Stocks Making The Biggest Moves Premarket: UBER, GAP, CAT

The stock market saw a mixed day of trading with some financial stocks experiencing fluctuations after a series of analyst downgrades and upgrades, along with companies reporting their latest quarterly results.

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell on Tuesday.

SoFi Technologies, a prominent financial technology company, faced a 3.7% drop in its stock value after KBW analyst Michael Perito downgraded the stock from “underperform” to “market perform.” However, it was not all bad news for SoFi, as Perito simultaneously raised the price target for the company’s shares by $2 to $7.50. Despite the increase, this still suggests that SoFi’s shares could fall by a significant 34.5% from Monday’s closing price.

Estee Lauder, a well-known beauty stock, shed 1.1% of its value following a downgrade by Barclays to “neutral” from “buy.” The firm expressed concerns about potential difficulties in China that could impact the company’s business in the near-term.

In contrast, Gap, a prominent retail stock, experienced a positive turn as it climbed nearly 4% after being upgraded by Barclays to “overweight” from “equal weight.” Analyst Adrienne Yih assigned a $13 price target to the company, indicating that shares could rally by 26.2% from Monday’s close. The firm also upgraded several other retailers, including American Eagle, Bath & Body Works, and Tapestry, all of which saw more than a 2% increase in early morning trading.

Pharmaceutical company Incyte witnessed a 2% rise in its shares after surpassing analysts’ expectations in its latest quarterly results. Incyte reported second-quarter revenue of $954.6 million, which exceeded the FactSet consensus estimate of $909.7 million. Additionally, per-share adjusted earnings came in at $0.99, significantly higher than the forecasted $0.72 per share. The company’s CEO, Herve Hoppenot, attributed the success to double-digit growth in Jakafi (ruxolitinib), a treatment for blood cancer.

Uber, the ride-hailing giant, saw its shares rise over 2% in premarket trading despite missing analysts’ expectations for revenue in its second-quarter results. The company’s CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, offered optimistic guidance for the third quarter, highlighting two significant milestones achieved during the quarter: its first quarter of free cash flow exceeding $1 billion and its first GAAP operating profit.

Caterpillar, a well-established manufacturing company, experienced a 1.4% gain in its shares after reporting better-than-expected earnings and revenue. However, the company warned of a potential decline in sales and margins for the third quarter.

Pharmaceutical giant Merck witnessed a nearly 2% rise in its shares premarket after reporting second-quarter revenue that exceeded expectations. The boost in revenue was driven by robust sales of its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda and HPV vaccine Gardasil. Additionally, Merck posted a narrower than expected loss for the quarter.

On the other hand, Pfizer faced a decline of more than 1% in early morning trading following its second-quarter results. The company’s adjusted revenue beat expectations, but its overall revenue fell short of Wall Street’s estimates, primarily due to a decline in Covid product sales.

ZoomInfo Technologies, a data company, saw a significant decrease of nearly 20% in its shares during premarket trading. This came after the company reported a weak outlook for third-quarter revenue. The company anticipated $309 million to $312 million in revenue, which fell short of analysts’ expectations of $326 million.

Toyota Motor, the automaker, witnessed a 2% increase in its shares after reporting a robust operating income of 1.12 million yen ($7.84 billion) for the fiscal first quarter. This marked a staggering 94% increase compared to the previous year and surpassed the 9.878 trillion yen expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Arista Networks, a leading technology company, saw a significant 13.6% increase in its shares during premarket trading following the company’s latest earnings report. Arista exceeded analysts’ expectations with adjusted earnings of $1.58 per share, beating consensus estimates of $1.44 per share, as reported by Refinitiv.

Overall, the stock market displayed a varied performance for different companies, reflecting the impact of analyst ratings and quarterly results on investor sentiment. Investors will closely monitor further developments and announcements from these companies to gauge their future performance and make informed decisions.