PepsiCo, Moderna Rise in Premarket; Gig Economy Stocks Stabilize

By Geoffrey Smith

Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Wednesday, 12th October. Please refresh for updates.

• PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) stock rose 2.5% after the drinks and snacks giant beat expectations on top and bottom line thanks to strong price increases across the world that cushioned the impact of the strong dollar. The figures underline how much of the recent rise in inflation has been driven by corporate pricing power.
• Gig economy stocks steadied after sliding over 12% in some cases on Tuesday in response to an initiative from the Biden administration to class gig workers as employees, something that will significantly increase the cost of the services that companies like Uber (NYSE:UBER) get from their drivers. Uber stock was up 0.9%, while Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT) stock – which fell over 12% on Tuesday, rebounded 3.5%.
• DoorDash (NYSE:DASH) stock, another gig economy company, rose 0.5% after falling a more modest 5.9% on Tuesday.
• KnowBe4 (NASDAQ:KNBE) stock rose 12.5% after a Wall Street Journal report said the company was in advanced talks to sell itself to private equity house Vista Equity for $4.5 billion.
• LVMH ADRs (OTC:LVMUY) rose 1.6% after the French luxury giant announced its sales rose nearly 20% on the year in the third quarter, thanks largely to free-spending American tourists who returned to Europe in large numbers this summer. It noted that spending at its jewelry unit Tiffany slowed, however.
• Koninklijke Philips ADRs (NYSE:PHG) slumped 11.7% after the Dutch-based maker of medical devices said it expects a 5% decline in sales and a much sharper drop in underlying earnings in the current quarter. It’s also writing down its sleep-apnea business by $1.3 billion after a mass recall of devices meant to stop snoring.
• Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA) stock rose 13.6% on anticipation of a wave of buying of its COVID-19 booster shot after sharp rises in case numbers in Europe and North America at the start of autumn.