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Potential U.S. ban investment on Chinese tech could hurt these sectors

The Biden Administration has said the U.S. is in competition with China and restricted the ability of American businesses to sell high-end chip tech to China.

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BEIJING — A ban on U.S. investment in Chinese tech could drive up market volatility — but some sectors may escape untouched, Bank of America analysts said.

The White House is reportedly considering an executive order to ban U.S. investment into high-end Chinese tech, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 5G and advanced semiconductors, according to a Politico report last week.

It’s unclear whether or when such a rule might take effect. The report indicated ongoing internal debate within the U.S. government.

“If there were a strict investment ban on US investors, it could create a significant supply of shares over the grace period and hence potential large volatility in the near term,” Bank of America’s Hong Kong-based research analysts said in a note Tuesday. “Potential long-term impact is less clear.”

“Though AI is quite prevalent in today’s online world, companies that don’t have a large business in external AI solutions [will] likely see a lower chance [of] being targeted by the U.S. side,” the analysts said.

“Online travel companies, pureplay game and music companies, online verticals in auto and real estate, niche eCommerce specialties, and logistics-focus eCommerce companies are some of the examples,” the Bank of America report said.

The analysts did not name specific stocks.

Chinese stocks have recently tried to rebound after a plunge in the last two years.

The country ended its stringent zero-Covid policy in December. In the second half of last year, the U.S. and China also reached an audit deal that significantly lowered the risk Chinese companies would have to delist from U.S. stock exchanges.

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Some of the U.S.-listed Chinese stocks with the largest U.S. institutional investor ownership on a percentage basis included KFC operator Yum China, livestreaming company Joyy and pharmaceutical company Zai Lab, according to a Jan. 25 Morgan Stanley report.

Semiconductor industry company Daqo New Energy had nearly 27% U.S. institutional ownership, Morgan Stanley said.

The data showed Alibaba had the most U.S. institutional ownership by dollar value, but it only accounted for 8.2% of the stock.

In a separate report Monday, Morgan Stanley equity strategist Laura Wang pointed out the Biden administration has focused on targeting tech with ties to the Chinese military.

She noted signs of stabilization in the U.S.-China relationship, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s planned visit to Beijing in the coming days and the potential for Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the U.S. during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit — set to be held in San Francisco in November.

The White House and China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Politico report.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

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Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: McDonald’s, UPS and more

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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.

McDonald’s — Shares dipped more than 1% after McDonald’s reported its latest quarterly results. The fast food giant topped earnings and revenue estimates, saying customers are increasingly visiting its restaurants. Still, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said he expects “short-term inflationary pressures to continue in 2023.”

General Motors — Shares of the automaker rose more than 5% in premarket trading after GM beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for its fourth quarter, even as its profit margin narrowed. The company reported an adjusted $2.12 per share on $43.11 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were looking for $1.69 in earnings per share on $40.65 billion in revenue. GM said it expected earnings to fall in 2023, but guidance was still above analyst estimates.

Ford — Shares of Ford rose 2% after the company announced Monday it would lower the price of the Mach-E, its electric pickup truck. The company reports earnings later in the week.

United Parcel Service – Shares of UPS rose 1.9% after the company reported earnings that beat analyst expectations. The company posted adjusted earnings per share of $3.62 on $27.08 billion in revenue. Analysts had forecast earnings of $3.59 per share and $28.09 billion in revenue, per Refinitiv.

Exxon Mobil — The oil giant was under pressure despite reporting upbeat financial results for the latest quarter. The company, whose stock price rallied more than 80% last year, saw a tightening in supplies as economies began recovering, CEO Darren Woods said in a statement. Shares fell more than 1%.

Caterpillar — Caterpillar shares fell more than 2% after the industrial giant posted a disappointing quarterly profit. The company reported earnings of $3.86 per share, well below a Refinitiv consensus estimate of $4.06 per share. Caterpillar said its bottom line was impacted by an “unfavorable ME&T foreign currency impact in other income (expense) of $0.41 per share.”

Pfizer – Shares of the vaccine maker fell more than 2% after the company reported mixed quarterly results and issued earnings and revenue guidance for the full year that came in below analysts’ expectations, according to StreetAccount. Pfizer said it expects revenues from its Comirnaty and Paxlovid drugs to fall 64% and 58%, respectively, from actual 2022 results.

International Paper – The packaging and paper products company reported fourth-quarter adjusted operating earnings of 87 cents per diluted share, exceeding StreetAccount’s estimate of 69 cents per diluted share. However, the company reported a net earnings loss of $318 million for the quarter. International Paper nearly 6% in the premarket.

Lucid – Shares of Lucid slipped 4.4%, further cooling off after a monster options fueled rally on Friday.

PulteGroup – Shares of the homebuilder rose more than 1% in premarket trading after PulteGroup reported a better-than-expected fourth quarter. The company reported $3.63 in adjusted earnings per share on $5.17 billion of revenue. Wall Street analysts were expected $2.93 in earnings per share on $4.58 billion of revenue, according to StreetAccount. PulteGroup’s homebuilding gross margin rose year over year.

— CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Jesse Pound, Tanaya Macheel, Sarah Min, Carmen Reinicke and Michelle Fox contributed reporting

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Intel, Chevron, American Express, Silvergate and more

Intel said April 5, 2022 that it has suspended all business operations in Russia.

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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Intel — The chipmaker suffered a 9% loss in its shares in early morning trading after its latest financial results missed analysts’ estimates and showed significant declines in the company’s sales, profit and gross margin. The company also forecasted a loss for the current quarter.

Advanced Micro Devices — Chip stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices fell as a group following Intel’s results. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell nearly 2.4%, while shares of Nvidia and Micro dipped about 1.5% each.

Chevron — Shares dipped more than 1% after Chevron reported its latest earnings results. The oil producer missed earnings expectations, but topped revenue forecasts, according to consensus estimates from Refinitiv. The shares had gained on Thursday after Chevron raised its dividend and announced a buyback plan.

American Express — Shares of the credit card company rose 5% despite weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter. American Express reported $2.07 in earnings per share on $14.18 billion of revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were looking for $2.22 per share on $14.22 billion of revenue. However, American Express’ guidance for 2023 was better than anticipated for earnings and revenue. Also, AMEX said it would be increasing its dividend by 15%.

Ralph Lauren — Shares fell more than 3% after BMO Capital Markets downgraded the stock to underperform. The investment firm said Ralph Lauren’s recent rally has gone too far.  

Chewy — Chewy shares rose more than 4% after Wedbush upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral.

Silvergate Capital — The bank to crypto businesses slid about 8% after the company suspended payments on its Series A preferred stock dividend, in an effort to preserve capital as it navigates recent crypto market volatility. The stock has been falling since November, after crypto exchange FTX, for whom Silvergate held deposits, collapsed in scandal.

Visa — The payment network operator reported strong financial results for its most recent quarter, including adjusted earnings per share of $2.18 and revenue of $7.94 billion. Analysts expected $2.01 per share in adjusted earnings and $7.70 billion in revenue, according to Refinitiv. Visa shares rose about 1% in premarket trading.

Hasbro — Shares of the toy maker slid more than 5% after the company said it would eliminate around 1,000 employee positions and warned of weak holiday-quarter results. The layoff of around 15% of its global workforce comes as the company seeks to save between $250 million and $300 million annually by the end of 2025.

KLA — Chip maker KLA Corporation declined about 4.6% after issuing weaker-than-expected forward guidance for its fiscal third quarter. Otherwise, KLA reported a beat on earnings and revenue expectations.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Yun Li and Jesse Pound contributed reporting

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Southwest, Tesla, Las Vegas Sands

A Southwest Airlines Co. Boeing 737 passenger jet pushes back from a gate at Midway International Airport (MDW) in Chicago, Illinois.

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Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:

Southwest — The airline dropped 2.1% after reporting a $220 million loss for the fourth quarter after the holiday meltdown cost the company millions in expenses and drove up expenses.

Comcast — The media company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations, with earnings per share coming in at 82 cents, adjusted, versus the 77 cents expected from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. Revenue was $30.55 billion compared to the $30.32 expected. Shares, however, were down less than 1% in the premarket.

Tesla — The electric-vehicle maker soared 7% after reporting record revenue and an earnings beat. CEO Elon Musk said Tesla might be able to produce 2 million cars this year.

Las Vegas Sands — Shares of the hotel and casino operator rose about 4% despite the company posting weaker-than-expected financial results for the most recent quarter. Wall Street analysts cited upbeat comments about its reopening in Macao on the company earnings call for their positive outlook on the stock.

Levi Strauss — Shares of the denim maker popped 6% premarket on a better-than-expected quarterly report. Levi Strauss topped analysts’ revenue estimates and beat earnings projections by 5 cents a share.

Blackstone — Blackstone shares dipped less than 1% after the asset manager reported mixed earnings results. Total segment revenues fell short of expectations, while distributable earnings beat estimates by 12 cents a share.

Chevron — The energy giant jumped more than 3% in premarket after the company announced a $75 billion stock buyback program and a dividend hike to $1.51 from $1.42 per share. The buyback program will become effective on April 1.

Dow — The chemicals giant posted fourth-quarter earnings, revenue and adjusted EBITDA that missed analyst expectations before the bell Thursday, sending the stock down more than 3% in premarket trading.

IBM — Shares of IBM shed 2.7% after the company reported quarterly results Wednesday that generally exceeded Wall Street’s expectations but included an announcement that the firm will cut 3,900 jobs. IBM reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.60 per share on $16.69 billion in revenue where analysts expected $3.60 per share and $16.4 billion in revenue, per Refinitiv.

American Airlines — The airline gained 1.5% after its fourth-quarter profits beat Wall Street’s expectations, thanks to strong holiday demand and high fares.

Seagate Technology — The data storage company jumped more than 8% in premarket trading after reporting earnings and revenue for the last quarter that beat expectations.

Pfizer — The pharma giant was downgraded by UBS on Thursday, which said Pfizer’s Covid franchise estimates need to come down and its pipeline is too premature. Pfizer was up less than 1% in the premarket.

— CNBC’s Carmen Reinicke, Yun Li, Samantha Subin, Tanaya Macheel and Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

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Bed Bath & Beyond, Verizon, Lululemon and more

A pedestrian walks by a Bed Bath and Beyond store in San Francisco, California.

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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.

Verizon — Verizon shares slipped 1.51% after the company posted mixed results for the 2022 fourth quarter. While earnings met analyst predictions, forward earnings fell short of a Refinitiv consensus estimate. .

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Bed Bath & Beyond — The meme stock gained 5.78%, building on its dramatic start to the year, even as the retailer warns of a potential bankruptcy. Year to date, Bed Bath & Beyond shares are up 17.1%.

Lyft — The ride-sharing stock gained 3.4% following an upgrade from KeyBanc, which Lyft should feel positive impacts from cost-saving measures including layoffs and a stabilization in demand.

Johnson & Johnson — Shares of the drug maker ticked higher by less than 1% premarket after the company reported mixed quarterly financial results. Johnson & Johnson beat profit estimates by 10 cents per share, excluding items, according to Refinitiv. It also missed revenue estimates. Its full-year outlook for earnings was slightly higher than estimates while its revenue forecast was about in line with estimates.

Blackstone — Shares rose 1.3% after JPMorgan upgraded Blackstone to overweight from neutral, saying the investment management firm is a “best in class” business that’s set for a soft landing.

Lululemon — The athleisure retailer fell 2.07% after Bernstein downgraded the stock, warning that a reset is coming for the apparel stock and noting the company is facing an inflection point in its growth.

Lockheed Martin — Lockheed Martin shares gained 1.52% after the company posted latest quarterly results. The defense company’s revenue came in at $18.99 billion, topping a Refinitiv forecast of $18.27 billion. Lockheed’s earnings per share also topped expectations.

AMD — The chip stock fell more than 2% in premarket after Bernstein downgraded the chipmaker to market perform from outperform. The Wall Street firm said the downgrade is due to the sliding computer and new parts demand in the inflationary environment.

— CNBC’s Alex Harring, Yun Li, Tanaya Macheel and Sarah Min contributed reporting

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JPMorgan Chase, Wendy’s and more

A sign is posted in front of a Wendy’s restaurant on August 10, 2022 in Petaluma, California.

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Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

JPMorgan – Shares of the biggest U.S. bank by assets rose more than 2% after the firm posted fourth-quarter profit and revenue that topped expectations. The New York-based bank said profit jumped 6% from the year earlier period to $11.01 billion, or $3.57 per share. Interest income at the bank surged 48% on higher rates and loan growth.

Citigroup — Citigroup’s stock added more than 1% as the company reported a record fourth quarter for fixed income. The bank said net income decreased during the period by more than 21% over last year as it set aside more money for potential credit losses.

Delta Air Lines — The airline stock edged about 4% lower after the company said in its outlook that higher labor costs would hurt its first-quarter profits. Delta topped analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter.

Wendy’s — The fast-food chain’s stock added 5.7% after Wendy’s shared positive preliminary fourth-quarter results and announced a handful of reshuffles within its corporate structure. A regulatory filing also indicated that Nelson Peltz does not want to take over Wendy’s.

Wells Fargo – The bank stock dipped 0.1% after the firm reported shrinking profits, weighed down by a recent settlement and the need to build up reserves amid a deteriorating economy. Wells Fargo’s net income tumbled 50% to $2.86 billion from $5.75 billion a year ago. The bank set aside $957 million for credit losses after reducing its provisions by $452 million a year ago.

Bank of America —The financial stock rose less than 1% on Friday after Bank of America beat estimates on the top and bottom lines for the fourth quarter. A sharp rise in net interest income helped the results, though management cautioned that the metric could decline sequentially in the first quarter. CEO Brian Moynihan also said that a mild recession was the firm’s baseline assumption for 2023.

Virgin Galactic Holdings — The space tourism company jumped nearly 13% after it said it was on track for a commercial launch in the second quarter of 2023. The company also announced its president of aerospace systems, Swami Iyer, was leaving.

Tesla — Shares of the electric-vehicle maker shed more than 2% after being downgraded to sell from neutral by Guggenheim and cutting prices on its vehicles in the U.S. and Europe. In its downgrade, Guggenheim cited concerns with Tesla’s fourth-quarter estimates.

Bank of New York Mellon — Shares of the mid-sized bank rose 2.5% on Friday after the company reported net income of $509 million for the fourth quarter. That was down 38% year over year but up about 60% from the third quarter. That profit rose to $1.1 billion, or $1.30 per share, when excluding certain items, but it is unclear if those results were comparable to analysts’ estimates.

UnitedHealth — The health-care stock advanced more than 1% after the company surpassed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter expectations. UnitedHealth reported adjusted earnings of $5.34 a share on $82.8 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by Refinitiv expected earnings of $5.17 per share on revenues of $82.59 billion.

Lockheed Martin — The defense stock slipped more than 3% after Goldman Sachs downgraded shares to sell from a neutral rating. The firm said shares could fall if the government trims defense spending. Northrop Grumman shares also dove 5% on Goldman’s downgrade to a sell from neutral rating.

Salesforce — The software stock shed 1% following a downgrade to neutral from overweight by Atlantic Equities. The firm said the stock would likely be hurt by executive departures and slowed growth.

Logitech — Shares of the consumer electronics company dipped 3.3% after Deutsche Bank downgraded the shares to a hold from a buy rating. The decline built on Thursday’s losses after reporting preliminary results that signaled slowing sales and earnings.

Warner Music Group – Shares of Warner Music Group shed 5.5% after Guggenheim cut its rating on the stock to neutral from buy and trimmed its price target to $35 from $38, citing worries about revenue from the music streaming service.

Copa — Shares of the Latin American airline jumped 4.9% following an upgrade to overweight from a neutral rating by analysts at JPMorgan. The bank said shares could rally 50% as air travels resurges.

AutoNation — AutoNation’s stock fell 4.3% as Wells Fargo downgraded the automotive retailer to equal weight from an overweight rating, saying that its valuation looks “reasonable” and estimates look too high.

— CNBC’s Jesse Pound, Yun Li, Michelle Fox, Alex Harring and Carmen Reinicke contributed reporting

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Ant gets approval to expand its consumer finance business

Regulatory scrutiny forced Hangzhou-based Ant Group to abruptly suspend its massive IPO plans in 2020.

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BEIJING — Ant Group’s consumer finance unit has received approval to more than double its registered capital, a sign of progress in resolving regulators’ concerns.

Since the abrupt suspension of its massive IPO in late 2020, Ant has been working with Chinese regulators to restructure its business. Alibaba owns 33% of Ant, which operates one of China’s two dominant mobile pay apps.

Alibaba’s Hong Kong-traded shares traded 8% higher Wednesday. Shares listed in New York closed 4.4% higher overnight.

Ant launched its consumer finance company in 2021 as part of the restructuring.

On Friday, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said it approved Ant’s request to increase the amount of registered capital for the consumer unit, to 18.5 billion yuan from 8 billion yuan.

Ant will still hold a 50% stake in the consumer finance company, according to the announcement. New investors in the other half of the company include an entity backed by the Hangzhou government and Sunny Optical Technology.

“This is a positive start of the steps that Ant Financial needs to go through [with] its restructuring process under the supervision of the CBIRC and PBOC,” said Winston Ma, adjunct professor of law at New York University.

It remains unclear what the timeline is, if any, for a revival of IPO plans. Ant has yet to receive a financial holding company license from the People’s Bank of China. The company did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.

The consumer unit houses Ant’s credit businesses Huabei and Jiebei. So-called credit tech had contributed 28.59 billion yuan, or 39.4%, to Ant’s revenue in the first six months of 2020, according to a prospectus.

China’s banking regulator said the company had six months to complete the changes before the capital expansion approval became invalid.

Chinese media previously reported news of the approval, whose terms were previously released publicly.

— CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report.

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Shaw Communications, Li Auto, Southwest and others

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Shaw Communications (SJR) – Canada’s Competition Tribunal dismissed an attempt by the country’s competition watchdog to block the $26 billion acquisition of the telecom company by rival Rogers Communications (RCI). Shaw surged 10.1% in the premarket, while Rogers gained 0.4%.

Li Auto (LI) – Li Auto said it expected to deliver more than 20,000 of its electric vehicles this month, higher than the 14,087 the China-based EV maker delivered in December 2021.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Southwest said it planned to return to a regular flight schedule Friday and promised to reimburse customers for any reasonable expenses they incurred due to the airline canceling thousands of flights over the past week.

Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla is down 1% in the premarket after posting its first back-to-back gains since November 22 to 23. Tesla has not risen three days in a row since a four-day win streak from October 25 to 28. The stock is still down 65% for 2022.

Audacy (AUD) – Audacy stock rallied 9.7% in the premarket after the small-cap radio station operator said it will auction off the radio.com internet domain with a reported minimum bid of $2.5 million.

Mesa Air Group (MESA) – The regional air carrier reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss and revenue that fell short of analyst estimates. Mesa shares fell 3% in premarket trading.

Enovix (ENVX) – The lithium-ion battery manufacturer appointed Raj Talluri as its chief executive officer, effective January 18. Talluri was senior vice president and general manager of Micron Technology‘s (MU) mobile business unit. Enovix jumped 5.1% in premarket action.

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Tesla, AMC, Southwest and others

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla gained 1.6% in the premarket in a volatile session, following a seven-day losing streak and declines in ten of the past eleven sessions. Baird reduced its price target on Tesla to $252 per share from $316, but continues to rate the stock outperform.

AMC Entertainment (AMC) – AMC Entertainment rose 1.2% in premarket trading after CEO Adam Aron asked the movie theater chain’s board to freeze his salary. He also urged other top AMC executives to do the same.

Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Southwest Airlines fell 1.3% in premarket action as it continues to cancel flights in its struggle to return to a normal schedule. Southwest has canceled thousands of flights over the past week, following a severe winter storm, and is limiting bookings over the next few days.

Nvidia (NVDA), Micron Technology (MU) – These and other semiconductor stocks remain on watch as investors focus on an oversupply of chips. That is in sharp contrast to the global shortage during the pandemic, when demand was surging.

Apple (AAPL) – Apple is marginally higher in the premarket following its Tuesday close, which was the lowest since June 2021. Apple fell during the past three days and in eight of the past nine trading sessions.

Lyft (LYFT) – The ride-hailing company’s stock remains on watch after closing lower than $10 per share for the first time since going public in 2019. It rebounded by 1.1% in premarket trading.

Generac (GNRC) – The power equipment maker’s stock was rated buy in new coverage at Janney Montgomery Scott with a price target of $160, implying a 76% upside from current levels. Generac is the worst performer in the S&P 500 for 2022 with a 74.1% decline.

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General Mills, Steelcase, Lucid and more

Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:

General Mills (GIS) – General Mills reported better-than-expected profit and revenue for its latest quarter, and it raised its full-year forecast. The food producer was helped by higher prices which were only partially offset by increased input costs. The stock slid 1.3% in premarket action.

Steelcase (SCS) – Steelcase gained 3% in the premarket after the office furniture maker reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and issued an upbeat profit forecast. Steelcase’s quarterly revenue fell short of Wall Street forecasts as did its revenue forecast, however, but its backlog of orders is 3% higher than it was a year ago.

Lucid (LCID) – Lucid rallied 5.% in premarket trading after the electric vehicle maker raised more than $1.5 billion in a series of stock sales.

Rocket Lab (RKLB) – Rocket Lab fell 1.3% in premarket action after announcing a delay in its first rocket launch from the United States. Rocket Lab cited both poor weather conditions as well as regulatory delays stemming from the processing of documentation by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. As a result, Rocket Lab cut its revenue forecast for the fourth quarter.

The Trade Desk (TTD) – The Trade Desk rose 1.7% in premarket trading after the digital advertising firm’s stock was rated “overweight” in new coverage at Piper Sandler.

Generac (GNRC) – The power equipment maker’s stock slid 1.5% in the premarket after Baird downgraded it to “neutral” from “outperform,” saying Generac’s end markets have not yet reached a bottom and inventory levels are still in the process of returning to normal.

Stitch Fix (SFIX) – The stock was downgraded to “neutral” from “underweight” at J.P. Morgan Securities, even after an 82% year-to-date decline. The firm says the online clothing styler is struggling with its transition to “Fix + Freestyle” business model. Stitch Fix shares lost 1.6% in premarket trading.

Beam Therapeutics (BEAM) – The biotech company’s shares rose 2.2% in the premarket after Beam was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” at BMO Capital. BMO expects positive announcements from Beam’s partner Verve Therapeutics (VERV) to help drive the stock higher.

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