Lilly cuts FY24 outlook, United Rentals to acquire H&E: Morning Buzz

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Eli Lilly (LLY) cut its FY24 revenue outlook, stating that previous guidance had anticipated even faster acceleration of incretin market growth
• United Rentals (URI) agreed to acquire H&E Equipment (HEES) for $92 per share, or $4.8B
• IAC’s (IAC) board approved a plan to spin-off its full stake in Angi (ANGI)
• Teladoc (TDOC) joined Amazon’s (AMZN) Health Benefits Connector for cardiometabolic programs
• Britain’s antitrust regulator said it would investigate Google’s (GOOGL) search services

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Seaport Research upgraded Visa (V) to Buy with a $359 price target
• Seaport Research also downgraded MasterCard (MA) to Neutral
• BTIG upgraded Instacart (CART) to Buy
• Chegg (CHGG) downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley, here’s why
• Loop initiated AMD (AMD) at Buy on share expansion opportunities

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Southwest Airlines (LUV) is pausing corporate hiring in an effort to reduce costs, BI reports
• Honeywell (HON) is set to breakup amid urging from activist Elliot Investment Management, Bloomberg says
• Amazon (AMZN) is working to relaunch its Alexa voice-powered assistant as an AI “agent,” FT reports
• Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushes to woo Trump, WSJ says
• Pfizer (PFE) CEO Albert Bourla said the company’s dispute with activist firm Starboard Value isn’t “an aggressive situation,” Bloomberg reports

4. MOVERS:

• Applied Digital (APLD) higher after agreeing to build a partnership with Macquarie Asset Management
• KULR Technology (KULR) gains after signing a multi-million-dollar licensing agreement with a new technology partner to enable advanced carbon fiber cathode applications for nuclear reactor systems in Japan
• ACM Research (ACMR) increases after raising FY24 revenue view and providing guidance for FY25
• Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) declines after reporting Q2 results and backing its guidance for FY25
• Las Vegas Sands (LVS) lower after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to Equal Weight

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• KB Home (KBH) reported Q4 results, with CEO Jeffrey Mezger commenting, “We had a strong finish to 2024”
• Signet Jewelers (SIG) reported holiday same-store sales and cut its guidance for Q4
• Illumina (ILMN) provided guidance for Q4, FY24, and FY25
• Quanterix (QTRX) reported preliminary Q4 results and narrowed its guidance for FY24
• Allurion Technologies (ALUR) reported preliminary Q4 results and narrowed its FY24 guidance

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.19%, or 82.43, to 42,214.69, the Nasdaq was down 0.44%, or 83.95, to 19,004.16, and the S&P 500 was down 0.33%, or 19.22, to 5,817.00.