Take a look at some of Thursday's morning movers:
Cisco Systems - Piper Jaffray has upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "neutral," saying better margins and cost controls will give earnings an upside boost. Cisco has also been added to the “Conviction Buy List” at Goldman Sachs.
Toll Brothers - JPMorgan Chase has downgraded the home builder's shares two notches, to "underweight" from "overweight." The firm says the stock's current valuation gives it limited upside compared to those of its peers.
Kohl’s - The retailer earned $1 per share for the second quarter, four cents above estimates. But comparable store sales were down 2.7 percent, a performance the company called "disappointing." The retailer cut its fiscal year earnings per share view to $4.50 to $4.65, compared to analysts' estimates of $4.64, and said it sees current quarter same-store sales flat to up 2 percent.
Amgen - The biotech giant has halted a late-stage trial for an experimental pancreatic cancer drug after reviewers found it was unlikely to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in survival rates.
News Corp. - The company matched Street estimates with fiscal fourth quarter profits of $0.32 per share, excluding certain items, but revenue of $8.4 billion came up short of estimates of $8.7 billion. Cable network revenue did rise 15 percent, but revenue declined in other divisions including films, publishing, and broadcast television.
Sprint Nextel - Executive Keith Cowan is leaving the company as of Sept. 30. Cowan is currently head of strategic planning for the mobile phone company.
Monster Beverage - The company formerly known as Hansen Natural earned $0.59 per share, short of the $0.61 that analysts had predicted, while profit margins fell from year ago levels. The shortfall comes amid rising costs related to international expansion.
Zynga - Chief Operating Officer John Schappert has left the producer of online games, about 1 1/2 years after he joined the company from videogame maker Electronic Arts . No reason was given for the departure, but Zynga did say there is no disagreement with Schappert over the Zynga’s operations, and that he departs as “a friend of the company.”
Research In Motion - RIM is not a target of a possible Samsung acquisition, contrary to speculation by a Wall Street analyst report Wednesday. Samsung said it is not considered acquiring RIM, nor licensing the BlackBerry maker’s new mobile phone operating system.
VeriFone - We continue to watch these shares, which came under pressure Wednesday on competitive concerns following the new mobile payment deal struck between Starbucks and privately held Square. The Wall Street Journal’s “Heard On The Street” column also speculates that Groupon could be another potential loser from the Starbucks/Square deal. (Related: Will Starbucks Deal Change the Mobile-Payment Game?)
—By CNBC’s Peter Schacknow
Questions? Comments? Email us at marketinsider@cnbc.com
