Market Movers: Pre-Market and Midday Recap
A range of company announcements, analyst ratings, and sector trends drove varied stock movements in pre-market and midday trading. Key movers included declines for AutoZone and Ferrari, gains across semiconductor and space stocks, and significant price swings triggered by mergers, spinoffs, and contract news.
AutoZone
AutoZone shares fell over 5% in pre-market trading and dropped more than 10% by midday after CEO Phil Daniele reported that international sales faced challenges in the most recent quarter, while domestic sales performed well.
The company reported third-quarter revenue of $4.84 billion, below the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.86 billion. Quarterly earnings per share of $38.07 exceeded the expected $36.22.
Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly shares rose 1% after the company announced it is acquiring Curevo Inc., LimmaTech Biologics AG, and Vaccine Company to expand its infectious diseases portfolio.
Ferrari
Ferrari shares fell 3% pre-market and declined nearly 6% by midday after the company unveiled its first fully electric vehicle, named Luce, at a venue in Rome.
Lear Corp.
Shares gained 2% after TD Cowen upgraded the auto parts supplier from hold to buy, stating it is well-positioned in North American auto production, which the investment bank expects to be stronger than anticipated.
Semiconductor Sector
Chip stocks rose in pre-market trading amid hopes that the conflict involving Iran would soon end. By midday, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gained over 3% to a 52-week high, after initially falling 3.1% earlier in the session. Individual stock movements included:
- Micron Technology: Shares rose nearly 18% to a new high, boosting its market capitalization to $1 trillion. UBS raised its price target to $1,625 from $535. Earlier in the session, shares had pared losses to trade 2% lower.
- Qualcomm: Rose over 3% after Bloomberg reported a deal with ByteDance to supply chips for AI data centers.
- Advanced Micro Devices: Rose 6%.
- On Semiconductor and Western Digital: Each added nearly 9%.
- Nvidia: Rose 0.6% after a 1.4% decline.
Oil Stocks
Energy companies declined, with Exxon Mobil and Chevron each falling 1%.
Space Stocks
Space stocks rallied, with Intuitive Machines surging 10% to 14%, AST SpaceMobile gaining 6% to 19%, and Rocket Lab rising over 5%.
Cantor Fitzgerald expressed a bullish view on the sector, citing a $90 million contract awarded to Rocket Lab by the U.S. Space Force for two geospatial satellites, and Intuitive Machines reaffirming its fiscal year guidance and anticipating a contract decision on a Lunar Terrain Vehicle later this week.
Other Notable Movers
- Oklo: Shares rose 6% after the Department of Energy selected it for discussions on using Cold War-era plutonium for nuclear reactor fuel, with partner Newcleo.
- Modine Manufacturing: Shares jumped 16% after announcing a $4 billion agreement through 2029 with a data center customer for cooling solutions.
- TopBuild: Shares dropped 12%, on pace for its worst day since March 2020, as investors braced for the company to be acquired by QXO. The deal was announced in April.
- Comcast: Shares rose 6% after the company announced it would spin off NBCUniversal and Sky. The spinoff is expected to complete in about one year. Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanagh will become leader of NBCUniversal, while former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis will become chief of the telecommunications company.
- Rocket Lab and Iridium Communications: Stocks jumped after Rocket Lab announced it would acquire Iridium. Rocket Lab's stock rose more than 9%, Iridium's surged more than 21%.
- AppLovin: Shares climbed more than 4% after Raymond James initiated coverage with a strong buy rating and $640 price target, citing a significant long-term growth opportunity in e-commerce advertising.
- SpaceX: Stock rose 2% after Nasdaq announced SpaceX would be added to the Nasdaq 100 index before trading on July 7.
- Charter Communications: Shares gained 11.4% after a Bloomberg report that Charter and SpaceX held exclusive talks on a consumer phone product, with Charter potentially running some SpaceX mobile traffic through its ground infrastructure.
- Alphabet: Shares were up 4% on its first day trading on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Verizon.
- Verizon Communications: Stock fell 7% after projecting second-quarter losses between $700 million and $800 million related to classifying businesses as held for sale as part of a joint venture with BT Group. If the decline holds, it would be its worst day since July 17, 2023.
- Martin Marietta Materials: Shares slipped 6% after announcing an agreement to combine with Lhoist North America for $13.5 billion in cash.
- TeraWulf: Shares down 3% even after Citi initiated coverage with a buy rating, citing its ability to address bottlenecks in delivering power for data centers.
- Quantinuum: Shares dropped more than 2% despite bullish initiations by Wall Street firms, with JPMorgan calling it a leader in quantum computing.
- Doximity: Shares shed 1.4% after Bank of America double downgraded the stock to underperform from buy, citing execution risks related to an AI pivot and limited clarity on revenue and margins.