Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Moderna (MRNA) – Moderna shares jumped 7.2% in the premarket after the drugmaker said a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine increased protection against the omicron variant 37-fold. Amid the spread of omicron, other vaccine makers are also seeing gains with Pfizer (PFE) up 1.4%, BioNTech (BNTX) adding 3.1% and Novavax (NVAX) surging 10.3%.
Cruise line operators – The surge in omicron cases is weighing on cruise stocks, with more pressure after a Royal Caribbean (RCL) ship docked in Miami with 48 cases of Covid. Royal Caribbean dropped 2.9% in premarket trading, with Carnival (CCL) down 2.9% and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) falling 3.6%.
Airline stocks – Omicron concerns are also weighing on the airline stocks, with United Airlines (UAL) falling 2.9%, American Airlines (AAL) sliding 2.8%, Delta Air Lines (DAL) falling 2.8%, Southwest (LUV) down 2.3% and JetBlue (JBLU) losing 2.2%.
Biogen (BIIB) – Biogen rallied 3.6% in the premarket after announcing it would cut the price of its Alzheimer’s drug Adulhelm by 50% in order to improve access to the treatment.
Cerner (CERN) – The medical records technology provider will announce a deal today to be acquired by Oracle (ORCL) in an all-cash transaction “in the mid-$90s” per share, according to CNBC’s David Faber. Cerner shares jumped 13% Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported the two sides were close to an agreement. Cerner was up another 1.7% in premarket trading.
Canopy Growth (CGC) – The cannabis producer slid 3.4% in premarket action after Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “neutral”, citing sales trends that are under pressure across Canopy’s businesses.
Sunrun (RUN) – The solar company’s stock tumbled 9.4% in the premarket following a KeyBanc downgrade to “sector weight” from “overweight.” That follows proposals in California that would reduce “net metering” benefits for solar power customers and reduce incentives to buy such systems.
AT&T (T) – Barclays upgraded AT&T to “overweight” from “neutral,” based on a better broadband outlook for telecom companies than for cable providers. AT&T was up 1.6% in the premarket.
Verso (VRS) – The Ohio-based maker of specialty, graphic and packaging paper will be acquired by Swedish paper producer BillerudKorsnäs in a deal worth $27 per share in cash. Verso surged 32.2% in premarket trading.
Axon Enterprise (AXON) – The maker of stun guns and body cameras saw its stock jump 7.3% in the premarket, following a number of stock purchases by company insiders.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) – The Denmark-based drugmaker saw its shares slide 4.2% in premarket trading after saying supply issues in the U.S. market would leave it unable to meet demand for its weight-loss drug Wegovy.