FedEx, Johnson & Johnson, Zions, And More Stocks Making Big Moves Premarket

‍Johnson & Johnson

As a result of the announcement by the pharmaceutical giant Tuesday that it would be paying $8.9 billion over a 25-year period to settle cancer claims regarding talc in its baby powder and other products, the stock rose 2.6%. The company said it still believes the claims against its subsidiary LTL Management lack merits, but has filed again for bankruptcy protection.

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Zions Bancorporation

It is noted in the statement that the stock of Zions Bankcorporation was up 3.2% following a Baird upgrade to an outperform rating, which came after the firm highlighted the attractive price level of the stock for the first time since the global financial crisis.

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Clean Energy Fuels 

As a result of Raymond James upgrading Clean Energy Fuels to outperform and assigning it a $6 price target, the stock was trading 3.6% higher at close on Wednesday, suggesting that the stock could gain about 42.8% from Tuesday's close.

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Albemarle 

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Bank of America downgraded Albemarle from neutral to underperforming, which resulted in the stock declining 3.3%. A major cut in the bank's earnings forecast for Albemarle and a lowering of the company's price target to $195 were made by the bank. Based on the new target price, the stock is expected to fall approximately 7% from its close on Tuesday.

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Lamb Weston

On Thursday, before the company's scheduled earnings release, shares of the potato processing giant were up about 1%. According to Bank of America's most recent short-term stock picks, Lamb Weston is likely to beat consensus earnings estimates in the second quarter, which is why it included the company in its list of short-term stock picks for the second quarter.

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FedEx

In premarket trading, the shares of the shipping company gained 3.6 percent after FedEx announced an increase in its dividend and a restructuring plan. FedEx announced it would increase its dividend by 10%, consolidate its different business divisions, and change the compensation package for its executives.

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Exelixis

According to The Wall Street Journal, hedge fund Farallon Capital Management plans to wage a proxy battle against Exelixis following news that the hedge fund is planning to join the proxy battle. Exelixis shares increased by 1% as a result.

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