Shares of Pfizer (PFE, Financial) saw an uptick in pre-market trading after the pharmaceutical giant reported a surprise adjusted profit for Q4 2023. The company's financial boost was attributed to its COVID-19 products and a significant decrease in research and development expenses. Despite a sharp decline in demand for its COVID-19 products last year, Pfizer's antiviral Paxlovid and vaccine Comirnaty, developed with BioNTech (BNTX, Financial), brought in approximately $12.5 billion in revenue for 2023, a stark contrast to the $56.7 billion peak in 2022.
JetBlue Airways (JBLU, Financial) shares dipped nearly 6% before the opening bell following the low-cost carrier's stock downgrade. The downgrade came ahead of the company's fourth-quarter results, with concerns over its market share and competition with industry leader Nvidia (NVDA, Financial), which recently participated in a $150 million funding round for AI chatbot maker Kore.ai.
Home prices in the United States rose less than expected in November, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index. The seasonally adjusted HPI Composite for 20 cities showed a marginal increase of 0.1% month-over-month, with the unadjusted composite for 20 cities experiencing a slight decline. Year-over-year, the unadjusted composite for 20 cities rose 5.4%, less than the anticipated 5.8%. Seattle and San Francisco posted the largest monthly declines in home prices.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index reported a 0.3% increase, aligning with the consensus and reflecting a year-over-year advance of 6.6%. The index highlighted positive price appreciation across all nine census divisions, with varying degrees of growth.
JetBlue (JBLU, Financial) and Spirit Airlines (SAVE, Financial) sought an expedited appeal of a federal judge's decision that blocked their airline combination. Spirit Airlines saw its stock rise by 8%, while JetBlue's stock fell by 5.3%. The airlines argued that the judge's decision overlooked the transaction's benefits to the majority of the flying public.
Iterum Therapeutics (ITRM, Financial) announced positive topline results from its Phase 3 clinical trial, leading to a 61% surge in its stock. Other notable stock movements included Kura Oncology (KURA, Financial) with a 16% increase, Petros Pharmaceuticals (PTPI, Financial) up by 13%, and General Motors Company (GM, Financial) rallying by 8% after its profit guidance exceeded expectations.
On the downside, Sidus Space (SIDU) plummeted by 45% following the pricing of an equity offering. Other stocks experiencing declines included Calix (CALX), which dropped 21% after its Q4 earnings release, and United Parcel Service (UPS), which fell by 7% after its Q4 earnings report and guidance fell below expectations.
General Motors (GM, Financial) experienced an 8% stock increase after its Q4 results surpassed expectations and provided a positive outlook for 2024. Super Micro Computer (SMCI, Financial) also saw its shares jump over 12% following a strong Q2 earnings report and an optimistic forecast for the next quarter.
Eli Lilly's (LLY, Financial) oral drug, Olumiant, received approval from Health Canada for the treatment of severe alopecia areata, based on positive results from Phase 3 clinical trials. This news could potentially impact the stock as the company expands its treatment offerings.
Marathon Petroleum (MPC, Financial) reported a strong Q4 with adjusted earnings exceeding expectations and announced plans to reduce capital spending for the year. The company's stock saw a pre-market increase of 1.8%.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX, Financial) shared positive results from a Phase 3 program evaluating VX-548, a non-opioid drug candidate for moderate to severe acute pain, leading to a premarket increase of around 6.5% in its stock.
Sysco Corp (SYY, Financial) experienced a slight decline in premarket trading after reporting a miss on fiscal Q2 revenue, despite a beat on adjusted profit. The company remains optimistic about delivering strong results for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 and beyond.
