Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) – Bed Bath & Beyond reported a quarterly loss of 38 cents per share, compared to forecasts of a profit of 2 cents per share. The housewares retailer’s revenue also came in below estimates, and the company has withdrawn its full-year forecast. New CEO Mark Tritton said the current quarter would remain pressured, and called the results “unsatisfactory.”
Occidental Petroleum (OXY) – Occidental said it would begin a new round of job cuts, following its $38 billion buyout of Anadarko Petroleum. The energy producer did not give a specific number of jobs to be cut but has been selling assets and reducing expenses since completing the deal.
HP Inc. (HPQ) – HP has once again rejected a takeover bid by Xerox (XRX), saying the proposal undervalues the computer and printer maker. HP also said the fact that Xerox has secured financing for the $33 billion offer is not a basis for a takeover discussion.
Alphabet (GOOGL) – Bank of America Securities raised its price target on the Google parent’s stock to $1,620 per share from $1,450 a share, noting a healthy ad business and saying the Google operation would benefit from a number of factors including the elevation of Sundar Pichai to Alphabet CEO.
Uber (UBER) – Uber has discontinued upfront ride pricing in California, in response to a new law which requires the ride-hailing service to classify more of its drivers as employees rather than independent contractors.
Verizon (VZ) – Verizon dropped annual contracts for Fios TV and internet customers, eliminating the traditional bundles and allowing customers to select internet, tv, and phone packages separately. Customers will also be allowed to change any selections monthly.
Tesla (TSLA) – Tesla remains on watch after rising to another all-time high and seeing its market cap exceed that of Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) combined. Baird Equity Research downgraded Tesla to “neutral” from “outperform,” saying the risk/reward is now more balanced following the stock’s recent runup.
Walmart (WMT) – Walmart said it opened 134 new stores in Mexico last year, the biggest expansion by the retailer in that country since 2013.
Voya Financial (VOYA) – Voya is exploring a possible sale, according to people briefed on the matter who spoke to the Financial Times. The paper said the U.S.-based retirement plan provider could be valued at $10 billion or more.
Costco (COST) – The warehouse retailer reported a December comparable sales increase of 9%, exceeding the consensus StreetAccount estimate of 7.1%.
Coca-Cola (KO) – The beverage giant was upgraded to “outperform” from “neutral” at Credit Suisse, which said structural changes at the company should allow revenue and returns on investment to grow faster.
BlackRock (BLK) – Deutsche Bank initiated a “Buy Catalyst Call” on the asset manager’s stock, saying it should outperform the overall market during quarterly earnings season.
