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See the companies making headlines before the bell. Apple — Shares fell 1.4% after Jefferies downgraded the mega-cap tech company from buy, saying near-term expectations for the iPhone 16 and 17 are too high after initial demand was lower than expected. Apple’s AI capabilities leading to an accelerated smartphone replacement cycle is a “premature” catalyst, the company added. NXP Semiconductor — Shares rose 0.8% after UBS upgraded the chipmaker to buy from neutral. The company cited healthy inventory levels and “best-in-class margin resilience.” Amazon — Shares fell nearly 2% after Wells Fargo downgraded the e-commerce company’s rating to overweight, citing slowing growth and competition from Walmart. Pfizer — Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a roughly $1 billion stake, seeking to turn around the struggling company, sources told CNBC. Shares rose nearly 3% following the news. KB Home — Homebuilders stock slipped 2% after being downgraded by Wells Fargo to underperform on a weight-for-weight basis. The bank said KB Home could lag its peers in the next phase of the cycle. Coty — The beauty company jumped 2.5% following an upgrade to buy from Jefferies. Analyst Ashley Helgans highlighted continued growth in the fragrance segment and an attractive valuation. Hershey — The chocolate maker fell 1% after being downgraded to neutral and market perform from UBS and Bernstein, respectively. UBS cited a challenging 2025 outlook for cocoa inflation, while Bernstein highlighted headwinds from GLP-1 drugs. American Express — Financial services stock fell more than 1% after JPMorgan lowered its stock rating from overweight to neutral. JPMorgan believes the stock trades at a high valuation but has limited upside potential. Wynn Resorts — The casino and resort company gained 2.5% after announcing Friday that it had received the first commercial gaming operator license in the United Arab Emirates. Ally Financial — The financial services stock added 1.4% following an upgrade by JPMorgan from neutral to overweight. JPMorgan said Ally has an attractive risk/reward ratio. — CNBC’s Yun Li, Samantha Subin, Alex Harring, Pia Singh and Michelle Fox contributed reporting
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