Before you call, check out the companies that are making headlines. Shockwave Medical – Medical device shares rose 1.6% after Johnson & Johnson announced it would buy the company for $12.5 billion. The deal will expand J&J’s cardiovascular device portfolio. Krispy Kreme — Shares of the donut chain rose 5% in premarket trading after Piper Sandler raised her rating on the stock from neutral to outperform. The Wall Street firm said Krispy Kreme is on the cusp of significant growth after entering into a nationwide partnership with McDonald’s last week. The company called the partnership a “game changer” for the business. Cinemark — Shares of the movie theater chain jumped nearly 5% after Wells Fargo doubled its rating on shares to “overweight” from “underweight.” Analyst Omar Mejias pointed to rising demand, improving productivity and an overall positive backdrop for the film industry as catalysts. Altice USA – Shares fell nearly 6% after Wells Fargo downgraded the cable TV company to underweight from equal weight. The bank is now skeptical about Altice’s M&A prospects, writes analyst Stephen Cahall. Ollie’s — Shares rose more than 2% after Loop Capital upgraded the retailer to buy from hold. The firm cited its relatively low valuation compared to peers and the potential to expand its store base. Public storage facilities. Self-storage shares rose nearly 1% after Wells Fargo upgraded the company to overweight from equal weight. The bank called the stock its “best storage idea,” citing its “industry-leading growth metrics” and its solid foundation for navigating an uncertain housing environment. Scotts Miracle-Gro — Shares of the lawn and garden care maker fell 0.8% after Truist downgraded its rating from buy. The firm said most of the near-term good news is now baked into shares and sees limited catalysts for a move higher on the horizon. Fox Corporation Class A – Shares rose 1% after Seaport Research upgraded it to neutral. The investment firm cited cyclically high advertising costs, Fox’s growing Tubi service, strong ratings momentum and the company’s healthy balance sheet as reasons for the increase. Western Digital – Semiconductor stocks rose nearly 3.5% after Rosenblatt Securities upgraded its stock rating to neutral. Rosenblatt said Western Digital should benefit from soaring prices for a key type of memory chip. Snowflake — Shares rose 1.4% after Rosenblatt Securities upgraded its rating on the cloud computing company to neutral, citing strong customer interest in the platform. Agilent Technologies — Shares of the life sciences applications company rose more than 1% after receiving approval to buy Stifel shares. Analyst Daniel Arias believes strong demand for the instrument and attractive valuation will make the stock more attractive to investors. — CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Hakyung Kim, Yoon Lee, Sarah Min and Jessie Pound contributed reporting.
