Stocks making the biggest moves before the bell: Alibaba, Applied Materials, Gap and more

Published Fri, Nov 17 20238:17 AM ESTUpdated Fri, Nov 17 20238:31 AM EST

Check out the companies making headlines in premarket trading. Alibaba — U.S.-listed shares of the Chinese e-commerce giant slipped 3.2%, adding to Thursday's steep losses that were sparked by Alibaba announcing that it would no longer spin off its cloud computing business. Alibaba pointed to the U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips as justification for the decision. BJ's Wholesale Club — Shares retreated 4.6% in premarket trading after the company revised its expectation for comparable store sales in the fourth quarter amid shifting consumer behavior. BJ's now anticipates sales excluding gas ranging between a 2% decrease and a 1% increase in the fourth quarter from the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet anticipate a 1% rise. Tenet Healthcare — The treatment provider climbed 3.5% after announcing it would sell three South Carolina hospitals to Novant Health. The deal is valued at about $2.4 billion in cash. Applied Materials — Shares slid 7.2% on Friday, a day after Reuters reported , citing sources, that the semiconductor company was under a Justice Department probe. The company is being investigated for potentially ignoring export restrictions on Chinese chip company SMIC, sources told Reuters. Gap — The retailer soared 18.5% in premarket trading Friday. Late Thursday, Gap beat third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations , giving investors reason for optimism on the stock despite a tame outlook for the holiday shopping period. Ross Stores — Shares rallied 6.3% on Friday as investors continued cheering the retailer's better-than-expected financial report. On Thursday, Ross posted $1.33 in earnings per share and $4.92 billion in revenue for the third quarter, while analysts surveyed by LSEG forecasted $1.22 in earnings per share and $4.85 billion in revenue. Expedia — The online travel platform advanced 3.3% on the back of an upgrade to outperform from in line by Evercore ISI. The firm said Expedia is at a "fundamental inflection point" with revenue growth driven by sustainable initiatives. Pacific Biosciences of California — The science stock added 2.8% following a UBS upgrade to buy from neutral. UBS said the biosciences company should continue to innovate while still having a backlog in the near term. GitLab — The software stock fell 4.2% after Barclays moved to the sidelines on GitLab. The bank changed its rating to equal weight from overweight, citing a less attractive risk-reward ratio in the near term. Marriott Vacations Worldwide — Shares of the timeshare company lost 2.5% after a Bank of America downgrade to underperform from neutral. The bank also slashed its price objective roughly in half, saying it's a "'show me' story from here." Analog Devices — Shares jumped nearly 2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the company to overweight from equal weight. The bank cited outperformance and forward earnings de-risking following guide-downs from management. — CNBC's Hakyung Kim and Sarah Min contributed reporting