Several companies made headlines in premarket trading, including Mission Produce, which surged 21.6% after reporting a 24% increase in revenue for the fiscal third quarter. Rival avocado producer Calavo Growers also saw a 6.5% increase in its stock price after exceeding analyst estimates for earnings and doubling its quarterly dividend. Cloud infrastructure platform Oracle rallied 8% after beating expectations in its fiscal first quarter, while Western-style retailer Boot Barn saw a 6% rise in shares following an update on its recent performance.
However, not all companies had positive news in premarket trading. Apple’s shares slipped nearly 1% after the European Union’s top court ruled that the tech giant must pay $13 billion in back taxes. This news came after Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 and other products during an event in California. Hewlett Packard Enterprise saw a more significant drop of over 5% due to plans to sell $1.35 billion of Series C mandatory company convertible preferred stock to fund the acquisition of Juniper Networks. Rubrik, a data management software company, also saw a nearly 7% drop in its stock price despite beating Wall Street’s quarterly estimates.
On the positive side, Patterson-UTI Energy, an oil and gas service provider, climbed more than 7% after reporting that it had an average of 107 rigs operating in the U.S. in August. Alibaba, the China-based e-commerce company, saw a more modest increase of over 2% after its Hong Kong shares were added to stock connect programs linking exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen. This move is expected to bring in more investments from mainland China. Johnson Controls International also saw a nearly 2% increase in its stock price after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, citing the company’s data center business and search for a new CEO as catalysts.
Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA, the beer maker, added 1.7% after being named a top pick among global brewers by Morgan Stanley, which said there is upside to valuation despite presenting a “mixed picture” in the near term. Equity Residential, a real estate investment trust, rose 1.3% following a Wells Fargo upgrade to overweight from equal weight. Wells Fargo cited the company’s beating of expectations for earnings over the summer as a reason for the improved recommendation. Overall, while some companies experienced drops in their stock prices due to various factors, others saw increases following positive news and outlooks.
