By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Thursday, March 25th. Please refresh for updates.
Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) stock fell 14% after the drugstore chain cut its 2021 fiscal guidance, warning that its bottom line will be hit by a “soft” flu season and the ongoing pandemic.
RH (NYSE:RH) stock rose 5.1% after the furniture retailer’s fourth quarter beat expectations, as the company continued to profit from strong demand for home goods during the pandemic.
KB Home (NYSE:KBH) stock fell 4.4% after the homebuilding company disappointed with its first-quarter revenue, despite quarterly orders that beat estimates. The housing boom has shown signs of cooling recently, with drops in housing starts and building permits and rising refinancing rates.
AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) ADR fell 0.2% after the drugmaker stated its Covid-19 vaccine was 76% effective in a new analysis of its U.S. trial, only a little lower than the 79% it claimed in an earlier report this week. Its earlier announcement was criticized by a U.S. safety body for using outdated data.
United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL) stock fell 0.4% after the airline added more than two dozen nonstop routes from the Midwest to coastal cities, taking a bet on the summer holiday season.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) stock fell 4.6% with the sportswear company among a number of Western companies under pressure in China, after historical expressions of concern about labor conditions in Xinjiang were reheated by government-owned media.
Lumentum (NASDAQ:LITE) stock rose 5.8% and II-VI (NASDAQ:IIVI) stock fell 7.1% after laser equipment maker Coherent (NASDAQ:COHR) accepted a bid from II-VI, ending a long-running battle and resulting in Lumentum receiving a breakup fee of over $200 million.
- Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI)stock rose 4.5% after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, even with same-restaurant sales falling over 26% from a year ago.