By Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Starbucks — The coffee chain rose more than 2% after Bernstein upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. The firm is bullish on new CEO Brian Niccol who began on Sept. 9. New York Community Bancorp — Shares of the regional lender gained more than 4% after Barclays upgraded shares to overweight as it repositions itself following a rocky patch. Micron Technology , chip stocks — Micron shares surged nearly 17% after offering a stronger-than-expected revenue forecast for the fiscal first quarter. Other chip stocks also rose in tandem Thursday morning. Nvidia rose 2%, while U.S.-traded shares of ASML Holding added nearly 5%. Meta Platforms — Shares advanced more than 1% a day after the company announced a new entry-level virtual reality headset and a prototype of an augmented reality smart glasses. Bank of America raised its price target on the tech giant on the back of the release, citing “renewed optimism” for personal computing devices and new AI abilities. NRG Energy — The energy stock jumped almost 4% after hiking its full-year guidance. The company now forecasts adjusted EBITDA in a range of $3.53 billion to $3.68 billion, compared with its prior range of $3.3 billion to $3.55 billion. GE Healthcare Technologies — Shares slid more than 1% after UBS downgraded the name to sell from neutral. Analyst Graham Doyle said growth in the near to midterm will likely fall short of expectations and cited risks in its China business. Bilibili — U.S.-traded shares of the Chinese internet stock climbed nearly 12% on the back of an upgrade to buy from neutral by Goldman Sachs. The firm highlighted the company’s monetization and profitability potential. CarMax — The used car retailer tumbled about 7%. Although CarMax’s fiscal second-quarter sales beat estimates, it also increased its provision for loan losses. Jefferies Financial Group — The investment bank fell more than 1% after reporting third-quarter results. Jefferies said it earned 75 cents per share on $1.62 billion in revenue, driven by a pick-up in dealmaking. Southwest Airlines — The travel stock rose about 5% after Southwest hiked its third-quarter revenue forecast. The airline also announced a new share repurchase program and planned changes to its business model as it looks to fend off activist investor Elliott Management. Sonos – The speakers company declined more than 6% following a double-downgrade by Morgan Stanley to underweight from overweight. Analyst Erik Woodring believes the backlash from the company’s app redesign in May will hit the company’s top- and bottom-line metrics more than the market currently is expecting. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Jesse Pound and Sarah Min contributed reporting
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