Investors are watching several companies make the biggest moves in premarket trading. The market is reacting to a mix of positive earnings reports and disappointing outlooks from major retailers and manufacturers.
Pharma and chip stocks surge on major deals
Moderna and Merck are seeing a massive surge in stock value after a late-stage trial showed positive results for a personalized cancer vaccine. Moderna’s stock at one point soared 57%, while Merck’s jumped just over 6%. The drug’s approval path for the U.S. remains unclear.
Separately, Marvell Technology is up more than 11% after granting Google permission to buy a $12 billion stake. This deal will fund the development of custom chips for the Alphabet subsidiary. Analog Devices also rose more than 3% after adjusted earnings and revenue for its fiscal third quarter, along with current quarter guidance, came in above expectations.
Keysight Technologies posted third quarter results that exceeded expectations on the top and bottom lines. The electronic test and measurement company posted earnings of $3.07 per share, excluding items, more than the $2.48 per share expected by analysts. Revenue of $1.85 billion beat the $1.75 billion consensus estimate.
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Retailers face pressure on spending
Lowe’s shares were off 2% after updating its full-year sales and earnings outlook to the bottom end of its prior guidance. Revenue for the second quarter also missed expectations, and the company reported it saw pressure in home improvement spending. La-Z-Boy tanked almost 17% after reporting first quarter earnings that came in at 43 cents per share on an adjusted basis, down 9% from the year-ago period.
Target declined 1.5% despite reporting better-than-expected revenues in its second-quarter financial report and hiking its full-year guidance. Results were boosted by a $752 million boost to net earnings, or $1.65 per share, from tariff refunds.
Estee Lauder rose more than 7% after it reported earnings and revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter that beat consensus estimates. The beauty care manufacturer and marketer also reported that it expects earnings of between $3.10 to $3.35 per share in fiscal year 2027, about in-line with FactSet estimates for between $2.95 to $3.42.
Other notable movers
Toll Brothers rose just over 1% after reporting third quarter earnings of $2.97 per share on revenues of $2.65 billion. Analysts had expected per-share earnings of $2.93 on revenues of $2.61 billion. Mercury Systems slid more than 9% after revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2027 approached about $1.1 billion, versus the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.05 billion.
