Stock futures wobbled on the last day of 2020, signaling a muted ending to a remarkable year for equities.
Here are some of the top movers during premarket trading on Thursday.
1. Apple AAPL | Up 0.47%
Shares of Apple (AAPL) – Get Report rose in premarket trading Thursday after Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said he remained “incrementally bullish” on demand for the 5G-enabled iPhone 12 across Asia with 20% of the upgrades likely to come from China.
Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote,” With more order activity kicking in over the last few weeks for iPhone 12 our reads are very bullish and give us incremental confidence in our supercycle thesis on iPhone 12.”
“We believe Apple saw a robust Christmas/holiday season not just on iPhones, but also had a strong AirPods performance that will be another product tailwind heading into 2021 for (CEO Tim) Cook & Co,” he added in his note.
“China remains a key ingredient in Apple’s recipe for success as we estimate roughly 20% of iPhone upgrades will be coming from this region over the coming year.”
Ives maintained an outperform rating on the stock with a price target of $160.
2. Alphabet GOOGL | Up 0.11%
Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) – Get Report rose slightly in premarket trading after analysts at Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock to $2,000 from $1,725, citing “improved visibility” for digital advertising in 2021.
“GOOGL is facing easier year-over-year comparisons next year, along with an expected recovery in travel, recreation and automotive ads,” the company said in a note Thursday.
3. Exxon Mobil XOM | Down 0.17%
Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM) – Get Report slipped in premarket trading after the oil major indicated it may incur a fourth-straight quarterly loss as it struggled with depressed demand stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.
In a filing Wednesday, Exxon said it will take a write-down of as much as $20 billion on its upstream assets.
Bloomberg reported that a fourth-quarter loss would confirm Exxon’s challenges in covering both dividends and capital expenditures from operational cash flow, and remains reliant on debt.
The last time Exxon generated enough free cash to cover its payout was the third quarter of 2018, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
4. Amazon AMZN | Down 0.12%
Shares of Amazon (AMZN) – Get Report dropped in premarket trading a day after the Seattle company signed an agreement to add podcast creator and producer Wondery to Amazon Music.
Wondery is the producer of top-rated podcasts like “Dirty John,” “Dr. Death,” “Business Wars” and “The Shrink Next Door.” Listeners will still be able to access those podcasts through a variety of platforms.
5. Tribune Publishing TPCO | Up 8.84%
Shares of Tribune Publishing (TPCO) – Get Report rose in premarket trading on Thursday after hedge fund and investor Alden Global expressed interest in buying the newspaper chain, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Alden Global, which has a 32% stake in the company behind the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News, could disclose an offer for the company as soon as Thursday, the Journal report suggested.
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