Stock Rally Fizzles; Tesla Surges Post-Earnings

Boston Scientific Beats Forecasts, Boosts Outlook on Booming Heart Device Sales

16 minutes ago

Shares of Boston Scientific (BSX) hit an all-time high Wednesday as the maker of medical equipment reported better-than-anticipated quarterly results and boosted its guidance on demand for its cardiovascular devices, including a newly approved product to treat irregular heartbeats.

The company posted first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.56, with revenue up 13.8% year-over-year to $3.86 billion. Both were above estimates.

Boston Scientific’s Cardiovascular unit sales jumped 15.9% to $2.45 billion. The results got a lift from the January Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval and the subsequent launch of the Farapulse pulse field ablation system.

The company sees full-year adjusted EPS in a range of $2.29 to $2.34, up from its earlier outlook of $2.23 to $2.27. It lifted revenue growth to 11% to 13%, compared to the previous prediction of a gain of 8.5% to 9.5%.

Boston Scientific shares were up 6.3% to $73.34 at midday Wednesday after earlier hitting an all-time high of $74.39. They are up about 27% this year.

–Bill McColl

Texas Instruments Stock Jumps on Strong Q1 Results, Guidance Amid Demand Recovery

1 hr 44 min ago

Shares in Texas Instruments (TXN) jumped 6% to more than $175 on Wednesday morning after the analog chipmaker surpassed quarterly estimates and issued second-quarter sales guidance that came in ahead of Wall Street expectations amid a rebound in demand.

For the quarter ending March 31, the Dallas-based company posted earnings of $1.20 per share, handily above analysts’ forecast of $1.07 a share. Although revenue in the quarter of $3.66 billion contracted 16% from a year earlier and 10% on a sequential basis, the figure came in ahead of estimates modeled at $3.6 billion.

Looking ahead, the calculator maker projects current-quarter revenue of between $3.65 billion and $3.95 billion, with the $3.8 billion midpoint of that range surpassing the $3.77 billion expected by analysts. Earnings guidance in the period of $1.05 to $1.25 per share sits roughly in line with estimates.

Texas Instruments’s share price broke down below the lower trendline of an ascending triangle and the 200-day moving average last week but closed in the green in the two sessions leading up to the company’s quarterly financial results.

Following the stock’s earnings pop, investors should monitor if the price can close above the triangle’s top trendline around $176, which would confirm a bear trap and potentially act as a catalyst for a move up to a key horizontal trendline positioned around $185.50.

–Timothy Smith

Tesla Stock Jumps on Accelerated Production Plans Despite Earnings Miss

2 hr 25 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) shares surged more than 12% in early trading Wednesday despite an earnings miss as the electric vehicle maker said it would accelerate production of new models, including a lower-cost vehicle.

Tesla said it would “accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025,” including “more affordable models.” The new and more affordable models are set to use aspects of Tesla’s next-generation platform and will be produced on the same production sites as Tesla’s current offerings.

The company’s revenue for the first quarter of 2024 was $21.3 billion, below analyst expectations and a 9% drop from the year-ago period. Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) were also below analysts’ estimates and showed 48% and 47% declines, respectively, from a year earlier.

Tesla was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 in the first three months of the year. Even with Wednesday’s gains, shares have lost about 34% of their value since year-to-date.

–Naomi Buchanan

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

3 hr 7 min ago

Gains:

• Tesla (TSLA): Shares of the electric vehicle maker surged more than 11% after Elon Musk said the company had accelerated its timeline to produce new models, including a long-promised low-cost car. 
• Texas Instruments (TXN): Shares of the analog chipmaker rose 7% after it topped estimates with its quarterly earnings and forecast a rebound in chip demand in the coming quarters.
• AT&T (T): The telecom’s shares rose more than 4% after it reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings despite missing on revenue. 

Losses:

• Enphase Energy (ENPH): Shares of the solar energy company fell nearly 7% after it missed first-quarter earnings estimates and offered a downbeat sales outlook amid a prolonged slump in U.S. demand for solar solutions.
• Bunge Global (BG): Shares of the agricultural commodities company fell 4% after reporting revenue fell 12% in the first quarter, more than analysts were expecting.
• Global Dynamics (GD): Shares of the defense and aerospace company slipped 1% after its first-quarter earnings fell short of estimates. 

Stock Futures Rise as Tech Rally Continues

3 hr 53 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed in premarket trading on Wednesday.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.6% about an hour before markets opened.