Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: JC Penney, Square, Tesla, L Brands & more

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

J.C. Penney — The retailer earned an adjusted 18 cents per share for the fourth quarter, 8 cents a share above estimates,. Revenue also beat Wall Street forecasts and J.C. Penney announced plans to close 18 full-line stores this year.

Horizon Pharma — The drugmaker announced positive results from a late-stage trial for a drug designed to treat active thyroid-eye disease, with nearly 83 percent of patients showing improvement compared to under 10 percent for those treated with a placebo.

Party City — The party supplies retailer earned $1.02 per share for the fourth quarter, 7 cents a share below estimates,. Revenue also came in below forecasts, hurt in part by helium supply pressures.

SeaWorld Entertainment — The theme park operator lost 13 cents per share for its latest quarter, a penny a share smaller than Wall Street was anticipating. Revenue beat estimates, however, and park attendance increased by 8 percent during the quarter compared to a year earlier.

Sotheby’s — The auction house earned $1.72 per share for the fourth quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 a share. Revenue also came in above forecasts. Sotheby’s said it was in position to improve results even further in 2019, subject to market conditions.

Western Union — Western Union announced the sale of its Speedpay bill paying business to ACI Worldwide for $750 million in cash. Western Union also announced a $1 billion share buyback program.

Celgene — Celgene shares are under pressure after major Bristol-Myers Squibb shareholder Wellington Management said it would not support the acquisition. Wellington said it thinks Bristol-Myers shareholders are accepting too much risk and that Celgene shareholders are getting the drug maker’s shares at well below implied asset value. Bristol-Myers said it believed the acquisition was taking place at an attractive price, and that it was an important opportunity to create sustainable value.

HP Inc. — HP Inc. earned an adjusted 52 cents per share for its latest quarter, matching Wall Street forecasts. The computer and printer maker’s revenue missed estimates, however, amid weakness in printer supply sales. HP said its market share and pricing for those supplies came under pressure during the quarter. Based on those results and the company’s comments, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock by two notches, from “buy” to “underperform.”

Box — Box reported adjusted quarterly profit of 6 cents per share, beating the consensus estimate of 2 cents a share. The cloud storage firm’s revenue came in below forecasts, however, as was its forward guidance.

Square — Square beat estimates by a penny a share, with adjusted quarterly earnings of 14 cents per share. The digital payment company’s revenue also beat forecasts, however Square’s current-quarter outlook is below some analysts’ forecasts.

Booking Holdings — Booking Holdings earned $22.49 per share for its latest quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $19.42 a share. The operator of Priceline and other travel websites saw its revenue come in below estimates, and its current-quarter guidance was below consensus, as well.

L Brands — L Brands came in 7 cents a share above estimates, with adjusted quarterly profit of $2.14 per share. The fashion retailer’s revenue fell below forecasts on declining sales at its Victoria’s Secret brand. The company also issued weaker-than-expected full-year guidance.

Tesla — Tesla was designated as a “Fresh Pick” at Baird, which also reiterated an “outperform” rating. Baird said pessimism on Model 3 demand is overblown, and that weak first-quarter delivery expectations are already priced into the stock.

Fitbit — Fitbit earned 14 cents per share for the fourth quarter, double what Wall Street was expecting. The fitness device maker’s revenue also beat estimates, however revenue and profit guidance for the current quarter is weaker than expected. Fitbit said it expected an increase in devices sold but a decline in the average selling price.

Anheuser-Busch InBev — Anheuser-Busch InBev is predicting strong profit and revenue growth this year, following better-than-expected earnings during the fourth quarter. The world’s largest brewer said its results will be helped by higher prices and by more consumers buying its premium beers.

KKR — The private-equity firm and China’s Tencent are separately exploring bids for a stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music division, according to Reuters.

Apple — Apple will lay off 190 workers at its self-driving car program, according to a filing with state regulators in California.

Southwest Airlines — Southwest won Federal Aviation Administration approval to fly to Hawaii from California, a route that is considered an important part of its growth plans.

BlackBerry — BlackBerry filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Twitter, accusing Twitter of illegally using mobile messaging technology developed by BlackBerry.

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