- U.S. equity futures rose
- AMC led 'meme stocks' higher after $230 mln capital raise
U.S. equity futures rose with stocks, and commodities including oil jumped, as a string of positive economic readings helped spur optimism in the recovery from the pandemic.
At 8:10 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 233 points, or 0.68%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 22.25 points, or 0.53% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 53.75 points, or 0.39%.
Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:
AMC Entertainment (AMC) – AMC is selling 8.5 million shares to investment firm Mudrick Capital for $230.5 million, following the recent surge in the movie theater operator’s stock price. AMC plans to use the proceeds to pursue the acquisition of theater assets and leases, as well as possible debt reduction. Shares soared 17% in premarket trading.
Nio (NIO) – Nio delivered 6,711 vehicles in May, an increase of 95% compared to a year ago for the China-based electric vehicle maker. Following those results, Citi upgraded Nio to “buy” from “neutral,” and raised its sales forecast for the company. Rival Chinese electric vehicle company Xpeng (XPEV) is also seeing accelerating sales with 5,686 vehicles delivered last month, an increase of 483% from a year earlier. Nio rallied 3.7% in premarket trading, while Xpeng jumped 4.7%.
Canopy Growth (CGC) – The Canadian cannabis producer reported a 38% jump in revenue during its fiscal fourth quarter, though that increase was slightly smaller than analysts had been anticipating. Canopy Growth cut its quarterly loss by 8% and reiterated that it expects to become profitable during this fiscal year. Its shares rose 0.1% in premarket trading.
Boeing (BA) – Boeing added 1.9% in the premarket after it was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” at Cowen. The firm notes the fast improvement in air traffic demand, resulting in what it expects will be a positive impact on jet demand.
Nokia (NOK) – Nokia will collect licensing fees from automaker Daimler for its patents, ending a legal dispute between the two companies. Terms of the settlement were confidential, but the deal will add to the annual $1.7 billion that Nokia earns from patent licensing.
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) – Johnson & Johnson is asking the Supreme Court to review a $2 billion verdict against it involving talc products that allegedly caused cancer in a number of users. The court may decide as soon as today whether it will grant that review.
Cinemark (CNK) – Cinemark is among movie theater chains seeing positive sentiment today, after “A Quiet Place, Part II” topped the weekend box office with more than $58 million in ticket sales. That was the highest weekend total for any movie since the pandemic began. AMC, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas have also lifted all mask mandates for fully vaccinated customers. Cinemark rose 1.8% in the premarket.
Cloudera (CLDR) – Cloudera agreed to be acquiredby private-equity firms KKR (KKR) and Clayton Dubilier & Rice for $16 per share. The cloud-based data analytics company’s shares surged 23.4% in premarket trading.
3M (MMM) – A judge sided with 3M in the second trial involving earplugs sold to the military. 3M has been hit with more than 230,000 claims that the earplugs were faulty and caused hearing problems, and the first trial resulted in a $7.1 million verdict in favor of three veterans.
The Honest Company (HNST) – The natural products company is the subject of new – and positive – analyst coverage at multiple Wall Street firms, with Citi and Jefferies rating the stock a “buy” and JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley rating it “overweight.” All mention strong growth prospects, as well as Jessica Alba’s role as founder and brand ambassador. The stock rose 1.4% in the premarket.