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Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Boeing — Boeing said it would cut production of its 737 Max aircraft to 42 per month from 52, as it continues to work to return the aircraft to service following two fatal crashes. In a related story, American Airlines said it would extend cancellations of 90 daily flights involving that aircraft by more than a month to June 5. In light of that production cut, and the possibility of more delays in restoring service, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch has cut its rating on the stock to “neutral” from “buy.”
Morgan Stanley — Morgan Stanley issued a statement saying it has not been involved in the marketing or execution of any short-selling trades involving Lyft. The firm said any activity involving the ride-hailing firm’s shares has occurred in the normal course of market-making, and that any suggestion that has applied “short pressure” to Lyft is false.
Carlyle Group — The private-equity firm will buy between 30 percent and 40 percent of Spanish energy company Cepsa from majority shareholder Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi state-owned investment arm. The stake is valued at up to $4.8 billion.
Wells Fargo — The bank was urged by Warren Buffett, its largest shareholder, to look outside of Wall Street for its next chief executive following the resignation of CEO Tim Sloan. Buffett made his comments in an interview with the Financial Times.
Fiat Chrysler — The automaker will pay Tesla hundreds of millions of euros to allow Tesla’s electric cars to be counted in its fleet. That move will allow it to avoid fines for violating new, tougher European Union emissions rules.
Wynn Resorts — The casino operator was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Jefferies, which notes an improved outlook in China and Macau as well as saying that risk related to a Massachusetts license review is more positively skewed.
General Electric — GE was downgraded to “underweight” from “neutral” by J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Stephen Tusa, who also cut his price target on the stock to $5 per share from $6. Tusa said investors are underestimating the severity of the challenges and underlying risks at GE.
Procter & Gamble — P&G was upgraded to “outperform” from “market perform” at Wells Fargo, which said CEO David Taylor has infused a sense of urgency and responsibility into the consumer products giant that will result in better performance.
Harley-Davidson — Harley was downgraded to “market perform” from “outperform” at Wells Fargo, given weakness in the heavyweight motorcycle market, as well as uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
Southwest Airlines — Southwest was downgraded to “market perform” from “outperform” at Raymond James, which cited risks related to the continuing grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max jets.
Snap — Snap was upgraded to “outperform” from “sector perform” at RBC Capital due to several positive factors including evidence that Android platform improvements for the social media service are gaining traction.
