Here are the companies making headlines before the bell:
1. Macy’s: Shares of the department store giant rose by 2% in premarket trading. The company recently rejected a $5.8 billion proposal from Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management to take the retailer private. Macy’s cited concerns over deal financing and valuation.
2. Boeing: The airline stock declined by 1.8% after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration recommended visual inspections of the mid-exit door plugs on Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, which are similar to the ones grounded after the Alaska Airlines flight emergency.
3. Archer-Daniels-Midland: Shares slid nearly 12% after the food processor placed CFO Vikram Luthar on administrative leave amid an investigation into accounting practices. The company also issued fourth-quarter earnings guidance that fell below prior expectations. Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock following this news.
4. SolarEdge Technologies: Shares gained over 5% after the solar company announced plans to reduce operating expenses by cutting 16% of its workforce.
5. B Riley Financial: The financial services stock declined by nearly 14% following a report that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company’s deals with a client connected to securities fraud.
6. Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Airways: These airlines stated that they plan to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that blocks their planned merger. Spirit Airlines saw a 1% increase before the bell, while JetBlue Airways slipped by 0.8%.
7. International Flavors & Fragrances: Shares rose by 1.9% after Morgan Stanley upgraded this fragrance company to overweight from equal weight. The upgrade was based on the expectation of share price growth, fueled by the end of the stock’s downgrade cycle and the bottoming out of the consumer cycle.
8. Home Depot, Lowe’s: Shares of these home improvement giants fell by approximately 0.7% each after Oppenheimer downgraded them to a market perform rating from an outperform rating. The downgrade was due to a complicated short-term setup.
9. StoneCo: Shares rallied more than 3% after Goldman Sachs upgraded the company to a buy rating. The upgrade was fueled by the potential for new banking and credit revenue opportunities, as well as a “superior” earnings growth outlook within Brazil’s payments sector.
Source (CNBC)
