Key Highlights
- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals climbed 18.4% during premarket hours, topping Thursday’s gainers list
- AstraZeneca plummeted 9% following disappointing Phase 3 trial results for its cardiac treatment
- Levi Strauss declined 6% even after surpassing Q2 revenue projections, warning about tariff pressures
- Ampco-Pittsburgh soared 14% on news of a 32% increase in first-half orders reaching $268M
- S&P 500 futures ticked higher by 0.10% as Bitcoin rose 0.65% to reach $62,627
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals dominated premarket trading on Thursday with an impressive 18.4% surge. BridgeBio Pharma wasn’t far behind, climbing 14% in the early session.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., ALNY
Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Advanced Energy Industries, and Cerebras Systems all recorded advances of 6% or more.
S&P 500 futures showed a modest uptick of 0.10%. Dow Jones futures dipped 0.15%. The Cboe Volatility Index futures climbed 3.99%.
Bitcoin gained 0.65%, reaching $62,627. Gold futures increased 0.77% while Brent crude advanced 0.82%.
The 10-Year Treasury yield stood at 4.593%. During the previous session, the S&P 500 declined 0.28% and the Dow retreated 1.09%.
AstraZeneca Shares Plummet Following Cardiac Drug Trial Disappointment
AstraZeneca experienced the steepest decline of the session, falling 9%. The pharmaceutical giant’s stock tumbled after its Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform study for Wainua missed its primary goal.
The clinical trial evaluated the medication in individuals with transthyretin-mediated amyloid cardiomyopathy. Results showed no significant benefit in reducing cardiovascular death or recurring cardiovascular incidents versus placebo after 140 weeks of treatment.
AstraZeneca partnered with Ionis Pharmaceuticals to develop Wainua. In response to the disappointing news, Ionis stock plunged 17.8%.
Both pharmaceutical companies indicated they would continue reviewing the trial data. Complete findings will be unveiled at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in August.
Levi Strauss Exceeds Forecasts But Issues Tariff Warning
Levi Strauss shares fell 6% even though the denim maker posted Q2 revenue of $1.56 billion, representing a 7.6% year-over-year increase. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.28 exceeded Wall Street projections.
Direct-to-consumer revenue jumped 11% and gross margin improved to 62.7%. The quarterly performance appeared strong by most metrics.
Yet market participants concentrated on the company’s conservative full-year projection. Levi’s midpoint EPS forecast of $1.49 fell short of the $1.51 analyst consensus.
Management is operating under the assumption that 30% U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports and 20% tariffs on merchandise from other countries will persist throughout the remainder of the year.
Ampco-Pittsburgh Rallies on Robust Order Growth
Ampco-Pittsburgh shares surged 14% following the announcement that first-half 2026 customer orders increased 32% year over year to $268 million.
Orders for forged and cast engineered products climbed 25% to $153 million. Air and liquid processing orders skyrocketed 42% to $116 million.
The industrial company also revealed that its Buffalo Air Handling division landed the biggest air handling equipment contract in company history.
MDA Space dropped 6% after disclosing plans to acquire approximately 70% of French company CLS for €567 million. The firm simultaneously announced a C$712 million equity offering, which market participants viewed as dilutive.
Overseas markets posted gains overnight, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 advancing 1.38% and China’s Shanghai Composite climbing 1.65%.
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