Today's Morning Movers and Top Ratings: ASML, WMT, HD, MDT and More

Movers and Shakers wrote a column · Feb 20 06:54

Morning Movers

Gapping up

$Medtronic(MDT.US)$ on Tuesday raised its annual profit forecast for the third time this fiscal, banking on higher demand for its medical devices, sending the company's shares up 6% in premarket trading. The company also said it has decided to exit its unprofitable ventilator product line but would continue to honor existing ventilator contracts.

Medtronic expects adjusted profit for the fiscal 2024 to be between $5.19 and $5.21 per share, compared with its previous forecast range of $5.13 and $5.19 per share. The company posted an adjusted profit of $1.30 per share for the quarter, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.26 per share, according to LSEG data.

$Walmart(WMT.US)$ forecast fiscal 2025 sales above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday and said it would buy smart-TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion. Shares in the U.S. retail giant rose 3% in premarket trading after it also announced its biggest dividend increase in more than a decade.

The retailer reported a 3.9% rise in comparable sales, excluding fuel, for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to LSEG estimates of 2.91%. Global eCommerce sales grew 23%. Fourth quarter adjusted profit came in at $1.80 per share, compared to expectations of $1.65 per share. The retailer raised its annual dividend by 9%.

Gapping down

$Home Depot(HD.US)$ forecast full-year results below analysts' estimates on Tuesday, signaling that lackluster demand would continue to affect the company this year as people tighten spending on home remodeling amid sticky inflation. The company's shares fell more than 2% premarket, after it also reported a bigger-than-expected drop in fourth-quarter sales.

The company forecast 2024 per-share earnings to grow about 1%, compared to analysts' expectations of a 3.62% rise to $15.61. Comparable sales fell 3.5% in the fourth quarter, versus estimates of a 3.3% drop, but a tighter lid on costs and easing supply chain expenses helped Home Depot post a per-share profit of $2.82, beating estimates of $2.77.

$ASML Holding(ASML.US)$ Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of ASML Holdings to Neutral from Sell, raising the price target to €900 from €660 in a note to clients Tuesday. The upgrade and target increase follows the company's significant 253% quarter-over-quarter inflection in ASML's Q2 2023 orders, which were far better than Redburn expected. However, shares fell by 1.43% in premarket trading.

Source: CNBC; Investing.com

US Top Rating Updates on 02/20