By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trading on Thursday, April 16th. Please refresh for updates.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) stock fell 1.1%, reversing earlier gains posted on the back of a better-than-expected profit in the first quarter. Net inflows totaled $35 billion, although that encompassed $19 billion of outflows from long-term products, compensated for by a sharp rise in demand for cash management services.
- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) stock fell 2.0% after the bank reported a 32% drop in profit in the first quarter.
- The decline is smaller than at most of Wall Street because of Morgan Stanley’s smaller exposure to consumer and small business loans. But its key advisory unit saw revenue fall 11% as dealmaking ground to a halt at the end of the quarter.
- Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) stock was down 0.9% after the company pulled its guidance for 2020, despite beating estimates for quarterly profit.
- The company’s stock has risen sharply in recent days amid high hopes for its molecular testing kit for Covid-19.
- Hertz Global (NYSE:HTZ) stock was down 5.5% after the New York Post reported that it's in talks to get federal help in covering a looming shortfall. The resale value of Hertz's cars is falling due to the Covid-19 outbreak, requiring it to inject extra money into the cover pool for asset backed securities that it used to buy the cars.
- Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was up 1.5% after the company priced its new budget iPhone SE at $399. The price tag is seen as being low enough to encourage holders of older iPhones to upgrade rather than hold on to their current models.
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Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) stock was up 2.1 on a report saying it will buy video conferencing software maker Blue Jeans Network.
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The deal will cost Verizon less than $500 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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Blue Jeans rival Zoom Video (NASDAQ:ZM) stock lost 1.5%, amid reports of more organizations banning its use on security grounds.