Pre-Market : Nvidia gains; HP falls: Stocks in news August 30

Pre-Market active stocks

Gainers

• Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock climbed 0.4%, adding more gains after the chipmaker posted its highest-ever closing price on Tuesday, as it has become the focal point of a recent rise of enthusiasm around the applications of generative artificial intelligence.  

Losers

•  HP (NYSE:HPQ) stock slumped 8.3% after the information technology firm lowered estimates for annual profit, as it grapples with a more than a year-long fall in the personal computers segment and lackluster demand in major market China.  
• Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) stock slumped 4.9% after S&P Global Ratings cut its credit rating on the drugstore company owing to higher risk from restructuring. 
• Peloton (NASDAQ:PTON) stock dipped 2.3% after Macquarie downgraded the workout bike manufacturer to ‘neutral’ from ‘outperform’, citing last week’s earnings miss and weaker-than-expected revenue expectations for the first quarter of 2024.  
•  Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) stock slumped 2.1% after Bernstein lowered its view on the chipmaker to ‘underperform’ from ‘market perform’, predicting it’s ready to plummet 15%. 
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock dipped 1.8% after the tech giant anticipated fourth-quarter sales below forecasts, at a time when demand for the business’s servers is taking a blow from lackluster enterprise spending.  
• Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares slipped 0.6%, handing back some of the previous session’s 15% gains as the cryptocurrency exchange profited from a landmark judgment by an appeals court in the U.S. which laid the path for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.  
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock declined 0.2% after the pharmaceutical major anticipated 12.5% rise in its year adjusted earnings, a downwards revision, following finalizing the separation of consumer health firm Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE), up 0.2%.  

MARKET MOVERS 

After-Market movers

GAINERS

• Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA) 10% HIGHER; posted Q2 EPS of $0.31, $0.09 greater than the average estimate of $0.22. Revenue for the quarter came in at $556 million versus the consensus expectation of $534.67M. Okta, Inc. forecasts FY2024 EPS of $1.17-$1.20, versus the consensus of $0.91. Okta, Inc. forecasts FY2024 revenue of $2.21-2.22 billion, versus the consensus of $2.18B.
• UGI Corporation (NYSE:UGI) 7% HIGHER; reported that its Board of Directors has launched a process to assess potential strategic alternatives with the objective to unlock and maximize shareholder value.
• Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) 6% HIGHER; posted Q2 EPS of $2.12, $0.22 better than the analyst expectation of $1.90. Revenue for the quarter came in at $8.6B versus the consensus expectation of $8.53B. Salesforce forecasts Q3 2024 EPS of $2.05-$2.06, versus the consensus of $1.83. Salesforce predicts Q3 2024 revenue of $8.7-8.72B, versus the consensus of $8.66B. Salesforce forecasts FY2024 EPS of $8.04-$8.06, versus the consensus of $7.45. Salesforce forecasts FY2024 sales of $34.7-34.8B, versus the consensus of $34.65B.

LOSERS

• Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) 8% LOWER; posted Q2 EPS of $0.84, $0.01 greater than the analyst estimate of $0.83. Revenue for the quarter came in at $759M versus the consensus estimate of $759.7M. Five Below forecasts Q3 2024 EPS of $0.17-$0.25, below the consensus of $0.40. Five Below forecasts Q3 2024 revenue of $715-730M, below the consensus of $737.8M. Five Below forecasts FY2024 EPS of $5.27-$5.55, below the consensus of $5.58. Five Below forecasts FY2024 revenue of $3.5-3.57B, versus the consensus of $3.56B.
• Victoria’s Secret & Co (NYSE:VSCO) 4% LOWER; posted Q2 EPS of $0.24, $0.03 poorer than the analyst estimate of $0.27. Revenue for the quarter came in at $1.43B versus the consensus estimate of $1.44B. Victoria’s Secret & Co. anticipates Q3 2024 EPS of ($0.70)-($1.00), versus the average of ($0.14). The Company is projecting third quarter 2023 net sales to drop in the low- to mid-single digit range compared to last year’s third quarter net sales of $1.318B.

MIDDAY MOVERS

GAINERS

• Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock rose 3% after the tech company forecasted lower-than-expected fourth-quarter sales, at a time when demand for the company’s servers is being weighed down by lackluster enterprise spending. 
• Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock jumped 2.1%, adding to gains after the chipmaker reached its highest-ever closing price on Tuesday, as it has become the focal point of a recent rise in interest for generative artificial intelligence applications. 
• Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock rose 0.4% after the pharmaceutical behemoth anticipated 12.5% growth in year adjusted earnings, a negative revision, after the completion of the separation of consumer health business Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE), which jumped 0.7%. 

LOSERS 

• HP (NYSE:HPQ) stock slumped 7% after the information technology giant lowered its annual profit forecast due to a more than a year-long fall in the personal computer business and slow demand in major market China. 
• Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares slipped 0.8%, reversing some of the previous session’s 15% gains, as the cryptocurrency exchange benefited from a landmark decision by a U.S. appeals court that cleared the way for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund. 
• Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) stock declined 0.4% after Bernstein downgraded the chipmaker to ‘underperform’ from’market perform,’ predicting a 15% drop. 

UPGRADES BY EXPERTS 

Verizon benefits from the Citi improvement.  

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) shares surged more than 3% yesterday after Citi upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and boosted its price objective to $40.00 from $39.00.  

Following Raymond James’ upgrade, NextEra Energy is on the rise.  

Shares of NextEra Energy Partners (NYSE:NEP) rose more than 4% yesterday after Raymond James upgraded the business to Outperform from Market Perform with a $60.00 price target.  

Wells Fargo boosted its price objective on Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) to $317.00 from $290.00 and upgraded it to Equal Weight from Underweight.  

DA Davidson raised The First Bancshares (NASDAQ:FBMS) to Buy from Neutral, with a $34.00 price objective. 

DOWNGRADES BY EXPERTS

Peloton suffers another downgrading following a dismal fourth quarter. 

Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) shares fell more than 2% in pre-market trading today after Macquarie downgraded the firm from Outperform to Neutral and reduced its price objective to $7.00 from $10.00.  

Texas Instruments is downgraded by Bernstein. 

Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) shares dipped more than 2% in pre-market trading today after Bernstein downgraded the company from Market Perform to Underperform with a $145.00 price target.  

TD Cowen downgraded Ambarella (NASDAQ:AMBA) from Outperform to Market Perform and reduced its price objective from $90.00 to $65.00.  

Centene (NYSE:CNC) was downgraded to Equalweight from Overweight by Morgan Stanley, and its price objective was reduced to $73.00 from $94.00. Pre-market, shares were down more than 1%.  

Earnings Calendar

Thursday, August 31  

•  Broadcom (AVGO), UBS (UBS), Vmware (VMW), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), Dell Technologies (DELL), Dollar General (DG), KE Holdings Inc. (BEKE), Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL), Campbell Soup Company (CPB), and Ciena Corporation (CIEN) 

Wednesday, August 30 

• Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), Brown Forman Corporation (BF.A, BF.B), Veeva Systems Inc. (VEEV), The Cooper Companies (COO), Chewy Inc. (CHWY), Okta Inc. (OKTA), and Five Below (FIVE) 
• For details

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