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Beyond Meat craters in premarket trading on heavy volumes

Beyond Meat’s rally has seemingly gone from well done to overcooked in a hurry.

Shares of the plant-based meat company are cratering, down nearly 20% in premarket trading on heavy volume.

As of 5:05 a.m. ET, the stock has traded more than $60 million in the premarket. That’s the fifth-highest of all stocks listed on US exchanges, trailing only the pure-play quantum computing companies (after a report that the US government may take stakes in these companies) as well as Tesla, which reported earnings after the close on Wednesday.

It’s an about-face for Beyond, which has seen the premarket session be a source of particular strength over the past few sessions. In fact, the stock’s recent peak of $8.86, which marked a rally of 1,672% from its all-time low in less than four sessions, occurred in the premarket session on Wednesday. It’s down more than 60% since that time.

What’s different about the Beyond Meat move compared to past so-called short squeezes we’ve seen in the past is that the cost of borrowing shares has gone down, not up, during its period of intense gains. However, that’s what we would expect given its shares outstanding jumped from ~76 million to close to 400 million in light of its debt-for-equity swap which temporarily gave those creditors control over the company.

So, while its previous parabolic move may have been extremely painful for existing shorts, it’s also making it arguably more attractive for any doubters to put on fresh bets that the surge in the stock is half-baked.

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Max Knoblauch58s

Rivian plans its second layoff in two months, cutting more than 600 workers

After laying off about 1.5% of its workforce a month ago, EV maker Rivian is once again cutting staff.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the automaker will let go of more than 600 employees. Rivian had just under 15,000 employees as of the end of December 2024.

Rivian has been looking to cut costs with the expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit and a new, lower-cost SUV due to launch next year. The automaker has said the end of regulatory credits could hold up about $100 million in revenue.

Rivian lost $1.12 billion in its second quarter and downwardly revised its full-year loss forecast to between $2 billion and $2.25 billion.

Exclusive | Rivian to Lay Off More Than 600 Workers Amid EV Pullback

Exclusive | Rivian to Lay Off More Than 600 Workers Amid EV Pullback

Rivian has been looking to cut costs with the expiration of the $7,500 EV tax credit and a new, lower-cost SUV due to launch next year. The automaker has said the end of regulatory credits could hold up about $100 million in revenue.

Rivian lost $1.12 billion in its second quarter and downwardly revised its full-year loss forecast to between $2 billion and $2.25 billion.

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J. Edward Moreno43m

Molina sinks on earnings miss and guidance cut, drags down peers Centene and Oscar

Molina Healthcare reported quarterly earnings Thursday morning that severely missed Wall Street estimates, bringing down its stock as well as several of its peers’ that provide coverage for government-sponsored plans.

Molina reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.84, less than half of the $3.90 analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. The company slashed its full-year profit guidance to roughly $14 a share, down from its previous guidance of $19 a share and less than the $18.50 a share analysts are penciling in.

One of the factors driving the underperformance was its Affordable Care Act plans, which were used at higher rates than expected, the company said. A higher portion of Molina’s revenue comes from other federal programs, such as Medicaid.

Molina dropped about 18% in premarket trading. Insurance companies that focus on providing ACA plans, like Oscar Health and Centene, also fell.

ACA plans, which are government-subsidized health insurance for the poor, have roiled insurers this year amid higher-than-expected costs. ACA extensions are at the center of budget negotiations as the government shutdown stretches on.

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Max Knoblauch2h

American Airlines climbs as its third-quarter loss comes in smaller than expected

American Airlines shares rose more than 3% in premarket trading on Thursday after the last of the big four carriers reported its third-quarter earnings.

American reported a loss of $0.17 per diluted share, beating analyst expectations of a $0.28 loss per share and improving on the same period last year. The figure came in on the lower end of American’s guidance for a loss between $0.10 and $0.60 per share for the third quarter.

The airline’s revenue came in essentially flat from last year at $13.69 billion, beating the estimate from analysts polled by FactSet of $13.6 billion. Passenger revenue was $12.5 billion, above Wall Street’s expectations.

For its fourth quarter, American is forecasting earnings of between $0.45 and $0.75 per share, beating Wall Street expectations of $0.30 per share. The carrier now expects full-year 2025 earnings per share of between $0.65 and $0.95, again ahead of analysts’ expectations ($0.42).

The improved outlook is still significantly below American’s forecast from earlier in the year, when the airline issued annual profit guidance of between $1.70 and $2.70 per share.

As of Wednesday’s close, American Airline shares had fallen about 31% on the year. Rival Delta Air Lines is down less than 1% in the same time, while the S&P 500 has gained about 14%.

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IBM drops after reporting that revenue in its hybrid cloud division grew 14%, slower than expected

After sliding last night, IBM shares have continued their slump into the morning too, down about 7% in premarket trading at the time of writing. This follows a disappointing Q3 revenues report across two of the most keenly watched areas in its software business.

Despite a small headline beat on the top line, investors have since honed in on the fact that revenues in its hybrid cloud unit — home to Red Hat, the enterprise software provider IBM acquired for $34 billion in 2019 — grew 14%, slower than the previous period and below analysts’ estimates of 16%, per Bloomberg. Meanwhile, transaction processing software sales dropped 1% in the third quarter, compounding investors’ worries about IBM’s growth moving forward, per analysts.

Though overall software revenues climbed 10% to $7.2 billion across the quarter (in line with expectations), traders seem unwilling to look past the Red Hat and transaction processing results.

IBM Posts Lukewarm Growth for Red Hat Software Business

IBM Posts Lukewarm Growth for Red Hat Software Business

Despite a small headline beat on the top line, investors have since honed in on the fact that revenues in its hybrid cloud unit — home to Red Hat, the enterprise software provider IBM acquired for $34 billion in 2019 — grew 14%, slower than the previous period and below analysts’ estimates of 16%, per Bloomberg. Meanwhile, transaction processing software sales dropped 1% in the third quarter, compounding investors’ worries about IBM’s growth moving forward, per analysts.

Though overall software revenues climbed 10% to $7.2 billion across the quarter (in line with expectations), traders seem unwilling to look past the Red Hat and transaction processing results.

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Quantum stocks soar after report that the Trump administration is in talks to invest directly in the sector

After speculation has swirled for weeks that the US government might consider investing in the quantum sector, discussions are now underway, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that the Trump administration is negotiating with several quantum computing companies about giving the US Commerce Department equity stakes in exchange for federal funding.

Companies in talks include IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum, with each seeking a minimum of $10 million in funding, per the report, while others like Quantum Computing and privately-held Atom Computing consider similar arrangements. The deals "haven't been completed and might change."

A separate source also appeared to contradict the report, per Reuters, with a US Commerce Department official saying over email that it is “not currently negotiating with any of the companies.”

IONQ, RGTI, QBTS, and QUBT all soared double digits on the initial news, but most have pared some of that advance through 8:45 a.m. ET. IonQ and Rigetti are the second and third most heavily-traded stocks in the premarket, trailing only Tesla.

Exclusive | Trump Administration in Talks to Take Equity Stakes in Quantum-Computing Firms

Exclusive | Trump Administration in Talks to Take Equity Stakes in Quantum-Computing Firms

Companies in talks include IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum, with each seeking a minimum of $10 million in funding, per the report, while others like Quantum Computing and privately-held Atom Computing consider similar arrangements. The deals "haven't been completed and might change."

A separate source also appeared to contradict the report, per Reuters, with a US Commerce Department official saying over email that it is “not currently negotiating with any of the companies.”

IONQ, RGTI, QBTS, and QUBT all soared double digits on the initial news, but most have pared some of that advance through 8:45 a.m. ET. IonQ and Rigetti are the second and third most heavily-traded stocks in the premarket, trailing only Tesla.

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