Check out the companies making headlines before the market opens. Shockwave Medical — The medical device stock rose 1.6% after Johnson & Johnson announced it would acquire the company for $12.5 billion. The transaction will enhance Johnson & Johnson’s portfolio of cardiovascular disease treatment devices. Krispy Kreme — Shares of the donut chain surged 5% in premarket trading after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral. Krispy Kreme is poised for major growth after striking a national partnership with McDonald’s last week, the Wall Street firm said. The company calls the partnership a “game changer” for the business. Cinemark — Shares of the movie theater chain rose nearly 5% after Wells Fargo upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight. Analyst Omar Mejias pointed to growing demand, improved performance and an overall positive backdrop for the film industry as catalysts. Altice USA — Shares of the cable company fell nearly 6% after Wells Fargo downgraded the cable company to underweight from equal weight. Analyst Steven Cahall wrote that the bank is now skeptical of Altice’s M&A prospects. Ollie’s — Shares of Ollie’s rose more than 2% after Loop Capital upgraded the off-price retailer to buy from hold. The company pointed out that its valuation is relatively low compared with its peers and its store expansion potential is huge. Public Storage — Self-storage stocks rose nearly 1% after Wells Fargo upgraded the company to overweight from equal weight. The bank ranks the stock as a “top idea in storage,” citing “industry-leading growth metrics” and its solid foundation to navigate an uncertain housing environment. Scotts Miracle-Gro — The maker of lawn and garden care products fell 0.8% after Truist downgraded the stock to a hold from buy. The company said much of the recent bullish news is now priced in the stock and believes there are limited upside catalysts. Fox Corporation Class A shares rose 1% after Seaport Research upgraded its rating to “buy” from “neutral.” As reasons for the upgrade, the investment firm cited cyclically strong ad spending, Fox’s growing Tubi service, solid ratings momentum and the company’s healthy balance sheet. Western Digital — Semiconductor stocks rose nearly 3.5% after Rosenblatt Securities upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral.” Rosenblatt said Western Digital should benefit from a sharp increase in the price of a key type of memory chips. Snowflake — Shares of Snowflake rose 1.4% after Rosenblatt Securities upgraded its rating on the cloud computing company to “buy” from “neutral”, citing strong customer interest in the platform. Agilent Technologies — The life sciences applications company’s shares rose more than 1% after Stifel upgraded the stock to buy. Analyst Daniel Arias believes good demand for tools and an attractive valuation will make the stock more attractive to investors. —CNBC’s Michelle Fox, Hakyung Kim, Yun Li, Sarah Min and Jesse Pound contributed reporting.
