In today’s stock market, there was initial optimism followed by a decline in stocks due to rising bond yields and increased oil prices. However, certain companies stood out with positive news. Costco Wholesale reported earnings and sales for the fourth quarter that surpassed analysts’ expectations, leading to a 1.3% rise in their stock. On the other hand, MillerKnoll, a furniture company, raised its fiscal 2024 outlook and posted first-quarter earnings and sales that beat analysts’ estimates, causing their stock to surge by 29%. Cloudflare also saw a rise of 5.8% after announcing a partnership with Meta Platforms and offering an open-source large language model for developers on its platform.
As for electric vehicle charging equipment companies, Blink Charging and ChargePoint experienced stock increases of 5.3% and 3.4%, respectively, after receiving Buy ratings from UBS as part of their coverage initiation. Oncology company Guardant Health enjoyed a 5.5% increase in stock value following an upgrade in their shares to Overweight by Piper Sandler. Paychex, a payroll services company, rose by 4% after adjusting its earnings guidance for the fiscal year. However, not all companies had positive results. Progress Software, a programming tools maker, lowered its fiscal-year adjusted free cash flow guidance, resulting in a 3.2% decline in their stock.
In other news, toy companies Hasbro and Mattel had mixed performances, with Hasbro falling slightly and Mattel rising after receiving Overweight ratings from Morgan Stanley as part of their coverage initiation. Paramount’s stock rose by 2% after Hollywood writers reached an agreement to end their strike. On the other hand, Netflix shares were down by 0.4%, and Walt Disney slipped by 0.7%. Amazon.com experienced a 1.1% decline following a 4% drop the previous day when the Federal Trade Commission announced its lawsuit against the online retailer and cloud company, accusing Amazon of anti-competitive practices. Earnings reports from Micron Technology and Jefferies Financial Group are anticipated after the market closes.
