Bitcoin, Virgin Galactic, Okta, Chewy: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today

Futures are edging up after the Nasdaq Composite reached its 33rd record close of the year. Here’s what we’re watching ahead of Thursday’s open.

• Okta dropped 2.6% premarket. The cloud-based identity services provider raised its full-year revenue outlook, but its losses widened in the fiscal second quarter as costs and expenses ballooned.
• Bitcoin is up more than 3% from its 5 p.m. ET level on Wednesday, and companies in the crypto universe were also ticking higher. Trading platform Coinbase Global added 2% premarket, and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital gained 4.8%.
• Virgin Galactic shed 1.8%. Aviation regulators are investigating how the spacecraft returned to the ground after taking billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson to the edge of space.

• Tesla shares slipped 1% premarket. Chief Executive Elon Musk on Wednesday said the company’s redesigned Roadster sports car likely would be available in 2023, three years later than planned.
• Hill-rom added 2.8%. Baxter International is buying the medical-technology company for $156 a share, a premium over Hill-rom’s Wednesday’s $145.06 closing price.
• American Eagle Outfitters ,   Hormel Foods and  Kirkland’s are due to report earnings before the opening bell.
• Smith & Wesson Brands dropped 1.6% premarket, though the gun maker’s profit rose in its first quarter amid strong demand for its firearm even as the company cut its costs.
• Shares of the online pet-products retailer Chewy fell fell 9.1% premarket after revenue in the latest quarter and its third-quarter guidance came in slightly below analysts’ expectations for both.
• Five Below was trading 8.5% below its Wednesday closing price. The youth-focused retailer’s earnings more than doubled but sales came in a little short of expectations.
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise ,   Broadcom ,   Tilly’s and  DocuSign  will provide earnings updates after the close.

Chart of the Day

• Bitcoin’s recent lull can be attributed to investor interest in other corners of the crypto market—including Ethereum and NFTs.