Here are the companies grabbing attention before the markets open:
1. Wayfair: The digital home goods retailer’s stock surged nearly 12% in premarket trading. Wayfair announced that it will lay off 13% of its global workforce, including 19% of its corporate team, as part of a restructuring plan to streamline operations and reduce costs. The move is expected to save the company approximately $280 million.
2. Hertz: Hertz witnessed a 2.8% decline in its stock after Jefferies downgraded its rating to hold from buy and cut its price target. The downgrade was fueled by concerns over electric vehicle repair issues and higher depreciation expenses, which are expected to impact the company’s profitability in the near-term. Hertz plans to sell around one-third of its electric vehicle fleet and reinvest in gas vehicles.
3. Spirit Airlines: The budget airline’s stock jumped nearly 18% following a positive announcement. Spirit Airlines expects its fourth-quarter revenue to surpass earlier forecasts, thanks to strong bookings. The company also anticipates its operating performance to be better than expected. This positive news comes after a significant drop in share prices earlier in the week due to the blocked merger with JetBlue Airways.
4. iRobot, Amazon: iRobot’s stock declined by nearly 35% after reports surfaced that the European Union’s antitrust watchdog is planning to reject Amazon’s acquisition of the company. In contrast, Amazon’s stock saw a slight increase of 0.6% during premarket trading.
5. Texas Instruments: Shares of Texas Instruments rose by 2.1% after UBS upgraded its rating to buy and raised its price target. The investment firm believes that the company will experience higher orders due to its reduced reliance on distribution, making it among the first in its industry to witness an improvement in orders. UBS also increased its revenue forecast for Texas Instruments for this year and 2025.
6. Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices: Semiconductor stocks continued to climb. Nvidia saw a 1.7% increase after Wells Fargo identified it as “the clear beneficiary” of Meta’s artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion. Advanced Micro Devices also experienced a 1.6% rise after reaching its highest-ever closing price on Thursday, driven by growing investor interest in the second-largest independent graphics processing unit (GPU) manufacturer.
7. DraftKings: Shares of the sports betting company rose more than 1% after Stifel upgraded DraftKings from hold to buy. Stifel believes that DraftKings remains fundamentally strong, even in the face of competition from ESPN Bet.
8. J.B. Hunt Transport Services: The company’s stock rose over 3% following the release of its quarterly results. Although J.B. Hunt fell short of analysts’ expectations with earnings of $1.47 per share, it exceeded revenue expectations with $3.30 billion. Intermodal revenues experienced a year-over-year decrease, but the company reported a 6% increase in volumes.
Source (CNBC)
