General Motors assembly workers picket outside the General Motors Bowling Green plant during the United Auto Workers national strike in Bowling Green, Kentucky, October 10, 2019.
Bryan Woolston | Reuters
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.
KeyCorp — The Cleveland-based regional bank rose almost 2% premarket after Piper Sandler said the shares have begun to recover and it’s growing “more comfortable” with its profit estimates. Piper upgraded KeyCorp to overweight from neutral.
Keysight Technologies — Shares added about 1.5% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the test and measurement equipment maker to overweight from equal weight. The investment bank said Keysight’s current valuation doesn’t reflect its double-digit earnings growth.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals — The biopharmaceutical company climbed 3.5% before the open after Wells Fargo upgraded to overweight from equal weight. The bank said Apellis offers a favorable risk-reward ahead of third-quarter earnings.
General Motors, Ford, Stellantis — GM and Ford fell less than 1% and Stellantis rose less than 1% after the United Auto Workers went on strike Thursday night. About 12,700 workers at three key assembly plants walked out, according to the union.
Unity Software — Shares in the video game developer stock added almost 3% premarket on the heels of an upgrade to buy from Bank of America. A stable advertising business, better monetized game engine, priced-in “risks and execution issues” and “potential upside” to 2024-25 earnings estimates underpinned the upgrade.
DoorDash — Shares of the food delivery company slid almost 3% premarket after MoffettNathanson downgraded DoorDash to market perform from outperform. The research firm said that the resumption of student loan payments could hurt food delivery demand.
Arm Holdings — Shares of the semiconductor and software stock gained 5.4% premarket after its rally on Thursday, when the company made its Nasdaq debut through an initial public offering and jumped nearly 25%. Needham initiated coverage of the British company with a hold rating, saying Arm’s valuation looks “full” in a post-smartphone era.
Adobe — Shares fell 3.4% on the back of the company’s fiscal third-quarter earnings report Thursday. Earnings and revenue at the Photoshop and Acrobat maker beat analysts’ estimates and forward guidance matched Street projections. While Goldman Sachs and Bank of America reiterated buy ratings, JPMorgan remained neutral, citing macroeconomic headwinds and a high premium for Adobe’s pending acquisition of Figma for $20 billion.
Nucor — The steelmaker fell 2.3% before the open after issuing weaker-than-expected earnings guidance for the third quarter, citing weaker pricing and volumes. Nucor forecast earnings between $4.10 and $4.20 per share, versus the $4.57 expected by analysts polled by LSEG.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Michelle Fox, Alex Harring, Hakyung Kim, Tanaya Macheel, Jesse Pound and Pia Singh contributed reporting.
