Check out the companies in the spotlight before the opening. Rivian Automotive — Shares of electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive soared more than 40% after the company secured up to $5 billion in funding from Volkswagen Group. The initial investment is $1 billion, with another $4 billion expected by 2026. A so-called short squeeze has spurred the rally in shares, as about 19% of Rivian shares available for trading were shorted before the news broke, according to FactSet. FedEx — Shares of FedEx jumped 14% after strong fourth-quarter results. The shipping giant beat Wall Street expectations on sales and profits and reported that capital spending will rise 16% from fiscal 2023 as cost-cutting measures take effect. Whirlpool — Whirlpool shares soared more than 18% after a Reuters report said Bosch was considering a takeover bid for the appliance maker.Southwest Airlines — Shares fell 3% after the company lowered its second-quarter earnings outlook due to changes in booking behavior. Southwest said it expects revenue per available seat mile to fall 4% to 4.5% compared to the same period a year ago. The company had previously expected a decline of 1.5% to 3.5%. General Mills — The consumer foods company fell 4% before the close after reporting mixed quarterly results. General Mills beat profit expectations in its most recent quarter, but sales fell short of Wall Street expectations. Nvidia — The chip stock rebounded about 7% in trading on Tuesday, gaining more than 2%. Nvidia had fallen for three straight days before rebounding, dropping 7% on Monday as investors pulled out of the high-flying AI leader. Citi Research raised its price target on Nvidia to $150 from $126 on Wednesday. Aptiv — The auto tech stock fell 7% after Piper Sandler downgraded Aptiv to underweight from neutral and lowered its price target. The firm cited the Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture announcement, suggesting it will rely less on intermediaries like Aptiv going forward. The new $63 price target implies Aptiv shares could fall 14% from Tuesday’s closing price. Campbell’s Soup — The packaged food company rose 1% after JPMorgan upgraded it to overweight. It’s the first time the bank has given the stock a rating since 2009. Analyst Ken Goldman cited “excellent demand” and strong long-term margins for the upgrade. United States Steel — The steelmaker’s shares rose 2% after BMO Capital Markets upgraded it to outperform from market average. The investment firm said U.S. Steel appears undervalued, even as a possible sale to Nippon Steel Corp. is up in the air.Micron Technology — The memory chip maker rose about 3% after the close ahead of its quarterly earnings report. Many on Wall Street expect Micron Technology to beat quarterly expectations and raise its guidance as demand from AI shows no signs of slowing. Robinhood — Shares rose 3%. On Wednesday, Wolf upgraded the investment platform to outperform from peer perform, citing its strong fundamentals. — CNBC’s Sarah Ming, Lisa Han, Jesse Pound and Michelle Fox contributed reporting
Biggest movers in premarket trading: RIVN, FDX, WHR
