Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:
Amazon.com (AMZN) – CEO Jeff Bezos announced that he and his brother Mark will join an auction winner aboard the first human spaceflight by Bezos’ Blue Origin on July 20. Bezos is set to step down as Amazon CEO on July 5 in favor of Andy Jassy.
U.S. Concrete (USCR) – The concrete supplier agreed to be bought by construction materials maker Vulcan Materials (VMC) for $74 per share in cash, or about $1.29 billion. That’s a nearly 30% premium over U.S. Concrete’s Friday closing price of $57.14. U.S. Concrete shares soared 27.7% in premarket action.
G-III Apparel (GIII) – The apparel maker reported quarterly earnings of 53 cents per share, compared to a 15 cents a share consensus estimate. Revenue also came in above Wall Street forecasts. G-III issued an upbeat full-year outlook as well, noting growth in sales of its sportswear and wear-to-work attire. Its shares rallied 5.8% in premarket trading.
Blackstone (BX), Carlyle Group (CG) – The two private-equity firms, along with Hellman & Friedman, agreed to buy medical supplies company Medline Industries for about $34 billion including debt, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. That would be the largest leveraged buyout deal since the 2008 financial crisis. Separately, the Journal reports that Blackstone will announce a deal to buy data center operator QTS Realty Trust (QTS) for $6.7 billion. QTS shares leaped 19.8% in the premarket.
“Meme” stocks – These stocks will remain in the spotlight, after wide swings last week for the likes of AMC Entertainment (AMC), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), GameStop (GME), BlackBerry (BB) and Koss Corp (KOSS). The biggest premarket moves came from BlackBerry, up 1.4% and Koss, down 2.7%.
Lordstown Motors (RIDE) – Lordstown Motors received a delinquency notice from Nasdaq due to a late filing for its quarterly report. The electric vehicle company said it does intend to file its form 10-Q as soon as possible.
Biogen (BIIB) – The drugmaker’s shares gained 2.2% in the premarket ahead of an expected ruling by the Food and Drug Administration on Biogen’s experimental Alzheimer’s treatment aducanumab. The drug would be the first major drug approved for Alzheimer’s, but some experts say there’s not enough evidence the treatment provides meaningful benefit.
Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla has canceled production of its planned Tesla Model S Plaid+, a high-end version of the Model S with a projected range of 520 miles. The Tesla Model S Plaid – with a projected range of 390 miles – is set to be released next week.
Microsoft (MSFT) – Microsoft won approval from U.S. antitrust regulators for its $16 billion deal to buy artificial intelligence company Nuance Communications (NUAN). Microsoft said reviews are still taking place in other jurisdictions, but that it expected to close the deal by the end of 2021.
KKR (KKR) – KKR will buy airport services company Atlantic Aviation from current owner Macquarie Infrastructure (MIC) for nearly $4.5 billion, seeking to benefit from growing demand for private jet services. KKR added 1.5% in premarket action.
Visa (V) – Visa was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” at Piper Sandler, which said it expected the payments network operator to benefit more from the vaccine-driven U.S. recovery than rival Mastercard (MA). Visa added 1.1% in the premarket.
Peloton (PTON) – The fitness equipment maker was rated “buy” in new coverage at Loop Capital, which notes a 40% drop from January highs and an expectation that the financial impact of the company’s treadmill recalls is likely overstated. Peloton rose 1.2% in premarket trading.