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Stocks to Watch: October 14, 2016
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Stocks to Watch: October 14, 2016

Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

JPMorgan Chase — The bank posted profit of $1.58 per share, beating estimates of $1.39, and revenue was also above forecasts. Though profit fell from a year ago, JPM did see record commercial banking income as well as double-digit gains in deposits and loans.

PNC Financial — PNC beat estimates by six cents with quarterly earnings of $1.84 per share, while revenue was just slightly above forecasts. The bank said its capital levels are strong and that loans and deposits increased compared to a year ago.

HP Inc. — The printer and PC maker issued a cautious 2017 cash flow forecast. It does, however, expect to hike its dividend by seven percent and it's added $3 billion to its stock buyback program. HP also said it would cut three to four thousand jobs over the next three years.

Amazon.com, VMware — The two companies have jointly unveiled a new hybrid cloud service which will let customers run computing operations both on their own local VMWare data centers as well as on Amazon's cloud servers.

United Continental — United suffered a computer glitch that temporarily delayed thousands of United Airlines passengers on flights worldwide. The airline does say the problem has now been resolved.

Hershey — Chief Executive Officer John Bilbrey will retire on July 1, 2017. Bilbrey will continue as non-executive chairman of the chocolate maker following his retirement, and the board has appointed a special committee to find a new CEO.

Yahoo — Yahoo remains on watch following Verizon's declaration yesterday that Yahoo's recent data hack may have been material enough to renegotiate the terms of their takeover deal. Verizon currently has a $4.83 billion deal in place to buy Yahoo's core internet assets.

PepsiCo — PepsiCo is near a deal to buy KeVita, according to Reuters, as the beverage maker diversifies its soft drink business. KeVita is a maker of sparking probiotic drinks.

Sony — Sony said its PlayStation unit plans to release five or six smartphone games during the fiscal year that ends in March 2018 for both Apple's iOS and Google's Android platform.

Honeywell — Chief Executive Officer David Cote told CNBC's Jim Cramer that he was wrong for not giving a more upbeat 2017 outlook. He said that the upbeat long-term message for the company may have gotten lost in a recent management presentation.

ConAgra — RBC upgraded the food producer to "outperform" from "sector perform," saying the current stock price undervalues the potential for increased profit margins as well as the company's new consumer focus and the probability of ConAgra executing a large takeover deal.

Activision Blizzard, Take-Two Interactive — Oppenheimer initiated coverage of the two video game companies with "outperform" ratings. It thinks Take-Two will benefit both from company initiatives as well as positive trends within the entire industry, and that Activision is outperforming its peers in the shift to digital distribution.

Union Pacific — Citigroup added the rail operator to its "Focus List," noting improved volume, exposure to different sectors, and saying consensus estimates seem too low.