U.S. yields for government debt edge lower Tuesday, ahead of inflation data for June which may reflect the impact of supply-chain bottlenecks and spiking demand in the economic recovery phase from COVID-19.
Shares of Electronic Arts Inc. are up 1.1% in premarket trading Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform and raised his price target to $168 from $150. Johnson expects that the video-game industry will fare better than expected exiting the pandemic, while lockdowns in some international markets could continue giving the company an engagement boost. He notes that EA's "Apex Legends" game seems to be performing "significantly better" than he had anticipated, with positive feedback for the new "Arenas" mode in season 9 that has helped the game increase its viewership on the Twitch platform. In addition, EA is "making significant progress in addressing its deficiency in the mobile space," Johnson wrote, pointing to recent acquisitions of Glu Mobile and Playdemic. Shares have declined 0.5% over the past three months as the S&P 500 has added 5.9%.
Hanesbrands Inc. was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Wells Fargo as optimistic analysts say a turnaround is building momentum. Hanesbrands has brought on a number of former Walmart Inc. veterans in the past nine months, including Chief Executive Steve Bratspies, Chief Financial Officer Michael Dastugue, and Bill Simon, who has joined the Hanesbrands board. And the company is reinvesting in its brands, with marketing spend going up as company leadership discusses divesting non-core assets. Hanesbrands' portfolio includes the namesake brand of underwear and t-shirts, Champion, a brand the company is focused on for growth, and Playtex. "We believe an improved set-up is now taking shape, as we finally have a compelling roadmap on how Hanesbrands plans to improve the operations over the next several years," wrote analysts led by Ike Boruchow. Hanesbrands stock has gained 24.3% for the year to date while the S&P 500 index is up 16.7% for the period.
Synchrony Financial said Tuesday that it is raising its minimum wage for hourly workers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to $20 an hour. The change will be effective in August and affect more than 5,000 full- and part-time workers at the company, according to a release. Synchrony said that it is also funding a bonus program so that full-time hourly workers can be eligible to receive a $1,000 bonus. "We offer one of the most competitive wage and benefits programs to attract and retain the best talent," Chief Executive Brian Doubles said in the release. "These investments allow us to remain an employer of choice now and for the future." Synchrony shares have gained 19.4% over the past three months as the S&P 500 has risen 5.9%.
Instructure Holdings Inc. has set terms of its initial public offering, in which the Utah-based education software company is looking to raise up to $262.5 million and be valued at up to $2.91 billion. The company said it is offering 12.5 million shares in the IPO, which is expected to price between $19 and $21 a share. The company expects to have 138.5 million shares outstanding after the IPO. The stock is expected to list on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "INST." The Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and Citigroup led the 14 underwriters of the IPO. The company recorded a net loss of $33.1 million on revenue of $94.0 million for the three months ended March 31, after a loss of $66.3 million on revenue of $58.0 million a year ago. The company is looking to go public at a time that the Renaissance IPO ETF has shed 2.9% over the past three months while the S&P 500 has gained 5.9%.