By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Thursday, April 15th. Please refresh for updates.
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Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) stock climbed 1.4% after the bank reported a jump in first-quarter profit, helped by the release of $2.7 billion set aside to cover potential coronavirus loan losses, as well as the announcement of a $25 billion stock buyback program.
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PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) stock rose 0.3% as the snacks and soft drinks giant beat market expectations for quarterly revenue on Thursday, helped by consumers stacking up on treats to eat as they have to work from home.
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BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) stock rose 1.6% after the world's largest asset manager reported a 16% jump in first-quarter profit as investors poured more money into its diverse funds and fee revenue jumped. Assets under management topped a staggering $9 trillion;
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U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) stock rose 0.2% after the bank reported better than expected first-quarter earnings, continuing the theme of strong banking quarterly results.
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GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK) ADR rose 5.7% after the Financial Times reported that activist fund manager Elliott Management is accumulating a stake in the drugmaker.
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UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) stock rose 1.9% after the health insurer announced its quarterly profit rose almost 44%, helped by growth in its Optum unit that manages drug benefits.
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Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) stock rose 7.6% after the computer manufacturer announced it will spin off its stake in cloud-software company VMware (NYSE:VMW), valued at $52 billion, forming two standalone publicly traded companies. VMware stock rose 2.3%, after saying it will distribute a special cash dividend of $11.5 billion to $12 billion to shareholders.
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Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) stock rose 6% the day after the cryptocurrency exchange made a volatile start to trading after its direct listing. The company soared above a $112 billion valuation in its trading debut Wednesday, before slipping back to close at $328, with a market cap of over $85 billion, still over 30% above its $250 reference price.
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PPD (NASDAQ:PPD) stock rose 6.3% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Thermo Fisher (NYSE:TMO), up 3.1%, is nearing a deal to buy the pharmaceutical-testing company for more than $15 billion.
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American Eagle (NYSE:AEO) stock rose 4% after the clothes retailer forecast first-quarter revenue of more than $1 billion, significantly above expectations, helped by strong demand for its labels as customers spend their stimulus checks.
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Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) stock fell 0.5%, still suffering from the hit to sentiment from studies linking its Covid-19 vaccine to rare but severe blood clots. U.S. health authorities have recommended the drug not be distributed for the present..
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) stock rose 0.6% after the world's biggest contract chipmaker reported a rise in first-quarter profit of almost 20% on strong chip demand amid a global shift to home working. It added it was trying to expand capacity to try and alleviate a worldwide chip shortage.