**Analysts Upgrade Affirm to Hold, Boeing to Outperform and Crocs to Strong Buy in Premearket Trading**
In the world of finance, early indicators of how the stock market might perform throughout the day can be found in premarket trading. This is when investors and analysts anticipate how various companies will fare once the market officially opens.
**Affirm Upgraded to Hold**
One such company that made headlines in premarket trading was Affirm, the fintech provider of “buy now, pay later” services. The company’s stock rose 2% after receiving an upgrade to hold at Jefferies on Tuesday. This upgrade was based on recent evidence of stabilizing cost of capital and capital markets activity, stabilizing credit performance, and ongoing momentum in adoption rates for BNPL, or “buy now, pay later,” services.
**Boeing’s Positive Outlook**
Another company that saw a positive shift was Boeing, the maker of 737 Max jetliners. Its stock gained about 2% premarket after an upgrade to outperform at RBC Capital Markets. Analyst Ken Herber stated that the 2024 outlook for Boeing is more favorable as demand in both the company’s commercial and defense segments grows more sustainable.
**Crocs Receives Strong Buy Rating**
In addition to Affirm and Boeing, the maker of iconic, soft footwear also saw a rise of more than 2.3% on the heels of an upgrade to strong buy at Raymond James on Tuesday. Analyst Rick Patel expressed more confidence in Crocs’ business structure heading into 2024, and believes the stock’s price-to-earnings ratio is “highly discounted given our expectation of moderate revenue growth.”
**Other Companies Seeing Changes**
The private equity asset manager Carlyle Group climbed over 5% after S & P Dow Jones Indices added it to the S & P Midcap 400 index effective premarket Thursday. Similarly, nLIGHT, a maker of semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers, and optical fibers, gained more than 4% after an upgrade to speculative buy at Benchmark, citing a new army contract worth $35 million.
On the other hand, Glaukos Corporation saw a 2.4% rise after Truist initiated coverage of the medical device stock with a buy rating. Analyst Samuel Brodovsky predicted that Glaukos could see revenue growth expand to 20% or more in 2025 alongside improved profit margins.
**Shopify’s Shares Fall**
While several companies experienced positive changes, shares of the e-commerce platform Shopify fell nearly 3% premarket after Piper Sandler cut it to underweight from neutral, citing “an untenable valuation” due to aggressive consensus growth and profit expectations.
These developments in premarket trading provide early insights into the potential performance of these companies once the market officially opens, giving investors and analysts crucial information to make informed decisions.
I have been featured in numerous publications, both online and offline, and am a regular speaker at industry events. I am also the founder of Crypto University, an online educational platform that helps people learn about cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In addition to my writing and teaching career, I am also an active investor in the cryptocurrency space. I have made investments in some of the leading projects in the space, and my portfolio has outperformed the market by a wide margin