In today’s morning market update, several companies are making headlines before the bell. Here are the key highlights:
1. Sunnova: Residential and commercial solar company Sunnova saw a 5.1% surge in its shares after an upgrade from Piper Sandler. The firm upgraded Sunnova from neutral to overweight, citing potential benefits from the Federal Reserve’s “pivot” towards rate cuts. As the renewable energy sector is highly sensitive to rates, this move is expected to have a positive impact on Sunnova’s prospects.
2. Sunrun: Sunrun, another player in the solar industry, also experienced a 4% increase in share value after receiving an upgrade from Piper Sandler. The firm upgraded Sunrun from neutral to overweight, primarily due to the anticipated three rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in the coming year. Again, this is expected to have a favorable impact on Sunrun, given the sector’s sensitivity to rates.
3. Rhythm Pharmaceuticals: Biotech firm Rhythm Pharmaceuticals witnessed a nearly 4% gain in stock value after being upgraded to overweight by Morgan Stanley. The upgrade came as the company expressed greater confidence in Rhythm Pharmaceuticals’ treatments and raised its terminal growth rate accordingly.
4. Amgen: BMO Capital Markets’ upgrade of biopharma firm Amgen to an outperform rating led to a 1.4% increase in stock value. Analyst Evan Seigerman expressed optimism about Amgen’s emerging obesity treatment pipeline and revenue replacement potential, which contributed to the upgrade.
5. Rockwell Automation: Wells Fargo’s upgrade of industrial automation company Rockwell Automation from equal weight to overweight resulted in a slight increase of less than 1% in share value. The investment firm noted early signs of a turnaround in manufacturing, which is expected to have a positive impact on Rockwell Automation’s stock performance.
6. Arvinas: Pharmaceutical company Arvinas experienced a more than 5% surge in stock value following an upgrade to overweight by Wells Fargo. Analyst Derek Archila emphasized the potential catalyst for the company’s lead asset, vepdegestrant, within the next 12 months.
7. Plug Power: Green energy stock Plug Power saw a 3.8% drop in share value after a downgrade from Piper Sandler. The firm downgraded Plug Power from neutral to underweight due to concerns over the company’s liquidity.
8. Nikola: Electric vehicle company Nikola witnessed a 3% increase in stock value, one day after its founder Trevor Milton was sentenced to four years in prison for wire and securities fraud. The stock had previously fallen more than 9% on Monday.
Source (CNBC)
