In premarket trading, several companies saw significant movement in their stock prices. KeyCorp, a regional bank based in Cleveland, saw its shares jump by 18% following an announcement of a minority investment from The Bank of Nova Scotia. This deal resulted in Scotiabank acquiring 14.9% of KeyCorp’s common stock for approximately $2.8 billion in cash. Another notable stock movement was seen in Starbucks, with shares of the coffee chain rising by 2.2% after activist investor Starboard Value took a stake in the company in an attempt to increase its stock price value. Additionally, pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly experienced a 1.4% increase in its stock price after receiving an upgrade from Deutsche Bank to a buy rating from hold. The bank highlighted Eli Lilly’s recent earnings beat and labeled the stock as a “low beta/high growth” unicorn.
On the flip side, JetBlue Airways saw a decline of nearly 6% in its stock price after announcing plans to offer $400 million of convertible senior notes due in 2029. Hawaiian Electric Industries also faced a significant drop in its stock price, falling by almost 10%. This decline was attributed to the company’s lack of a financing plan for the payment of a $1.71 billion Maui windstorm and wildfire settlement. In addition, Hawaiian Electric Industries reported a consolidated net loss of $1.30 billion in the second quarter, compared to net income of $55.1 million in the same period last year, due to a goodwill impairment charge.
Online brokerage firm Robinhood experienced a modest increase of over 1% in its stock price following an upgrade to overweight from neutral by Piper Sandler. The firm pointed to Robinhood’s potential long-term benefits from continued growth in global retail and derivatives trading, as well as the transfer of generational wealth from baby boomers to their children. Conversely, Qualcomm saw its shares decline by more than 1% after Wolfe Research downgraded the chipmaker to peer perform from outperform. The firm suggested that Apple’s use of its own internal modem would have a negative impact on Qualcomm, as well as indicating that the growth in premium Android devices had normalized, making it a tougher sell to investors.
Overall, the premarket trading session showcased a mixed bag of performances from various companies. While some saw significant boosts in their stock prices, others experienced notable declines. These fluctuations were influenced by a variety of factors, including strategic investments, upgrades by analysts, and the announcement of financial losses. Moving forward, investors will likely continue to monitor these companies closely to gauge their future performance and potential investment opportunities.
