Stock Movers

On this episode of Stock Movers:

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick, Scarlet Fu, Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo.

- Hertz (HTZ) shares climbed today after reports that the car-rental company will start selling pre-owned cars on Amazon Autos.

- Guess (GES) is going private in a $1.4 billion deal with Authentic Brands Group LLC in partnership with co-founders Maurice and Paul Marciano and Chief Executive Officer Carlos Alberini. Shareholders will get $16.75 a share in cash, a 26% premium to the stock’s closing price on Tuesday. The deal’s valuation includes debt, the company said in a statement. Guess management will continue to run the business and own the operating company, the company said, while Authentic Brands will acquire a majority stake in Guess’s intellectual property. Shares of Guess rallied on the news.

- Target (TGT) shares fell after incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke said the big-box retailer is facing adversity and called on employees to go the extra mile to end a lengthy sales slump. “There are no shortage of critics out there today,” Fiddelke said in an internal meeting on Wednesday shortly after he was announced as the company’s next leader. “The way to prove those critics wrong is with action that leads to results.” The retailer has faced calls for deeper changes amid persistently weak results and a loss of market share since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. Recent challenges have included an unpopular pullback from diversity initiatives, out-of-stocks on store shelves and inventory missteps.

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On this edition of Stock Movers:

- TJX (TJX) shares are up after the off-price retailer raised its full-year earnings per share outlook after better-than-expected results, a sign that shoppers wary of economic uncertainty are turning to discounters. The TJ Maxx and Marshalls parent now expects full-year earnings per share of $4.52 to $4.57, up from $4.34 to $4.43. The company said it assumed it will be able to offset the significant pressure it expects from tariffs throughout next year. Revenue of $14.4 billion in the three months ending Aug. 2 beat analysts’ expectations. Chief Executive Officer Ernie Herrman said in the statement that the current quarter is “off to a strong start.”

- Target (TGT) shares fell as the retailer’s pick for an internal CEO appointment offset better-than-expected 2Q results and its maintained guidance. Target named veteran Michael Fiddelke as its next chief executive officer, betting that the insider will revive the storied retailer struggling with weak sales. The company said Wednesday the board unanimously elected Fiddelke, who currently serves as chief operating officer, to be CEO starting in February. He will also join Target’s board, while current CEO Brian Cornell, who has led the big-box retailer since 2014, will transition to focus on his role as executive chair. 

- Estée Lauder Cos. (EL) shares fell today. The company said it has hired external advisers to conduct a review of the brands it owns in a bid to accelerate a turnaround after years of sales declines. Chief Executive Officer Stéphane de La Faverie said the company is rethinking its portfolio in order to “focus on our highest return opportunities over the medium to long term,” he told analysts on an earnings call. “We will share updates in due course,” he added.  The company has a variety of brands that focus on selling skin care, cosmetics, haircare and fragrances. In the most recent fiscal year, sales in the company’s skin care division fell 12% because of declines in the Estée Lauder and La Mer brands. Earlier Wednesday, Estée Lauder issued a weak profit outlook for its fiscal year that was dragged down in part by tariff costs.

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On this episode of Stock Movers:
- La-Z-Boy (LZB) shares tumble after the home furniture retailer posted weaker-than-expected first-quarter adjusted earnings per share. KeyBanc notes that the recliner company fell short of its tepid pre-announcement as well.
- Target (TGT) shares slump after the company named veteran Michael Fiddelke as its next chief executive officer, betting that the insider will revive the storied retailer struggling with weak sales.
- TJ Maxx (TJX) rises after the company raised its full-year earnings per share outlook after better-than-expected results, a sign that shoppers wary of economic uncertainty are turning to discounters.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Stock Movers:
- Target (TGT) shares slump after the company named veteran Michael Fiddelke as its next chief executive officer, betting that the insider will revive the storied retailer struggling with weak sales.
- Lowe's (LOW) shares jump after the company agreed to buy Foundation Building Materials for about $8.8 billion in cash to serve more professional customers. Foundation Building has a network of over 370 locations in the US and Canada and had about $6.5 billion in sales last year.
- Popmart (POPMF) shares rise after news that the Chinese toymaker known for Labubu dolls is planning to launch a new mini Labubu. The craze has fueled a 204% increase in year-on-year revenue in the first half of 2025.

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On this episode of Stock Movers:
- Target (TGT) shares fell 6.7% in premarket trading after it reaffirmed its sales forecast for the full year, saying it still sees a sales decline of low-single digit percentage compared to the average analyst estimate of 1.71% decline. The big box retailer also named current Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke to succeed Brian Cornell as the company’s next CEO.
- Hertz (HTZ) shares climb as much as 18% in premarket trading after CNBC reported that the car-rental company will start selling pre-owned cars on Amazon Autos.
- La-Z-Boy (LZB) shares tumble 24% in premarket trading after the home furniture retailer posted weaker-than-expected first-quarter adjusted earnings per share. KeyBanc notes that the recliner company fell short of its tepid pre-announcement as well.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Stock Movers:
- Target (TGT) shares fell 6.7% in premarket trading after it reaffirmed its sales forecast for the full year, saying it still sees a sales decline of low-single digit percentage compared to the average analyst estimate of 1.71% decline. The big box retailer also named current Chief Operating Officer Michael Fiddelke to succeed Brian Cornell as the company’s next CEO.
- Lowe’s (LOW) entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Foundation Building Materials, a North American distributor of interior building products, serving large residential and commercial professionals in both new construction and repair and remodel applications, for approximately $8.8 billion in cash.
- Estee Lauder (EL) shares fall 7.6% after issuing an annual adjusted EPS forecast that trails expectations. In addition, its organic sales decline for 4Q was slightly worse than expected driven by Skin Care and Makeup segments.

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On this episode of Stock Movers:
- K+S fell as much as 3.3% as Berenberg double-downgraded to sell, with a previous buy thesis no longer standing up due to expectations of “broadly lower” prices for agricultural commodities from 2026.
- Alcon dropped as much as 11% in Zurich, the most since March 2020, after delivering sales growth below expectations in the second quarter and announcing downward revisions to its full-year net sales guidance. The eyecare firm has, however, kept its core EPS outlook unchanged.
- Shares in dairy producer Emmi were up as much as 5% after it boosted its organic sales forecast for the full year.

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On this edition of Stock Movers:

- Home Depot (HD) shares rise today after the company's sales returned to growth in the second quarter as shoppers invested in smaller projects, such as lighting and gardening. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer said comparable sales grew 1% in the quarter, modestly below what analysts had estimated but an improvement from a 3.3% slump a year ago. “These may be shallow gains, but they show a material strengthening over the last quarter and provide confidence that the slump in home improvement is finally over,” GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders wrote in a note.

- Intel (INTC) shares are higher today after Softbank agreed to take a $2 billion stake in the chipmaker. That's after a report that the Trump administration is in discussions to take a stake of about 10% in Intel, possibly by converting grants made to the company under the US Chips and Science Act into equity. That could allow Intel to tap about $10 billion in capital as Tan works out a strategy for revival.

- Nvidia (NVDA) shares fell today, which is one of the biggest casualties of the tech selloff today. The company is reporting second quarter earnings next week, with analysts expecting earnings growth of 44% and a 53% surge in revenue to $45.9 billion.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Stock Movers: 

Listen for comprehensive cross-platform coverage of the US market close as heard on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and YouTube with Romaine Bostick,  Scarlet Fu, Tim Stenovec and Emily Graffeo.

- Intel (INTC) shares were higher today continuing a month-long rally. Intel bulls are finally being rewarded for their patience. But the stock’s sudden rebound comes with a worrying side-effect: a valuation so high its most recent precedent is from the dot-com era more than two decades ago.
Shares of the struggling chipmaker have rallied 28% this month, adding about $24 billion in market value, on reports that the US government is in talks for a potential equity stake, as well as plans for a $2 billion investment from Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. The jump has Intel trading at 53 times profits projected over the next 12 months, the highest since early 2002, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

- Palo Alto (PANW) jumped on a stronger-than-expected annual forecast, as the company seeks to provide customers with a bundle of AI-enabled cybersecurity products to fend off attacks. Fiscal-year sales will be about $10.5 billion, the company said Monday in a statement. Analysts, on average, estimated $10.4 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

- Nvidia (NVDA) shares dropped nearly 3.5% in a trading day that saw tech stocks slide across the board. The Nasdaq 100 closed down 1.4% - its second-worst drop since April’s tariff shock. 

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On this edition of Stock Movers:

- Intel (INTC) shares rallied today after SoftBank agreed to buy $2 billion of the chipmaker’s stock. Analysts see the news as a positive, but continue to see a number of questions surrounding the company’s prospects. Meantime, less than two weeks after President Donald Trump called for the ouster of Intel Corp.’s Lip-Bu Tan, the company’s chief executive officer has a shot at securing billions of dollars in fresh capital that could help him turn around the troubled US chipmaker. The Trump administration is in discussions to take a stake of about 10% in Intel, possibly by converting grants made to the company under the US Chips and Science Act into equity. That could allow Intel to tap about $10 billion in capital as Tan works out a strategy for revival.

- Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) shares plunged after the company released results from a mid-stage study of an experimental oral obesity pill that showed side effects caused about 28% of patients to drop out of the trial in just three months. That dashed speculation the oral treatment could compete with popular weight-loss injections from Eli Lilly & Co and Novo Nordisk A/S.

- Home Depot (HD) shares rose today after the company's sales returned to growth in the second quarter as shoppers invested in smaller projects, such as lighting and gardening. The world’s largest home-improvement retailer said comparable sales grew 1% in the quarter, modestly below what analysts had estimated but an improvement from a 3.3% slump a year ago. “These may be shallow gains, but they show a material strengthening over the last quarter and provide confidence that the slump in home improvement is finally over,” GlobalData analyst Neil Saunders wrote in a note.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.