Micron Technology Leads Stock Market Surge Amid Positive Earnings and AI Optimism

Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Micron Technology, Starbucks, CarMax and more

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Starbucks -- The coffee chain rose more than 2% after Bernstein upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The firm is bullish on new CEO Brian Niccol who began on Sept. 9. New York Community Bancorp -- Shares of the regional lender gained more than 4% after Barclays upgraded shares to overweight as it repositions itself following a rocky patch. Micron Technology , chip stocks -- Micron shares surged nearly 17% after offering a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast for the fiscal first quarter. Other chip stocks also rose in tandem Thursday morning. Nvidia rose 2%, while U.S.-traded shares of ASML Holding added nearly 5%. Meta Platforms -- Shares advanced more than 1% a day after the company announced a new entry-level virtual reality headset and a prototype of an augmented reality smart glasses. Bank of America raised its price target on the tech giant on the back of the release, citing "renewed optimism" for personal computing devices and new AI abilities. NRG Energy -- The energy stock jumped almost 4% after hiking its full-year guidance. The company now forecasts adjusted EBITDA in a range of $3.53 billion to $3.68 billion, compared with its prior range of $3.3 billion to $3.55 billion. GE Healthcare Technologies -- Shares slid more than 1% after UBS downgraded the name to sell from neutral. Analyst Graham Doyle said growth in the near to midterm will likely fall short of expectations and cited risks in its China business. Bilibili -- U.S.-traded shares of the Chinese internet stock climbed nearly 12% on the back of an upgrade to buy from neutral by Goldman Sachs. The firm highlighted the company's monetization and profitability potential. CarMax -- The used car retailer tumbled about 7%. Although CarMax's fiscal second-quarter sales beat estimates, it also increased its provision for loan losses. Jefferies Financial Group -- The investment bank fell more than 1% after reporting third-quarter results. Jefferies said it earned 75 cents per share on $1.62 billion in revenue, driven by a pick-up in dealmaking. Southwest Airlines -- The travel stock rose about 5% after Southwest hiked its third-quarter revenue forecast. The airline also announced a new share repurchase program and planned changes to its business model as it looks to fend off activist investor Elliott Management. Sonos - The speakers company declined more than 6% following a double-downgrade by Morgan Stanley to underweight from overweight. Analyst Erik Woodring believes the backlash from the company's app redesign in May will hit the company's top- and bottom-line metrics more than the market currently is expecting. -- CNBC's Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Jesse Pound and Sarah Min contributed reporting

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Micron Technology, Super Micro Computer, Southwest Airlines and more

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. Micron Technology , chip stocks -- Shares surged nearly 13% after the memory chipmaker issued strong guidance as the rise of AI heightens demand for its products. Other chip stocks rose alongside, with Applied Materials , ASML Holding and Lam Research last up about 4% each. Super Micro Computer -- Shares plummeted more than 12% following a report from The Wall Street Journal that the Justice Department has opened a probe into the AI server maker. Southwest Airlines -- The airline jumped 11% after it raised its third-quarter revenue forecast and authorized $2.5 billion in share buybacks. The company also announced several changes to its business model as it attempts to fend off activist Elliott Investment Management and convince investors it's on track to boost profits and increase revenue. Starbucks -- The coffee chain rose nearly 2% after Bernstein upgraded shares to outperform , citing confidence in the company's new CEO . NRG Energy -- Shares rose 1.6% after the energy company boosted its full-year guidance. NRG energy now expected adjusted EBITDA to range between $3.53 billion and $3.68 billion. GE Healthcare -- Shares lost more than 1% after UBS downgraded the healthcare medical technology company to a sell rating from neutral, citing growth risks stemming from its China business. Jefferies Financial -- The investment bank lost more than 2%. The company posted earnings of 75 cents per share for the fiscal third quarter on $1.62 billion in revenue, falling short of FactSet estimates. CarMax -- The used car retailer jumped nearly 6% after topping sales estimates for the fiscal second quarter. The company also reported a 5.1% increase in retail used unit sales. Jabil -- The manufacturing solutions provider saw shares jump more than 11% after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue. Jabil posted earnings per share of $2.30, beating a FactSet estimate of $2.22 per share. Revenue of $6.96 billion also came in above expectations. New York Community Bank -- Shares of the regional lender jumped nearly 8% after Barclays upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight. New York Community Bank has complete the "heavy lifting" around is restructuring and has a favorable risk-reward outlook going forward, according to Barclays. Bilibili -- U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese internet company popped 12.5% after a Goldman Sachs upgrade to buy from neutral. Goldman said the company is starting a profitability growth cycle. Sonos - The home audio company fell 4.3% after a double-downgrade by Morgan Stanley to underweight from overweight. Analyst Erik Woodring thinks the backlash from the company's app redesign in May will hit the company's top- and bottom-line metrics more than the market currently is pricing in. Accenture -- The professional services stock rose nearly 5% on better-than-expected fiscal fourth quarter results. The company also issued strong guidance and hiked its quarterly dividend. -- CNBC's Jesse Pound, Yun Li, Alex Harring, Pia Singh and Hakyung Kim contributed reporting

Stock movers: Micron, Super Micro Computer, Starbucks

The stock market is trading higher midday Thursday. The S&P 500 gained 0.25%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 0.28%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.58%, and the Russell 2000 Index rose 0.57%. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 21 came in at 218,000, down 4,000 from the previous week and slightly better than the economists' estimate of 223,000. TheStreet's Martin Baccardax explains that "the market's key concern, a cooling labor market, continues to show late-quarter resilience," measured by fewer jobless claims. The worst-performing five S&P 500 stocks with the largest midday drop are: Micron Technology jumped 14% after the chipmaker posted strong earnings and guidance. For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Aug. 29 the company earned $1.18 a share, topping the $1.11 expected by analysts. Revenue of $7.75 billion represented growth of 93% from a year earlier, surpassing the $7.65 billion consensus forecast. Related: Analysts race to overhaul Micron stock price targets after earnings Micron's annual revenue was $25.11 billion, up from $15.54 billion the previous year. The company reported earnings of $1.30 a share, a turnaround from the year-earlier loss of $4.45 a share. The company also posted a strong outlook for the current quarter, now expecting earnings of $1.74 a share on revenue of $8.7 billion. "Micron delivered 93% year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal Q4, as robust AI demand drove a strong ramp of our data center DRAM products and our industry-leading high bandwidth memory," said Micron's chief executive, Sanjay Mehrotra. "We are entering fiscal 2025 with the best competitive positioning in Micron's history. We forecast record revenue in fiscal Q1 and a substantial revenue record with significantly improved profitability in fiscal 2025," Mehrotra said. Super Micro Computer drops on Justice Department probe Super Micro Computer stock fell more than 10% following a report that the Justice Department has opened an investigation into the company. The probe, which is in its early stages, comes after Hindenburg Research's August disclosure of a short position in the company, alleging accounting manipulation, according to The Wall Street Journal. Short-sellers bet that a company's stock price will drop. Related: Analysts revisit Dell, Super Micro stock price targets on AI capabilities Super Micro provides computers for servers, data storage, and AI applications. Its clients include Nvidia, AMD and Intel. The company in August delayed filing its annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission last month, causing a nearly 20% drop in its stock. Starbucks trades higher after analyst upgrade Starbucks rallied 2% following an upgrade from Bernstein. Bernstein's analyst upgraded the coffee-bar chain to outperform from market perform with a price target of $115, up from $92, according to thefly.com. More Retail Stocks: "The market has positively reacted to the appointment of Brian Niccol as the new CEO, but the stock's current valuation does not fully appreciate the earnings power that Starbucks could unlock," the analyst tells investors in a research note. The analyst says the stock could improve before the turnaround is fully done. Bernstein expects better operations to boost sales growth and bring operating margins back to a pre-Covid level of 18.5%. Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks

Top Stock Movers Now: Micron, Super Micro Computer, Jabil, and More

Super Micro Computer shares tumbled following a report the company is being investigated for alleged accounting violations. U.S. equities advanced at midday Thursday as chip stocks surged, led by Micron Technology (MU) after the memory chip maker reported strong sales driven by AI demand. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all rose. Jabil Circuit (JBL) shares also jumped after the company reported revenue that topped estimates, announced a restructuring, and gave an upbeat outlook. Shares of Southwest Airlines (LUV) took off as the carrier, which as been under pressure from activist investor Elliott Investment Management, laid out a three-year turnaround plan. CarMax (KMX) shares rose after the biggest U.S. used car retailer posted better-than-anticipated results on higher retail vehicle sales. Super Micro Computer (SMCI) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 following a report that the Justice Department is investigating the tech firm over alleged accounting violations. Shares of Diamondback Energy (FANG) and others in the oil industry sank along with crude futures after Saudi Arabia committed to a production increase. Pfizer (PFE) shares dropped as the pharmaceutical firm withdrew all of its sickle cell disease drug, Oxbryta, worldwide because of safety concerns. Prices for gold and silver rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was up. The U.S. dollar gained on the yen, but fell to the euro and pound. Most major cryptocurrencies traded higher.