Pre-Market : Activision Blizzard gains/Twilio Falls: Stocks in news

Pre-Market

Pre-Market active stocks

Gainers

• Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) stock rose 4%; After Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), up 0.1%, agreed to keep the mega-popular gaming franchise “Call of Duty” on Sony’s (NYSE:SONY) PlayStation console, Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) stock rose 4%. The FT also reported that EU antitrust authorities will investigate whether Microsoft unfairly bundles its Teams video conferencing program with Office next week.
• Yelp (NYSE:YELP) stock rose 3.6%; Goldman Sachs upgraded Yelp (NYSE:YELP) to “buy” from “neutral,” citing a good risk/reward basis and consistent ad trends. The stock increased 3.6%.
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock rose 2.2%; After two years of delays, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) announced it had built its first Cybertruck on Sunday, raising its shares 2.2%.
• Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares climbed 0.2% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target and maintained its “Top Pick” status, predicting its India business could be worth $40 billion in 10 years.
• United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) stock rose 0.2%; After a pilot labor agreement, United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) stock climbed 0.2%. Last year, these pilots rejected a contract with cumulative wage increases of 14.5% and increased overtime and training compensation.

Losers

• Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) shares declined 1.8%; after Piper Sandler downgraded it to “neutral” from “overweight,” citing macroeconomic risks and recent divestitures affecting future sales.
• AT&T (NYSE:T) stock fell 1.2%; Citi downgraded AT&T (NYSE:T) to “neutral” from “buy” due to “legacy lead sheathed cable exposure,” sending the stock down 1.2%.
• PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) stock fell 1.2%; After Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) to “equal weight” from “overweight,” the stock slid 1.2%. Morgan Stanley said the stock is fairly valued and anticipates limited upside in the second half of the year.

MARKET MOVERS 

AFTER MARKET MOVERS

GAINERS

• Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:KPTI) 6% HIGHER; Selinexor’s development program has been given Fast Track Designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis, including those with primary myelofibrosis, post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis, and post-polycythemia vera myelofibrosis.
• Pinterest Inc. (NYSE:PINS) is up 3%; Evercore ISI raised its rating from In Line to Outperform and increased its target price from $30.00 to $41.00.

LOSERS

• Masimo Corp (NASDAQ:MASI) 24% LOWER; In contrast to the consensus estimate of $553.23 million, Masimo Corp. (NASDAQ:MASI) expects its consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2023 to range between $453 million and $457 million.
• CEL-SCI Corp (NYSE:CVM) 20% LOWER After announcing its intention to sell shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering, CEL-SCI Corp (NYSE:CVM) dropped by 20%.
• Acumen Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ABOS) dropped 11% after announcing that an underwritten public offering of $100 million worth of its common stock had begun.
• Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) 1% LOWER; Evercore ISI decreased its rating on Shopify (NYSE:SHOP) from Outperform to In Line with a $69.00 price objective.
• The Trade Desk (NASDAQ:TTD) is down 1% and has been downgraded from Neutral to Sell by New Street Research.

MIDDAY MOVERS

GAINERS

• Yelp (NYSE:YELP) shares gained 10.6% after Goldman Sachs raised its rating on the business review site from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy,’ noting a favorable risk/reward ratio and stable ad patterns.
• Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) rose 3.2% after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) agreed to keep the mega-popular gaming franchise “Call of Duty” on Sony’s (NYSE:SONY) PlayStation console, potentially overcoming a key hurdle in Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of the video game manufacturer. According to the Financial Times, EU antitrust officials will launch an investigation into whether Microsoft is unlawfully combining its Teams video conferencing program with its Office service next week.
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock jumped 1.8% after the electric vehicle company announced on Sunday that it has completed its first Cybertruck after two years of delays.
• Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock jumped 1% after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the iPhone manufacturer while maintaining it as a “Top Pick,” saying its India business could be worth $40 billion over the next decade.
• United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) shares increased 0.5% after the airline secured a labor agreement with its pilots that will result in a hefty pay raise. Last year, these pilots turned down a proposal that promised more than 14.5% in cumulative compensation increases as well as increased overtime and training pay.

Losers

• AT&T (NYSE:T) stock dropped 5.9% after Citi downgraded the telecoms behemoth to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy,’ citing potential risks from “legacy lead sheathed cable exposure.”
• Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) stock fell 1.2% after Piper Sandler downgraded the cloud computing company to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight,’ citing macroeconomic risks and recent divestitures affecting future sales.
• PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) shares dipped 0.9% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the soft drinks firm to ‘equal weight’ from ‘overweight,’ adding that the stock is currently fairly valued and that upside in the second half of the year is limited.

UPGRADES BY EXPERTS

UBS upgraded Microsoft

Given signs of stable cloud infrastructure spending, promising near-term AI catalysts, and a competitive valuation, UBS upgraded Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to Buy from Neutral and increased its price target to $400.00 from $345.00.

Raised Plug Power to Perform

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) was upgraded by Northland Capital Markets from Market Perform to Outperform with a $22.00 price objective.

Goldman Sachs increased its price objective for Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) from $183.00 to $197.00 and upgraded the stock to Conviction Buy from Buy.

General Mills (NYSE:GIS) has had its rating upgraded by Argus from Hold to Buy with a $90.00 price objective, stating that the leader in the packaged food sector is in a good position to leverage its brands and increase profitability.

DOWNGARDES BY EXPERTS

AT&T downgraded twice

Citi downgraded AT&T (NYSE:T) to Neutral from Buy and lowered its price objective to $16.00 from $22.00, sending shares down more than 1% pre-market.

JPMorgan downgraded the business to Neutral from Overweight on Friday with a price objective of $17.00 (from $22.00).

Piper Sandler downgrades Twilio shares.

Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) was lowered to Neutral from Overweight by Piper Sandler. Pre-market shares plummeted over 2%.

Morgan Stanley downgraded PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $210.00, saying the stock is already fairly valued and it anticipates limited upside in H2 compared to Street projections. The stock dipped roughly 1% pre-market.

Last week, the company reported good Q2 earnings and boosted its fiscal 2023 projection.

Last week, TELUS International (NYSE:TIXT) suffered two downgrades after a disappointing Q2 pre-announcement and fiscal 2023 outlook reduction, resulting in a 31% share price decrease on Friday.

Barclays reduced the firm to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price objective of $15.00 (from $23.00), while Citi lowered to Neutral from Buy with a $15.00 price target (from $24.00).

Earnings Calendar

Monday JULY 17

Equity Lifestyle Properties Inc. (ELS)

Tuesday JULY 18

Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), Novartis (NVS), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Prologis Inc. (PLD), The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), PNC Financial Services (PNC), Bank of New York Mellon (BK), J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC), Synchrony Financial (SYF), and Hasbro Inc. (HAS)

For details

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