Meta Shares of the Facebook parent surged 19% in early morning trading after the company posted better-than-expected revenue and announced a $40 billion stock buyback when it reported its quarterly results Wednesday evening. Bank of America upgraded Meta Thursday, saying the company’s new efficiency mentality positions stock for more than 40% upside. The spike in shares helped pull other mega cap tech companies Amazon and Alphabet up by 4% each.
Align Technology — The orthodontics company saw its shares rise 14% after its quarterly earnings and revenue beat analyst expectations. Align also said it will repurchase up to $1 billion of its common stock over the next three years.
FedEx — The shipping giant rose more than 3% after both Citi and Bank of America upgraded the stock. Citi said it sees “increasing signs of cost control following its missteps in 2022.” On Wednesday, the company announced it will lay off 10% of its officers and directors amid cooling demand.
Merck — Shares of the pharmaceutical giant dipped more than 1% despite Merck beating estimates on the top and bottom lines for the previous quarter. The company reported $1.62 in adjusted earnings per share on $13.83 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had penciled in $1.54 per share on $13.67 billion of revenue. Merck did project sales and adjusted earnings to decline in 2023.
Honeywell — Shares of the industrial company fell more than 5% in premarket trading after Honeywell’s revenue for the fourth quarter came in short of expectations. The company generated $9.19 billion of revenue, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were looking for $9.25 billion. The safety and productivity solutions segment saw sales decline 5% year over year. Honeywell’s adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.52, 1 cent above estimates.
Tesla — The EV maker saw a 1.8% boost in its shares following a Reuters report that the company will raise output at its Shanghai factory to almost 20,000 vehicles per week for February and March. This would be in response to higher demand after the company cut prices.
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