Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:
Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Southwest is asking its employee unions to agree to pay cuts, in return for not furloughing or laying off employees through 2021. Non-union salaries will be cut by 10% until the beginning of 2022.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) – Cisco was ordered to pay $1.9 billion to Virginia-based cybersecurity company Centripetal, which had accused Cisco of copying its patents. Cisco was ruled to have infringed 4 of 5 patents, but said it was disappointed with the decision and plans to appeal.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) – Dollar Tree plans to hire more than 25,000 holiday season workers. Many of those jobs will be at the discount retailer’s distribution centers, as online shopping surges due to the pandemic.
Sonos (SONO), Logitech (LOGI) – Apple (AAPL) has stopped selling wireless speakers and headphones from other companies ahead of its own product launches, according to a Bloomberg report. Products from Bose, Sonos and Logitech are now absent from Apple’s online store.
Alphabet (GOOGL) – Alphabet’s Google unit has rebranded its “G Suite” of business tools as “Google Workspace,” and also announced new pricing tiers and features in its ongoing competition with Microsoft’s (MSFT) Office products.
Amgen (AMGN) – The biotech giant announced positive results in a phase 2 study of an experimental treatment for non-small cell lung cancer.
Pfizer (PFE), BioNTech (BNTX) – European Union regulators have begun a rolling review of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. It had launched a similar review of AstraZeneca’s (AZN) vaccine candidate last week.
Alteryx (AYX) – The data analytics software company announced that board member Mark Anderson will succeed company co-founder Dean Stoecker as CEO, effective immediately, with Stoecker remaining as chairman. Alteryx also increased its third-quarter revenue outlook.
Spartan Energy Acquisition Corp. (SPAQ) – The special purpose acquisition company announced an Oct. 28 special shareholder meeting to approve the combination of Spartan and electric vehicle maker Fisker.
Costco (COST) – The warehouse retailer’s stock was upgraded to “overweight” from “equal weight” at Barclays, based on healthy customer traffic levels, “not particularly tough” comps, and sustainable profit margin expansion.
Northrop Grumman (NOC) – RBC upgraded the defense contractor’s stock to “outperform” from “sector perform,” noting a recent ballistic missile contract award as well as third-quarter underperformance by the stock. RBC said this sets up a compelling risk/reward profile for Northrop Grumman shares.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) – The drugmaker said it would raise its full-year revenue guidance by more than $200 million when it reports quarterly earnings on Oct. 22. It also said it expects to return at least $3 billion to shareholders through a multi-year stock buyback program. Alexion revealed those updates in a news release prior to its virtual Investor Day today.
Social Capital Hedosophia (IPOC) – The special purpose acquisition company is taking Medicare Advantage insurance provider Clover Health public through a merger deal valuing Clover at $3.7 billion.