Pre-Market : U.S. Steel gains; AMC Entertainment falls: Stocks in news August 14

Pre-Market active stocks

Gainers

• U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) stock rose 27% after the steelmaker turned down a $7.3 billion acquisition offer from Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF), which was down 0.5%, and said it will explore its options in response to “multiple unsolicited proposals.”
• Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) stock jumped 4.5% after Goldman Sachs upped its rating on the identification software business from dell’ to ‘buy,’ implying a more than 25% gain.
• Philips ADRs (NYSE:PHG) climbed 3.9% after Exor (OTC:EXXRF) acquired a 15% interest in the healthcare giant, a welcome statement of confidence in the Dutch firm.
• Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock slumped 2.4% after the electric carmaker reduced pricing in China for two of its Model Y versions in an effort to counteract rising competition and entice customers leery of making large purchases in an uncertain environment.

Losers

• AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) stock plunged 34% on Friday after a Delaware judge approved the movie theatre chain’s revised stockholder settlement, allowing it to sell more sTesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock dipped 1.4% after the electric carmaker reduced pricing in China for two of its Model Y versions in an effort to counteract rising competition and persuade customers leery of making large purchases in an uncertain environment.
• Nikola (NASDAQ:NKL) stock plunged 15% on Friday after the business announced a recall of all battery-powered electric trucks supplied to date and a suspension of sales following an investigation into recent fires that revealed a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the reason.
• Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) declined 1.4% after Bernstein downgraded the hotel operator from ‘outperform’ to market perform’ following a stellar run, saying its potential is now restricted.

MARKET MOVERS 

After-Market movers

GAINERS

• Arena Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:AREN)23% HIGHER,  has signed a binding agreement of intent to buy certain assets of its subsidiary Bridge Media Networks with Simplify Inventions, LLC and its inventor, Manoj Bhargava, pioneer of 5-hour ENERGY. Simplify Inventions will make a $50 million financial investment, contribute its Bridge Media Network business and some other assets, and commit to a $60 million guaranteed advertising commitment.
• LL Flooring Holdings Inc (NYSE:LL) 14% HIGHER; said that its Board of Directors has begun an assessment of strategic alternatives in response to various inbound expressions of interest in a potential transaction with the Company.
• DR Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI) 2% HIGHER; Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) disclosed a new stake.
• Lennar Corp. (NYSE:LEN) 2% HIGHER; Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a new stake.
• NVR, Inc. (NYSE:NVR) is up 1% after Berkshire Hathaway reported a new interest.

LOSERS

Getty Images Holdings Inc (NYSE:GETY) is down 15%; it reported Q2 EPS of ($0.01), which was $0.05 below than the analyst estimate of $0.04. Revenue for the quarter was $225.7 million, compared to the consensus estimate of $236.26 million.

• Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) 4% LOWER; reported that the Discover Board of Directors and Roger Hochschild have agreed that Hochschild will step down as CEO and President, as well as as a member of the Board. Hochschild will continue to advise the company until the end of the year to facilitate a smooth transition. Interim CEO and President John Owen, a Board member, has been appointed. These modifications take effect immediately.

MIDDAY MOVERS

GAINERS

• U.S. Steel (NYSE:X) stock rose 32% after the steelmaker turned down a $7.3 billion acquisition offer from Cleveland-Cliffs (NYSE:CLF), which was up 9.8%, and said it will explore its options in response to “multiple unsolicited proposals.”
• Philips ADRs (NYSE:PHG) climbed 3.8% after Exor (OTC:EXXRF) acquired a 15% interest in the healthcare giant, a welcome statement of confidence in the Dutch firm.
• Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) stock jumped 2.4% after Goldman Sachs upped its rating on the identification software business from Sell’ to ‘buy,’ implying a more than 25% gain.

LOSERS

• AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) stock plunged 33% on Friday after a Delaware judge approved the movie theatre chain’s revised stockholder settlement, allowing it to sell more shares and pay down some of its $5.1B in debt.
• Nikola (NASDAQ:NKL) shares plummeted 8.5% on Friday after the business announced a recall of all battery-powered electric trucks supplied to date and a suspension of sales following an investigation into recent fires that revealed a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the reason.
• Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) dipped 0.2% after Bernstein downgraded the hotel operator from ‘outperform’ to market perform’ following a stellar run, stating that its potential is now restricted.

UPGRADES BY EXPERTS

 Okta surges on Goldman’s double upgrade

Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) shares rose about 5% in pre-market trading Monday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the business to Buy from Sell and increased its price objective to $91.00 from $77.00.

Teledyne upped to Buy at Goldman

Teledyne Technologies (NYSE:TDY) shares were up more than 1% in pre-market trading Monday after Goldman Sachs upgraded the firm to Buy from Neutral and lifted its price objective to $495.00 from $423.00.

Other analysts are bullish on Alibaba’s ‘fundamental turnaround’ after the company’s first-quarter earnings beat.

 Following Q1 earnings last week, DZ Bank raised Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) to Buy from Hold with a price objective of $120.00 on Friday.

Benchmark, which maintained its Buy rating on the stock, called the first-quarter results “all-around clean,” adding that the company’s new “consumer-centric approach has begun bearing early fruit” as it undergoes “a fundamental turnaround.”

Twilio receives an upgrade on its Q2 performance.

Argus upgraded Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) to Buy from Hold with a $72.00 price target on Friday, following the company’s outstanding Q2 earnings and raising full-year outlook last week.EPS of $0.54 were more than the $0.30 consensus expectation. Revenue climbed 10% year on year to $1.04 billion, exceeding the $987.07 million average projection.

DOWNGRADES BY EXPERTS

Marriott downgraded to Market Perform

Marriott International (NASDAQ:MAR) shares were down more than 2% pre-market today after Bernstein downgraded the business to Market Perform from Outperform, with a price objective of $218.00 (down from $204.00).

Forward Air falls due to analyst concerns about the Omni Logistics purchase.

Forward Air (NASDAQ:FWRD) was downgraded on Friday by three Wall Street companies due to concerns that the company’s recently announced $3.2 billion acquisition of Omni Logistics may introduce new risks to its business.

Stifel downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and reduced its price target to $103.00 from $127.00.

Wolfe Research downgraded the stock to Underperform from Peerperform, with a $80.00 price objective, predicting severe EPS dilution in 2024.

Meanwhile, Raymond James cut the stock from Strong Buy to Market Perform.On Friday, shares fell by more than 25%.

UBS downgraded Public Service Enterprise (NYSE:PEG) from Buy to Neutral and reduced its price objective to $66.00 from $70.00, noting that “the risk/reward looks more balanced at the current valuation in front of an important rate case filing in NJ in Q4”.

Mosaic (NYSE:MOS) shares dipped more than 2% in pre-market trading today after Barclays downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight with a $40.00 price target.

Earnings Calendar

Monday, August 14

Suncor Energy (SU), Roivant Sciences (ROIV), Monday.com (MNDY), Reata Pharmaceuticals (RETA), Rumble (RUM), and Embraer (ERJ)

Tuesday, August 15

Home Depot (HD), Agilent Technologies (A), Sea Limited (SE), Nu Holdings (NU), Cardinal Health (CAH), Legend Biotech (LEGN), Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), CAVA Group (CAVA), and H&R Block (HRB) 

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