This post was originally published on this site
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Boeing — Boeing remains on watch after falling nearly 4.5% Monday and dragging nearly 120 points off the Dow Jones Industrial Average by itself. A potential negative story has been rebutted this morning, with China Aircraft Leasing Group denying a newspaper report that it had put an order for 100 737 Max jets on hold.
Walt Disney — Cowen upgraded Disney to “outperform” from “market perform,” predicting that Thursday’s investor day will be a “deck-clearing” event for positive sentiment. However, Cowen does note concerns about the recent acquisition of Fox assets as well as prospects for Disney’s direct-to-consumer offerings.
Fiat Chrysler — Fiat Chrysler will pay $110 million to settle a lawsuit that it had misled investors about safety concerns surrounding excess diesel emissions. An investor group had sued the automaker in 2015, saying it had falsely claimed it was complying with safety regulations.
Wynn Resorts — Wynn is offering $7.1 billion for Australian casino operator Crown Resorts. Crown said talks between the two parties were at a preliminary stage, with the proposed bid consisting of 50% cash and 50% in Wynn shares.
Alcon — Alcon will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the symbol “ALC,” following the Swiss eye care company’s spin-off from drugmaker Novartis.
Altria — Altria has been asked by the Federal Trade Commission for more information on its investment in e-cigarette maker Juul. Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, bought a 35 percent stake in Juul for $12.8 billion in November, and is now seeking to convert its non-voting stake in Juul to voting shares.
SAP — UBS downgraded the enterprise software maker’s stock to “neutral” from “buy,” saying it doesn’t foresee that the November acquisition of experience management company Qualtrics will transform SAP’s near-term prospects. UBS also feels that SAP’s gross margin targets may not be attainable.
PerkinElmer — PerkinElmer was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs, with the life sciences company’s stock also added to Goldman’s “Conviction Buy” list. Goldman thinks PerkinElmer’s growth will accelerate beyond the Street’s consensus estimates.
Avaya — Avaya is preparing to investigate a possible sale of the company, according to a Bloomberg report. That follows the receipt of unsolicited interest in the business communications company.
Zogenix — Zogenix shares are under pressure after the Food and Drug Administration refused to review a marketing application for the drugmaker’s seizure treatment. The FDA said the application was insufficient and would have to be resubmitted.
U.S. Steel — The steelmaker’s stock was downgraded to underperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse, which points to a weakened competitive position for U.S. Steel.
