Business

Used vehicle prices are expected to come down further this year amid rising interest rates and improved availability of new cars and trucks, according to Cox Automotive.
The firm expects wholesale used vehicle prices to end the year down 4.3% from December 2022.
The decline is expected to follow a whopping 14.9% fall last year from inflated prices during the coronavirus pandemic.

A salesman walks past used Toyota Motor vehicles at the Brent Brown Toyota dealership in Orem, Utah, on Monday, April 6, 2020.
George Frey | Bloomberg via Getty Images

DETROIT — Used vehicle prices are expected to come down further this year amid rising interest rates and improved availability of new cars and trucks, according to Cox Automotive.
The automotive data firm expects wholesale prices on its Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks prices of used vehicles sold at its U.S. wholesale auctions, to end the year down 4.3% from December 2022.

“New supply remains tight, but it is improving rapidly. As supply in new improves demand for us is declining,” Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke said Monday.
The decline is expected to follow a whopping 14.9% fall last year from inflated prices during the coronavirus pandemic, as the availability of new vehicles reached record lows due to supply chain and parts problems that interrupted vehicle production.
The declining rates are good news for the Biden administration, which a year ago blamed much of the rising inflation rates in the country on the used vehicle market. 
However, they are still not enough to offset the 88% rise in index pricing from April 2020 to January 2022, according to Chris Frey, Cox Automotive senior manager of economic and industry insights. For various months in that time frame, the index experienced significant year-over-year increases of between 15% and 54%.
Frey expects softening in the index through at least the first quarter of this year before some seasonal increases, but overall less volatility than in recent years. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index increased by less than 1% from November to December.

“We don’t expect major monthly declines to rival the increases on the slopes, though there might be some tough sledding from time to time,” Frey said, adding the company is closely watching the impact of higher interest rates on car buyers.

Frey stressed it’s a “good sign” economically that prices are decreasing, making the vehicles more affordable despite interest rate increases.
Retail prices for consumers traditionally follow changes in wholesale prices. That’s a win for potential car buyers, however, it’s not great for dealers that purchased vehicles at record highs and are now trying to sell them at a profit.
Retail pricing thus far has not declined as quickly as wholesale prices, as dealers attempt to hold steady on record-high pricing. According to the most recent data, Cox reports the average listing price of a used vehicle was $27,156 through November, only a 2% decline from a year earlier but the lowest since last spring.
Cox estimates that used vehicle retail sales declined 7% from November to December and were down 10% from a year earlier for a second consecutive month.

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Bed Bath & Beyond reports its quarterly earnings on Tuesday before the bell.
The struggling home goods retailer recently warned it may have to file for bankruptcy.
The company’s turnaround plan called for cost-cutting and improved partnerships with vendors. But its sales have yet to improve.

A pedestrian walks by a Bed Bath and Beyond store in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images

When Bed Bath & Beyond leaders speak to investors Tuesday morning, they won’t simply report sales and earnings results. They will have to address a stark reality: The cash-strapped home goods retailer is running out of time.
On Thursday, Bed Bath warned it may have to file for bankruptcy, saying it could soon be unable to cover costs as sales lag and store traffic dwindles. It also said it’s struggling to keep items in stock, as it runs low on cash and works to remedy strained relationships with suppliers.

The nationwide chain, known for its 20% coupons and sky-high piles of towels and housewares, is increasingly at risk of joining the list of retailers that have shuttered stores and faded away. Think, Sears. Circuit City. RadioShack. Pier 1. Linens ‘n Things.
What’s more, the attempted turnaround comes at the same time that inflation weighs on consumers’ wallets and as the housing market gets hit by higher interest rates. Plus, after spending the earlier years of the Covid pandemic at home, more people are choosing to spend money on dining out or booking trips rather than buying cookware, a duvet or throw pillows.
“When you have a shift in how consumers are allocating their spending, and a recession looming potentially on the horizon, it makes it much more of an uphill battle,” said Justin Kleber, senior research analyst at Baird Equity Research.
The company’s stock performance reflects its tough path forward, too. Shares of the company touched a 52-week low on Friday. As of Monday’s close, they were trading around $1.62 for a market value of less than $150 million.

Chasing a comeback

Bed Bath laid out its latest turnaround strategy in August. The plan called for drastic cost cuts in the way of closing about 150 of its namesake stores and reducing its head count by about 20% across its corporate and supply chain workforce.

Those efforts have brought its operating costs down, as it tries to drive up sales: For the third quarter, Bed Bath expects operating expenses to be about $583.6 million, compared with about $698 million in the year-ago period, it said Thursday.
The company’s turnaround strategy also involved phasing out some of its private labels and bringing back more well-recognized national brands. It pledged in August to work with those national brands to develop exclusive items and to add items from direct-to-consumer brands — merchandise aimed at setting it apart and giving shoppers a reason to come back to its stores.
Come Tuesday, investors will want to hear if the company has improved its inventory levels, if they managed to secure any exclusive items for the holiday season and how willing vendors have been to work with the retailer. If Bed Bath has made significant inroads in improving inventory, it could offer a glimmer of hope for the quarters ahead.
“Being the first to bring new brands and products to our customer has always been one of our roles as a retailer,” Executive Vice President Mara Sirhal told investors during an Aug. 31 business update. “In the home market, there’re many D2C brands which bring their own compelling brand marketing and followers who know and want them but aren’t widely available to shop.”
Emerging direct-to-consumer brands have an incentive to partner with brick-and-mortar shops like Bed Bath and Target, as they offer a way to reach more customers and a reprieve from the e-commerce cooldown, steep marketing costs and consumer habit shifts that have cut into profitability since the pandemic began to wane. 
But brands and vendors have been hesitant to extend credit to Bed Bath as its mounting debt cast doubt over its ability to pay back bills. 
And sales trends overall have remained weak.

The company said Thursday it expects net sales for the fiscal third quarter, which ended Nov. 26, to be about $1.26 billion — a nearly 33% drop from the $1.88 billion it reported for the year-ago period. Bed Bath anticipates a net loss of about $385.8 million for the quarter, an approximately 40% jump in losses year over year. Those quarterly losses include an approximately $100 million impairment charge, which was not specified.
CEO Sue Gove urged patience on Thursday, saying the turnaround will take time. She took the helm after former CEO Mark Tritton was pushed out in June.
“Transforming an organization of our size and scale requires time, and we anticipate that each coming quarter will build on our progress,” she said in a news release.
Baird’s Kleber said investors will want to hear if there’s been a change in sales trends during the Christmas season — key weeks that would be reflected in fourth-quarter results, but could be previewed sooner.

‘Kiss of death’?

Before Bed Bath can address moving product off shelves, though, it needs to tackle an even more fundamental problem: having enough merchandise to fill them.
Gove said low inventory was partially to blame for the company’s anticipated third-quarter losses.

Bed Bath is using dollars it earned during the holiday season to bulk up the shelves with help from its key vendors, Gove said. As in-stock levels have improved, so have sales trends, she said.
But it’s not clear if that will be enough.
“At the end of the day, all of the yabba dabba doo about their newly minted strategy that they were touting over the last six months. It’s all just a lot of talk,” said Mark Cohen, a professor and director of retail studies at Columbia Business School.
Cohen said he sees the going-concern warning as the “kiss of death” for Bed Bath, solidifying bankruptcy as the retailer’s only remaining option — beyond a savior swooping in with an infusion of cash or to buy a stake of the company.
“Without a defining event of that sort, this company is toast,” said Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada. 

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Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid employees on Monday they must return to corporate offices four days a week starting March 1, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
Iger’s four-day-per-week stipulation is relatively strict compared with other large companies, many of which have opted for two or three mandated in-office days for hybrid employees.
It comes less than two months after he returned to the helm of the company.

Bob Iger poses with Mickey Mouse attends Mickey’s 90th Spectacular at The Shrine Auditorium on October 6, 2018 in Los Angeles.
Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images

Disney CEO Bob Iger told hybrid employees on Monday they must return to corporate offices four days a week starting March 1, according to an email obtained by CNBC.
In the email, Iger stressed the importance of in-person collaboration.

“As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with,” Iger wrote. “As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”

During the pandemic many companies opted for work-from-home or hybrid work models that kept large gatherings of people, and thus the spread of Covid, to a minimum. As vaccination rates rose and cases and hospitalization rates fell, companies like Disney looked to bring staff back to offices and return to a more normalized pre-pandemic work environment.
Iger’s four-day-per-week stipulation is relatively strict compared with other large companies, which have opted for two or three mandated in-office days for hybrid employees. Apple mandated employees return to work three days a week in September. Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has famously slept as his companies’ facilities as a show of commitment, ordered nearly all Twitter employees to return to the office five days a week in November.
Disney’s new policy comes less than two months after Iger returned to the helm of the company, promising a two-year stint that would spark renewed growth for the company and develop a successor to take his place.
Iger’s return in November came days after former CEO Bob Chapek said he planned to cut costs at the company, which had been burdened by swelling expenses at its streaming service, Disney+. Iger’s return also comes as legacy media companies contend with a rapidly shifting landscape, as ad dollars dry up and consumers increasingly cut off their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming.

Iger plans to reorganize Disney’s Media & Entertainment Distribution division, which oversees the company’s content and distribution. He has maintained a hiring freeze implemented by Chapek while he changes the company’s organizational structure to give budget powers back to those who select creative projects.
Disney shares have fallen about 40% over the past year. The company has a market valuation of around $174 billion.
WATCH: CNBC’s full interview with Mark Asset Management’s Morris Mark on Netflix, Disney

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President Joe Biden on Monday declared an emergency in California after a barrage of deadly winter storms has prompted widespread power outages and flooding since last week.
Extreme downpours, high winds and flash floods have caused at least 12 fatalities in the past 10 days and led to power outages for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the state.
National Weather Service forecasters have warned of a “relentless parade of cyclones” over the coming days that will exacerbate the risk of flooding in central and Northern California.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House January 5, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Images

President Joe Biden on Monday declared an emergency in California after a barrage of deadly winter storms has prompted widespread power outages and flooding since last week.
Extreme downpours, high winds and flash floods have caused at least 12 fatalities in the past 10 days and created power outages for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses across the state. National Weather Service forecasters have warned of a “relentless parade of cyclones” over the coming days that will exacerbate the risk of flooding in central and Northern California.

“Round after round of heavy rain on saturated soils will produce considerable flood potential with rapid river rises, mudslides and burn scar flash floods or debris flows,” NWS forecasters said in a bulletin.
The president approved the emergency declaration for California during a visit in Mexico City for the North American Leaders’ Summit. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday evening said he’s in close contact with the White House to ensure the state has adequate aid.

A resident walks along a flooded street, after “atmospheric river” rainstorms slammed northern California, in the coastal town of Aptos, January 5, 2023.
Carlos Barria | Reuters

The president’s emergency declaration authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and provide assistance for required emergency measures, the White House said in a statement.
The declaration covers the counties of El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus and Ventura.
As of Monday morning, more than 130,000 homes and businesses in California were still without power, according to data from PowerOutage.us. Pacific Gas and Electric, the state’s largest power company, said on its website on Sunday that more than 4,100 crews are staged throughout its service area — including the regions most affected by the storms — in one of the company’s largest emergency response efforts in history.

A flooded street after a rain storm in the Aptos Beach Flats neighborhood in Aptos, California, US, on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023.
Nic Coury | Bloomberg | Getty Images

California has endured a series of atmospheric river storms, which are long, narrow streams in the atmosphere that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics and typically produce extreme rainfall and snowfall over short durations.
The atmospheric river storms have overlapped with a low-pressure system often referred to as a bomb cyclone, a phenomenon that generally occurs when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass.
The upcoming storms are particularly concerning as the ground in California remains saturated and therefore more vulnerable to flooding and rapid runoff. The NWS said it anticipates heavy rainfall of up to five inches near California’s coast and more than six feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the coming days.

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Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a “Morning Meeting” livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here’s a recap of Monday’s key moments. Look for consumer price report Trim overvalued tech stocks Watch oil as China reopens 1. Look for consumer price report Stocks climbed Monday, with the 3 major indices all up in midmorning trading following Friday’s strong rally. The market soared at the end of last week on signs inflation may be easing and the economy cooling. Investors are looking ahead to the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly consumer price index for December, to be released Thursday. Any further evidence of moderating prices could allow the Federal Reserve to slow its pace of interest rate hikes, potentially bolstering stocks. The S & P 500 rose more than 1.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped more than 2%. 2. Trim overvalued tech stocks We trimmed our positions in Microsoft (MSFT) and Nvidia (NVDA) on Monday to lessen our exposure to high-multiple tech firms ahead of earnings season. If companies with high multiples don’t meet lofty earnings expectations – which is likely, due to the state of the economy – their stocks will likely face a beating. Microsoft reports quarterly results later this month and Nvidia reports in February. 3. Watch oil as China reopens Oil prices started the week up on expectations of renewed demand from China , as the world’s second-largest economy abandons its zero-Covid policy and reopens after 3 years. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude – the U.S. oil benchmark — rose roughly 2% midmorning, to $75.31 a barrel. Shares of Club oil stocks Halliburton (HAL), Coterra Energy (CTRA) and Devon Energy (DVN) followed suit Monday. Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD), our other energy holding, fell on the back of a downgrade from KeyBanc. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is long MSFT, NVDA, HAL, CTRA, DVN, PXD. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. More

The SEC charged former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook with misrepresenting his November 2019 firing.
Easterbrook has agreed to a $400,000 fine and will be barred from serving as an officer or director for any SEC-reporting company for five years.
Easterbrook was fired for an inappropriate relationship with an employee, but McDonald’s later claimed he covered up additional relationships with employees.

Former McDonald’s CEO Stephen Easterbrook unveiling the company’s new corporate headquarters during a grand opening ceremony on June 4, 2018, in Chicago
Scott Olson | Getty Images

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged former McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook on Monday with misrepresenting his November 2019 firing.
Easterbrook has agreed to a $400,000 fine, without admitting or denying the claims, and will be barred from serving as an officer or director for any SEC-reporting company for five years.

McDonald’s board fired Easterbrook in 2019 for a consensual relationship with an employee, which violated the company’s fraternization policy. However, he wasn’t fired for cause, allowing him to receive a severance package.
Months later, the fast-food giant sued its former chief executive, claiming he committed fraud and lied to cover up additional inappropriate relationships with employees. In December 2021, the two parties settled the lawsuit, and McDonald’s successfully clawed back Easterbrook’s severance, valued at $105 million.
A representative for Easterbrook declined to comment to CNBC.
“When corporate officers corrupt internal processes to manage their personal reputations or line their own pockets, they breach their fundamental duties to shareholders, who are entitled to transparency and fair dealing from executives,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, in a statement.
The agency also found McDonald’s violated the Exchange Act, which prohibits companies from material misrepresentations and omissions in proxy statements sent to shareholders, but is not imposing a financial penalty on McDonald’s because of its “substantial” cooperation with the agency during its investigation.

McDonald’s has not admitted or denied the SEC’s findings. In a statement, the company said that the SEC’s actions reinforce what it has previously said about its handling of Easterbrook’s misconduct.
“The Company continues to ensure our values are part of everything we do, and we are proud of our strong ‘speak up’ culture that encourages employees to report conduct by any employee, including the CEO, that falls short of our expectations,” McDonald’s said.

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Your Health, Your Money

FA Hub
Personal Finance

Long Covid has caused millions of Americans who suffer from symptoms to be out of work.
For long-term cases, Social Security disability benefits may be the best bet for replacing lost income.
But getting approved may be difficult, due to the “invisible” set of symptoms long Covid patients experience.

Residents drop off Covid-19 PCR tests at a testing site run by the Centers for Disease Control, Federal Emergency Management Agency and eTrueNorth in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2022.
Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images

When Christopher Perry got sick in July 2021, he thought he just had a bad cold.
But after Perry’s adult son found him passed out in his living room, he was taken to the hospital and put on life support due to Covid-19.

A diagnosis of respiratory lung failure has led to long-term health consequences.
Today, Perry, 44, of Newport News, Virginia, can only walk short distances and gets winded quickly. His difficulty breathing leads to trips to the emergency room at least once a week.

More from Your Health, Your Money

Here’s a look at more stories on the complexities and implications of long Covid:

“I start breaking down crying and can’t catch my breath,” Perry said.
His weight, blood pressure and sugar levels have climbed, requiring medication. He also receives breathing treatments and oxygen.
“That’s all they can really do,” Perry said.

Perry’s condition has made it impossible to resume his former full-time work at a NASA steam plant, where he used to climb ladders and maintain boilers.
Initially, he was able to obtain short-term and then long-term disability insurance through his employer. Today, after a “very long tedious process,” Perry relies exclusively on Social Security disability benefits for income, with monthly checks of about $1,600 per month.

“I didn’t know Covid would do all this,” Perry said.
To date, the Social Security Administration has flagged about 44,000 disability claims that include some mention of Covid-19, though that is not necessarily the primary reason for those applications. That represents just about 1% of disability applications received since the agency started tracking those claims.
Yet it is possible that future disability benefit applications due to long Covid may increase.

Applying for federal benefits can take months

Up to 30% of Americans who get Covid have developed long-haul symptoms, affecting as many as 23 million people, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Long Covid has put an estimated 2 million to 4 million Americans ages 18 to 65 out of work, according to recent research from the Brookings Institution. Those lost wages may add up to around $170 billion per year, and potentially as much as $230 billion, the nonprofit public policy organization estimates.
To make up for the lost income, patients typically pursue short- or long-term disability insurance, if they already have coverage.
Those whose condition is expected to prevent them from working for at least 12 months or result in death may pursue benefits through either Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income.
Social Security disability benefits are generally available to workers who have earned enough credits through payroll taxes — typically 40 credits, though younger workers may qualify with less. In 2023, one credit is equal to $1,640 in wages or self-employment income.

Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is a federal benefit available to disabled individuals who may not qualify for Social Security disability based on their work records.
The average wait time for Social Security initial disability decisions has increased during the pandemic, climbing to an all-time high of 6.6 months in August, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. More than 1 million disability claims are pending at state disability determination services.
The process for applying for federal disability benefits is lengthy. That has put some patients with no other available source of income in a desperate financial situation, according to Andrew Wylam, a lawyer and president of Pandemic Patients, a nonprofit patient-advocacy organization dedicated to helping Covid patients get the services they need.
“Some people are holding on with their only hope of getting SSDI benefits, and that’s a six-, eight- or 12-month process,” Wylam said.
In the interim, Wylam has seen those patients exhaust their life savings, cash out their investments and liquidate their property as they hold on to hope Social Security disability benefits will eventually be available to help them stay afloat.
“It’s very demoralizing and it’s really heart breaking to see people go through that situation,” Wylam said.
Applicants aren’t guaranteed success at the end of that wait, either. The “award rate” for disability applications, as measured by the Social Security Administration, averaged 31% between 2011 and 2020. Meanwhile, denied disability claims averaged 67%.

‘Invisible’ symptoms add to difficulty

Allsup, which works with individuals who are applying for Social Security disability benefits or are appealing their claims, is seeing about 4% to 5% of monthly cases related to Covid or long Covid, according to T.J. Geist, principal advocate at the company.
The applications that are seeing the most success involve more severe cases, according to Geist. Oftentimes, those cases have required hospitalizations and ventilators, and led to long-term significant health ramifications like organ failure.
Allsup, which works with NASA, helped Perry get his Social Security disability benefits application approved.
“The ones that are more difficult continue to be those cases that have more invisible long-term symptoms, like fatigue, brain fog, depression,” Geist said.
“And unfortunately, they’re having more difficulty getting approved,” he added.

My advice in those situations would be to make sure your doctor is tracking all of your symptoms, documenting them, and has a full patient history on you.

T.J. Geist
principal advocate at Allsup

Those cases can have success, but they take longer, according to Geist. A decision on an initial application may take six to eight months. If it needs to be appealed, that can take about another six months. And then, if it goes to a hearing that can take another year or so.
“It could be as much as three years before a case gets decided at a hearing,” Geist said.
When Perry was applying for Social Security disability benefits, he had to fill out extensive paperwork that asked everything from how far he could walk without losing his breath to whether he was able to cook his own dinner.
The approval took about six months, and likely would have been impossible without the help of a lawyer, he said.
Careful documentation of health records also helps, especially with the “invisible” symptoms associated with long Covid, according to Geist.
“My advice in those situations would be to make sure your doctor is tracking all of your symptoms, documenting them, and has a full patient history on you,” Geist said.
“That can really make or break a Social Security disability case,” he said.

‘Nobody sees us’

For patients and medical providers, a looming question is how long the illness may last. Social Security disability benefits are aimed at long-term conditions.
“A lot of people with long Covid want to work, and what they want are work accommodations,” said Alice Burns, associate director of the program on Medicaid and the uninsured at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Adele Benes, 57, was in “excellent health” when she was exposed to Covid while working at a Chicago-area hospital in 2020. Now 26 months later, she still suffers from debilitating symptoms, including fatigue, brain fog and cognitive difficulties that have led to frequent trips to the emergency room.

Adele Benes still struggles with symptoms after contracting Covid-19 in 2020.
Courtesy: Adele Benes

To improve her condition, Benes has tried everything from off-label medical treatments to hypnosis. At times, she has struggled to even just move from her bed to the bathroom and thought the pain and discomfort would kill her.
“The feeling was overwhelming,” Benes said. “How can you feel that bad and not die?”
Benes applied for Social Security disability benefits in February and is still waiting to hear back. But what she wants most is to regain her health and return to her normal life.
She cries when she remembers her former job, where she was able to help sick patients as an ultrasound technologist. “It was joy,” she said.
The toughest part can be knowing there’s no cure.
“It’s a crazy disease and it’s invisible, because we’re all hiding in our houses,” Benes said. “Nobody sees us, and we look normal from the outside.” More

A Lululemon store in New York
Scott Mlyn | CNBC

Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:
Lululemon — Shares of the Canadian apparel company fell more than 10% after Lululemon lowered its gross margin guidance for the first quarter. The “athleisure” chain raised its net revenue guidance for the fourth quarter and now expects growth of 25% or more, year over year.

Visa, Mastercard — Shares of the payments companies gained 1.1% and 1.7% respectively, after Keybanc upgraded their ratings from sector weight.
Duck Creek — The provider of intelligence solutions for the insurance industry will be taken private by Vista for $19 a share in cash, CNBC’s David Faber reported. The deal should be announced shortly, he said. Shares surged 39%.
Zillow — Shares of the real estate marketplace company gained 4% after Bank of America double upgraded the stock to buy, citing its improved growth outlook despite a challenging macroeconomic environment.
Hologic — The women’s diagnostics provider reported fiscal first quarter revenue Sunday that topped its most recent guidance and Wall Street analyst estimates. Shares gained 2.8% premarket.
Energy stocks — Rising oil prices sent several energy stocks higher premarket. Marathon Oil, Halliburton, EOG Resources and Hess all rallied more than 2%.

Bed, Bath & Beyond — Shares of the beleaguered retailer jumped more than 17% premarket. Bed, Bath & Beyond last week warned of its ability to continue as a going concern, sending shares plummeting.
Oracle — Shares of the software maker rose more than 1% in premarket trading following an upgrade to overweight from neutral by Piper Sandler. The investment bank said in a note that Oracle’s cloud business could see annual growth above 20% in the next few years.
Uber — Shares gained 2.8% after the rideshare platform was upgraded to overweight from neutral by Piper Sandler. The bank said increased car prices will push consumers to Uber and other rideshare platforms.
Nvidia — The stock gained 1.6% premarket after being named a top pick by Wells Fargo analysts, who said they see a positive data center product-cycle materializing through 2023.
Tesla – Shares of Tesla rose 3.7% premarket Monday after Elon Musk attorneys on Saturday asked a California court to move a trial over the company stock to Texas, citing local negativity.
Ferrari — Shares rallied more than 2% premarket after being named a top pick for 2023 by Bank of America. Analysts noted the automaker’s balanced strategy, resilient financial performance and conservative 2023 outlook.
—CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Jesse Pound, Alex Harring, Sarah Min and Michael Bloom contributed reporting.

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