momentum, good fiscal 2024 outlook, and leading position in generative AI, supported by customer and industry surveys. They believe Adobe’s R&D and AI Firefly product strategy have revitalized its products, putting “the company in a better position for durable growth from adding users and monetizing on its large install-base.”

Analysts think investors “will be rewarded through yearend and next fiscal year as concerns on penetration, pricing tolerance, and generative AI weakening the competitive moat dissipates.”

Along with upgrading Adobe, DA Davidson added it to its “Best-of-Breed Bison” list of “select group of long-term best in class companies with sustainable competitive moats” and boosted the objective by $140 to $640.

The analysts named it “Best-of-Breed Bison” for “its position as a market leader in a >$200B FY’24 TAM, robust & predictable revenue streams, sustainable competitive advantage, exceptional financials, a powerful brand, and a shareholder-oriented management team.”
Recently, shares rose fractionally to $522.96.

Microsoft upped at HSBC after Q3 beat

As reported in real time on InvestingPro, HSBC upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to Buy from Hold and boosted its price objective to $413.00 from $347.00.

Shares rose 3% Wednesday after the tech giant published Q1 results that topped Wall Street expectations, powered by Azure cloud expansion. The stock rose nearly 6% after the Q3 release, but it soon declined on a cautious outlook: CFO Amy Hood expects Q2 revenue to be $60.9 billion (up or down $500 million), which is in line with forecast.

HSBC predicts MSFT will outperform the industry on revenue growth due to its strong AI product portfolio and PC sales and gaming revenue inflection. The company’s spending control has improved operating margins.
Shares fell 2.2% to $333.24.

Snap improved post-Q3

After Snap (NYSE:SNAP) reported better-than-expected Q3 results this week, China Renaissance upgraded it to Hold from Sell with a $9.00 price target.
Shares rose as much as 20% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after the company’s Q3 report, but they fell more than 5% the next day after cautious commentary during the earnings call, especially about ad spending slowing affecting current quarter sales.

Live Nation Entertainment Outperformed

Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE:LYV) shares jumped more than 1% pre-market today after Evercore ISI upgraded it to Outperform from In Line with a $100.00 price target.
The analyst stated that regulatory issues, uncertainty over 2024 growth, and upside to near-term expectations make the company an excellent entry opportunity.

Earnings Calendar

Thursday 26

• Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)
•   Mastercard Incorporated (MA)
•  Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)
•  Comcast Corporation (CMCSA)
•  Intel Corporation (INTC)
•  Caterpillar Inc. (CAT)
• United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS)
• Honeywell International Inc. (HON)
• Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY)

Friday, Oct 27

• Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)
• Chevron Corporation (CVX)
• AbbVie Inc. (ABBV)

for Details read

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. 

Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market: Pre-Market:

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.