Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Qualcomm, Moderna, PayPal and more

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Check out the companies making headlines before the market open.

Qualcomm — The chipmaker slipped 8.5%. after it posted $1.87 in adjusted earnings per share on $8.44 billion in revenue for the second quarter, while analysts polled by Refinitiv respectively anticipated $1.81 and $8.5 billion. Qualcomm also gave soft guidance and noted weak smartphone chip sales. Deutsche Bank downgraded shares to hold from buy following the report, while JPMorgan and UBS maintained their respective overweight and neutral ratings.

Moderna — Shares added 1.6% after the biotech companyreleased its second-quarter results. Despite posting a quarterly loss and drop in revenue, Moderna raised its full-year outlook for its Covid vaccine, its only marketable product. 

Southwest Airlines — Shares of Southwest slid more than 3% after Jefferies downgraded the airline stock to underperform from hold. Jefferies said that low-cost airlines appear to be struggling relative to premium peers, citing a key revenue margin for Southwest that shrunk during the second quarter.

Albemarle —The energy stock added 5.4% following a mixed second-quarter report. Albemarle notably beat Wall Street expectations for earnings, reporting $7.33 per share excluding items against a consensus estimate of $4.44 compiled by Refinitiv. But revenue fell short at $2.37 billion on a $2.43 billion forecast. 

PayPal — Shares declined more than 8% after the company posted earnings that were in line with analysts' predictions Wednesday post market. The payments company reported adjusted earnings of $1.16 per share, the same estimated by analysts polled by Refinitiv. Revenue came in higher than anticipated, with PayPal posting $7.29 billion, versus analysts' estimates of