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Tag: Morning News

  • Top Gainers Pre-Market as Big Tech Uplifts Markets

    Top Gainers Pre-Market as Big Tech Uplifts Markets

    It’s a good day for the markets today, with all the key indices in the green. This follows strong quarterly results by big tech companies. Facebook announced that revenues in the quarter grew by 11% an indication of the resilience of its business despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

    On its part, Alphabet beat analysts’ top and bottom-line estimates despite a drop in its ad revenues, when compared to a year ago. Apple reported that it had revenues of $59.7 billion in Q2, beating estimates by $7 billion. The biggest winner among the big tech stocks is Amazon. The company reported that it had doubled its income in Q2 when compared to a similar quarter in the last financial year. Amazon has benefited immensely from increased spending on its e-commerce platform during the pandemic. Besides big tech, there are a number of other companies that are doing well ahead of market opening.

    Pinterest Inc [NYSE:PINS]

    Pinterest Inc is one of the top gainers pre-market and is up by over 30%.  This comes after the company announced strong Q2 earnings that beat analyst expectations. The company reported that the number of users increased in Q2 by 39% to hit 416 million, against analyst expectations of 372.7 million. The company attributed the jump in user numbers to the stay-at-home orders that have forced people to spend more time on social media for family and business connections. In terms of revenues, the company reported that there was an increase of 4% to $272 million, while analysts were expecting revenues of $251.2 million.

    Under Armor Inc [NYSE:UA]

    Under Armor, Inc is one of the top gainers this morning and is up by over 10% pre-market. This comes after the company announced better than expected Q2 results. While the company reported a decline in revenues due to the COVID-19 pandemic, gross margins rose by 280 points to hit 49.3% when compared to a similar quarter last year. The company reported a 15% drop in administrative expenses. The company’s management stated the results were impressive when put in the context of the current pandemic.

    Altice USA Inc [NYSE:ATUS]

    Altice USA Inc is another top performer this morning and is up by over 5% after it reported strong Q2 results. The company reported that total revenues grew by 1% to hit $2. 47 billion. It also reported that net income attributable to shareholders increased to $111 million compared to a similar quarter in 2019.  The company further reported that free cash flows increased by 49.8% compared to a similar quarter in 2019.

  • Weak Economic Data Dampens Markets, But There Are Winners

    The markets have opened lower today, amidst weak economic numbers in the U.S. Data shows that the U.S GDP dropped by 32% in the last quarter. The number of jobless people also shot up indicating a weakening of the labor markets According to the Commerce Department, there was a spike in the country’s jobless numbers in the past week, indicating that the economy is slowing down again especially in the Western and Southern States. The mood is further dampened by the Federal Reserve’s observation that the increasing numbers of coronavirus cases could slow down the rate of economic recovery. Nonetheless, there are stocks that are performing well in the current environment driven mainly by earnings. Some of the stocks that are doing well this morning and have been performing well since early morning. Some of the early morning top performers are as below:

    Qualcomm Incorporated [NASDAQ: QCOM]

    QUALCOMM has been one of the top performers in early morning trading.  The stock’s strong performance follows the company’s announcement that it had entered into a $1.8 billion licensing deal with Huawei. The terms of the agreement include licensing rights to some Huawei patents. Through the deal, Qualcomm expects to make about $1.8 billion and the deal will start on January 1st. Besides news on the Huawei deal, the company offered guidance for its Q4 earnings. It stated that it expects revenues of between $5.5 billion and $6.3 billion in Q4.  It also added that it expects an EPS of between $1.05 and $1.25. The results also touched on its 5G rollout stating that it was starting to realize benefits from the investment and that it was fully embracing the challenges that 5G presents.

    Apache Corporation [NASDAQ: APA]

    Apache Corporation is another big gainer this morning and has been gaining from the early morning. Its strong upside momentum comes after it announced strong Q2 results. The company reported that it had a diluted EPS of $1.02 and a loss of $218 million. The company’s CEO stated that its offshore exploration program was a success. The company also announced that it had made a major discovery at Kwaakwasi-1, and more success in its block-58.

    Hologic Inc [NASDAQ: HOLX]

    Hologic Inc is another top performer this morning and has been in the green since pre-market. This comes after the company announced better than expected Q3 results. The company announced that its revenues grew by 8% to hit $822.9 million, or an EPS of $0.75. The company stated that the strong performance was driven by increased demand for its COVID-19 test kits. It is for the same reason that the company expects strong performance in the coming quarters.

  • Top Performers Markets Awaits News from Congress and the Federal Reserve

    Top Performers Markets Awaits News from Congress and the Federal Reserve

    The markets are in uncertain territory this morning as they await direction on the stimulus package from Congress and monetary policy direction from the Fed. On the bailout issue, the markets will be looking for a hint on a compromise between Democrats and Republicans.

    One key event that is heavily watched is a hearing between the CEOs of major tech companies and the House Judiciary Committee.  As for the  Federal Reserve, the market is looking forward to Jerome Powell’s press conference that will happen in the early afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The market is likely to remain undecided until these two events happen. Nonetheless, there are stocks that are already in the green in pre-market trading. Some of the biggest gainers are as below:

    L-Brands Inc [NYSE:LB]

    L-Brands is one of the top gainers in pre-market trading and is up 18.14%. This follows the company’s announcement that it was cutting costs to the tune of $400 million. The company stated that it was spinning off the struggling Victoria’s Secret business from the well-performing Bath & Body Works business. The company added that it would cut costs through a plan aimed at increasing the profits of Victoria’s Secret. The company also aims to achieve this by decentralizing and better streamlining corporate functions. From its plans, the company expects to cut about $175 million in 2020.  The company CEO added that they had made massive progress on this front in Q2.

    FireEye Inc [NASDAQ:FEYE]

    This is another top performer pre-market and is up 14%.  This came after the company released better than expected Q2 results. The company announced that revenue in Q2 stood at $230 million representing an increase of $15 million compared to the guidance it had offered earlier.

    The company added that it had a year-over-year increase of 30% driven by its cloud services and managed services. The CEO stated that they were happy to record the 9th quarter of growing revenues in the company’s subscription services. The CEO also added that Q2 was the 3rd quarter that the company had recorded services revenue growth by over $50 million. The company also added that its intelligence threats business grew by 27%.

    Advanced Micro-Devices Inc [NASDAQ:AMD]

    Advanced Micro-Devices is gaining pre-market and is up by 11% at the time of writing. This comes after the company released Q2 results that beat analyst expectations. The company has reported that in Q2, revenues grew by 26% hit $1.93 billion compared to a year earlier. The company has attributed its growth to strong demand for chips by PC makers and data centers. As the news filters into the market, this stock could be a top performer in the day.

  • High Potential Stocks Today Even As Bailout Talks Bog Down Markets

    High Potential Stocks Today Even As Bailout Talks Bog Down Markets

    It’s a mixed day for the U.S stock markets as investors await progress on a possible $1 trillion bailout for the U.S economy. Yesterday after the close of trading, senate majority leader Mitch McConnell announced the HEALS Act. This is a new stimulus bill that aims to cushion vulnerable Americans from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Part of the bill is a $1200 direct check payments, and an extension of the enhanced employment assistance. The markets will be watching to see if republicans and democrats can arrive at a compromise with regards to the bailout. If there are no signs of consensus, there is a likelihood of the markets easing some of the gains made recently.  Despite the dampened mood and increased volatility in the markets, there are a few stocks that have made a strong showing in pre-market trading. Some of the big winners are as below:

    OneMain Holdings Inc [NASDAQ:OMF]

    OneMain Holdings is among the stocks that are in the green in pre-market trading. This follows the company’s release of impressive Q2 results. While there was a drop in net income when compared to Q2 of 2019, the company managed to record an impressive Q2 net income of $118 million.  Even more impressive is that the company announced a dividend of $2.33 per share that will be payable on August 10th, 2020. Commenting on the results, CEO Doug Shulman stated that the company continues to focus on its core business strengths to drive growth. He added that it was navigating the current tough business environment through complex underwriting, a strong balance sheet, and a hybrid operating model.

    Polaris Inc [NYSE:PII]

    This is another stock showing signs of strength premarket and is up by 5%.  This comes after the company released its Q2 financial results that pointed to a growth in North American sales.  The company attributed this to a 57% increase in the sales of ORV and motorbikes.  The company also reported that dealer inventory declined by 47%, driven by the increased sales, and lower shipments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CEO noted that they were impressed with the company’s resilience despite the near shutdown of the company’s U.S dealerships.   From the stock’s performance, it is clear that the market is impressed with the results.

    Viasat Inc [NASDAQ:VSAT]

    Viasat Inc is another stock showing strength this morning. This follows yesterday’s announcement that the company’s announcement that it had equipped Bombardier Challenger jets with its Ka-Band service. The company added that the move would see it strengthen productivity and improve the customer experience. Bombardier Challenger business jets customers will now have access to high-capacity Ka-band satellites. This is a big deal and could see it keep gaining when markets open.

     

  • 3 Stocks to Watch This Morning As Hopes of a COVID-19 Vaccine Improves Market Sentiment

    3 Stocks to Watch This Morning As Hopes of a COVID-19 Vaccine Improves Market Sentiment

    The markets have regained renewed optimism and at yesterday’s close, the major indices were in the green. The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.65%, the Dow by 0.61%, and the NASDAQ by 0.71%. This follows increased hopes that there will be a COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. According to research by Deutsche Bank on the market sentiment of 500 market professionals worldwide, 56% of them are positive that there will be a vaccine before the end of 2020.  The sentiment is given weight by promising vaccine news from Oxford University.  The optimism around the markets has seen the value of biotech stocks working on COVID-19 vaccines rally. Most of the action in pre-market trading is happening around the following stocks.

    1. Immuron Limited [NASDAQ:IMRN]

    Immuron Limited [IMRN] is one of the top performers in pre-market trading and is up by 111.91% at the time of writing. This comes after IMRN announced that its IMM-124E, used for manufacturing digestive supplements, has been shown to have neutralizing activity against severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2.  Commenting on this development, the company CEO Dr. Dave Gentry stated that, they know SARS-CoV-2 is the cause of the influenza-like disease that affects the lungs. He added that the virus had been detected in anal swab tests even after in nasal-swab turned positive. This he added, offers leeway for an oral therapeutic approach that inhibits the virus in the gastrointestinal tract. As the world rushes to find a way out of the pandemic, this IMRN will continue to draw investor attention.

    1. Heat Biologics Inc [NASDAQ:HTBX]

    This is another active stock that is building upon its momentum in yesterday’s session. Heat Biologics Inc [HTBX] rallied to close with a gain of 47.15% yesterday and is up by 5% in pre-market trading. This comes after the company announced that the first patient had been treated in a phase-1 clinical trial test for PTX-35. This is the company’s antibody candidate for treating advanced solid tumors. HTBX stated that the trial would include 30 patients and would be testing for dosage and safety.  The trial is also well capitalized and has the support of a $15.2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.  CEO, Jeff Wolf, stated that this trial was a first step towards advancing the clinical development of PTX-35. This is likely to play into this HTBX stock’s price action when the markets open.

    1. Miragen Therapeutics [NASDAQ:MGEN]

    Miragen Therapeutics [MGEN] is another big gainer in pre-market trading and is up by 21.57%. While there is no major news around MGEN at the moment, the stock is among those in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine.  A month ago, the company announced that it had received encouraging pre-clinical study for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.