Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Tesla, Verizon, Block, Alcoa and more
Check out the companies making headlines in premarket trading. Li Auto , Tesla — The electric vehicle makers tumbled more then 7% and 3%, respectively, following announcements of price cuts. Tesla chopped down the sticker price of its Model 3 in China, on top of decreases in other markets Reuters reported . Li lowered price tags on many models, including its newly launched MEGA SUV. U.S. shares of Chinese electric vehicle makers Nio and Xpeng slipped more than 2% in tandem. Verizon — The telecommunications giant traded 1.5% higher as earnings per share came in ahead of expectations. Verizon earned $1.15 a share, excluding items, in the first quarter, three cents more than the consensus forecast of analysts surveyed by FactSet. However, the New York-based company posted $33 billion in revenue, slightly under the $33.32 billion figure penciled in by Wall Street. Verizon also reaffirmed its full-year guidance for several measures. Riot Platforms — The bitcoin miner popped 5.9% on the back of JPMorgan Chase reiterating its overweight rating. JPMorgan said it felt good about Riot’s position as a bitcoin leader coming out of the company’s analyst day. The call also follows the cryptocurrency’s fourth-ever “halving” event on Friday. Crypto stocks — Beyond Riot, several other bitcoin-related names moved on the heels of the halving. Coinbase rose 2.2%, while Marathon Digital and Microstrategy each climbed over 4%. Alcoa — The aluminum company added 1.2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to equal weight from underweight. Morgan Stanley cited a better risk-reward backdrop, improving profitability and more potential benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act. Block — Shares added 0.7% after Bank of America reiterated its buy rating on the financial services stock. The bank believes that Block is currently trading at an attractive valuation after its 9% year-to-date pullback, and could see “significant multiple expansion” ahead. Euronet Worldwide — The financial technology stock advanced 1.7% following Citi’s upgrade to buy from neutral. While shares have pulled back over the past month or so, the firm has confidence that Euronet can meet or exceed the upper end of its earnings forecast. Hut 8 — Shares gained 2.6% after Benchmark initiated coverage of the data center operator with a buy rating, citing Hut 8’s diversified business model and its sizeable bitcoin holdings. The firm’s $12 price target implies roughly 50% upside from Friday’s close. — CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Hakyung Kim and Sarah Min contributed reporting
