Check out the companies making headlines before the market opens. Microsoft — The technology giant raised its quarterly dividend 10.7% to 83 cents per share, sending its shares up about 2%. The new dividend will be paid on December 12. SolarEdge Technologies — Shares of SolarEdge Technologies fell more than 6% after Jefferies downgraded the solar company to underperform from hold. The company believes increased domestic competition and high inventory levels overseas are putting pressure on SolarEdge. Intel shares rose about 7% after the chipmaker announced the creation of a separate entity for its foundry business, a structure that will allow the unit to have its own board of directors and raise outside funding. Dell Technologies — Personal computing and technology stocks rose 2% after Mizuho Securities gave the company an outperform rating. The company said Dell is a market leader with a strong supply chain and is growing market share in artificial intelligence servers. Shopify — Shares of the e-commerce stock rose 2.6% after Redburn Atlantic upgraded the e-commerce stock to “buy” from “neutral.” With the U.S. social commerce market looking set to explode in the coming years, Shopify should continue to gain market share. Flutter Entertainment — Flutter Entertainment, the online sports betting company behind FanDuel, said it would acquire Snaitech SpA, an Italian gaming company owned by Playtech Plc, for 2.3 billion euros (about 2.56 billion U.S. dollars) in cash, after which its shares rose slightly. AppLovin – Shares of the mobile software company rose more than 2% after UBS upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral.” UBS said: “We have been enthusiastic about APP’s execution on the gaming opportunity for some time… and believe (the total addressable e-commerce market) could drive upside to our above-mentioned Saint-Germain estimates.” Gannett — Citi The newspaper company was upgraded to “neutral” from “sell” and its shares rose 4%. “Gannett made solid progress in slowing the rate of revenue decline in the first half of 2024,” the bank said. “If trends continue, the company could achieve flat revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2024 or early 2025. This could It could lead to multiple expansions. —CNBC’s Fred Imbert, Sarah Min, Sean Conlon and Michelle Fox Theobald reported.
