Foot Locker trips after earnings, Kohl’s posts Q2 beat: Morning Buzz

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Foot Locker (FL) reported upbeat Q2 results but said it will close stores and ecommerce operations in South Korea
• Nordstrom (JWN) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings but narrowed its FY24 earnings per share guide
• Kohl’s (KSS) reported upbeat Q2 results and provided earnings and revenue guidance for FY24
• PVH Corp. (PVH) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q2
• AeroVironment (AVAV) secured a $990m contract for Switchblade loitering munitions

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• AeroVironment (AVAV) upgraded at Baird after record $990M SwitchBlade contract award
• HSBC upgraded Moderna (MRNA) to Hold on “great potential” of cancer vaccine
• Needham downgraded TransUnion (TRU) to Hold, prefers Equifax (EFX) among credit bureaus
• Bank of Montreal (BMO) was downgraded at Scotiabank and BofA
• Wells Fargo initiated coverage of the life science tools and diagnostics group with a positive bias

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• B. Riley Financial (RILY) is in talks for a loan amendment meant to ease its debt burden, Bloomberg reports
• Toyota (TM) is pausing production at all its factories in Japan amid an approaching typhoon, AFP reports
• Apple (AAPL) has cut approximately 100 jobs from its digital services group, Bloomberg says
• Canada Goose (GOOS) is now shifting its focus on offerings for warmer temperatures, WSJ reports
• HSBC Holdings’ (HSBC) incoming CEO George Elhedery is weighing plans that could remove layers of middle management, Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• Waldencast (WALD) gains after reporting Q2 results and providing guidance for the second half of FY24
• VNET Group (VNET) and Ambarella (AMBA) increase in New York after reporting quarterly results
• AvePoint (AVPT) higher after announcing the commencement of an offer to acquire outstanding public warrants
• Supermicro (SMCI) lower after announcing it expects it will not timely file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024
• Kanzhun (BZ) falls in New York after reporting Q2 results and providing guidance for Q3

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Donaldson (DCI) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY25
• SentinelOne (S) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• Box (BOX) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Bath & Body Works (BBWI) reported Q2 results, with CEO Gina Boswell commenting, “We delivered net sales in line with our guidance range while adjusted earnings per diluted share exceeded our expectations”
• Chewy (CHWY) reported Q2 results and backed its FY24 guidance, with CEO Sumit Singh commenting, “Our Q2 performance reflects another quarter of strong execution”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 121.56, or 0.29%, to 41,128.94, the Nasdaq was down 193.24, or 1.09%, to 17,561.58, and the S&P 500 was down 30.87, or 0.55%, to 5,594.93.