U.S. stock futures were rising in early trading Friday, as markets continue to welcome dovish signals from the Federal Reserve and price in a soft landing for the economy.
These stocks were poised to make moves Friday:
Costco Wholesale
reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and declared a special cash dividend of $15 a share, with the aggregate amount of the payment worth about $6.7 billion. Revenue in the quarter rose 6.1% to $57.8 billion and same-store sales were up 3.8%. Sales got a boost from sales of food and sundries, the company said. Shares of the warehouse retailer were up 2.5%.
Sunrun
was up 4.4% to $18.73 after Jefferies initiated coverage on shares of the residential solar panel company with a Buy recommendation and price target of $25. In times of “uncertainty we see better risk/reward for companies with exposure to utility-scale, strong backlog and balance sheets,” the analysts said in a research note.
Sunrun
stock jumped 20% on Thursday along with other solar stocks as the prospect of lower interest rates energized the sector.
First Solar,
up 3.4% in premarket trading, and
Enphase Energy
—which jumped 12% on Thursday and gained 5.2% in premarket trading—also were initiated at Jefferies with Buy ratings.
Revenue at
Scholastic
declined 4% in the company’s fiscal second quarter, ended Nov. 30, the important back-to-school period for the educational publisher.
Scholastic
also reduced its fiscal-year earnings guidance. The stock fell 12%.
Quanex Building Products
reported fiscal fourth-quarter sales of $295.5 million, down 3.9% from a year earlier. Quanex said it was entering fiscal 2024 with a “somewhat cautious outlook for the first half due to the ongoing macroeconomic challenges combined with typical seasonality” in its business, but was ”optimistic that demand for our products will improve in the second half as consumer confidence is restored over time.” Shares tumbled 8.5%.
Fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings at
Lennar
were better than expected. The home builder said it received 17,366 orders in the fourth quarter and delivered 23,795 homes. The company, however, reported a gross margin on home sales of 24.2%, lower than the 24.6% expected by analysts. The stock declined 2.5%.
Intel
rose 2.1% to $46.11. Analysts at BofA upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform and raised their target for the price to $50 from $32. The chip maker on Thursday launched a lineup of laptop processors named “Core Ultra” that are designed to enhance AI-related features in software for personal computers.
General Electric
rose 2% to $123.75. afterWells Fargo upgraded the company to Overweight from Equal Weight and lifted its price target to $144 from $115.
Palantir Technologies
gained 1.8% after the analytics-software company received a one-year extension to its previous four-year contract for the U.S. Army’s Vantage data-management program. The extension is worth up to $115 million.
American depositary receipts of
Nokia
tipped 1.5% lower after
Citi
slashed their rating on the telecom stock to Sell from Buy.
Write to Joe Woelfel at [email protected]
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