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Shares of Finish Line Inc. surged 6.0% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the athletic shoe and apparel retailer was upgraded at Susquehanna Financial, which said it believes a buyout is likely. Analyst Sam Poser raised his rating to positive, after being at neutral for the past 10 months, and raised his stock price target to $12 from $9. Despite the fact that Finish Line adopted last month a “poison pill” in an attempt to fend off acquirers, Poser said he believes there is a 75% probability that the U.K.’s Sports Direct will buy Finish Line at about $13.30. Poser believes current share prices reflects only about a 30% probability that Finish Line is acquired. The stock traded at $10.32 ahead of the open, or 25% above the 8-year closing low of $8.24 on Aug. 30, which came on the heels of a profit and sales warning. The stock has plunged 33% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has slipped 0.8% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.3%.

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Shares of Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores Inc. was indicated up over 2% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the restaurant and country store chain beat fiscal fourth-quarter profit expectations, offsetting a sales miss. Net income for the quarter to July 28 rose to $53.9 million, or $2.23 a share, from $51.0 million, or $2.12 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $2.17. Revenue fell 0.3% to $743.2 million, missing the FactSet consensus of $746.7 million. Same-store sales declined 1.7%, compared with the FactSet consensus of a 0.6% decline, while the average check increased 0.9%. Looking ahead, the company expects fiscal first-quarter EPS of $1.85 to $1.95 and fiscal 2018 EPS of $8.85 to $9.00, compared with the FactSet consensus for first-quarter EPS of $2.10 and for 2018 EPS of $8.89. “As we enter the new fiscal year, we anticipate the environment to remain challenged, yet are confident in our plans to invest in the long-term growth of the company,” said Chief Executive Sandra Cochran. The stock has lost 9.4% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.3%.

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Target Corp. said Wednesday that it plans to hire about 100,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, up from 70,000 last year. These seasonal hires will work with customers and fulfill online orders at stores, among other duties. The retailer will also hire 4,500 workers for the company’s distribution and fulfillment centers. Target will host a nationwide hiring event October 13 through October 15 at each of its 1,816 stores to fill the positions. Target shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and down nearly 20% for the year so far. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 7.1% for 2017 to date, while the S&P 500 index is up 11.5% for the period.

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Target Corp. announced that it is launching an exclusive home and lifestyle brand, Hearth & Hand with Magnolia, with HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of the show “Fixer Upper.” The couple, who also have an existing home and lifestyle brand called Magnolia, will partner with the retailer over multiple years. The collection, which will include more than 300 items, will be available November 5, and will be refreshed each season. Most items will be priced under $30. Target is focused on exclusive brands, launching more than 12 in recent months, including kids lines Cat & Jack and Pillowfort. HGTV is a Scripps Network Interactive Inc. brand. Discovery Communications Inc. agreed to acquire Scripps this summer. Target shares are unchanged in Wednesday premarket trading, and down nearly 20% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 11.5% for 2017 so far.

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JetBlue Airways Corp. said Wednesday load factor for the month of August fell to 87.1% from 87.4% a year ago as the demand rose less than supply. Traffic increased 5.0% to 4.42 billion revenue passenger miles while capacity grew 5.4% to 5.08 billion available seat miles. Completion factor was 97.8%, while on-time performance, which are domestic flights arriving within 14 minutes of schedule, was 68.1%. The air carrier reiterated its third-quarter revenue per available seat mile growth outlook in the range of between down 1% to up 1%. The outlook doesn’t include any impact of Hurricane Irma. The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has shed 14.2% over the past three months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has lost 6.9% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.3%.

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Neiman Marcus Group will close 10 of its off-price Last Call stores, or about a quarter of the locations, in order to focus on its full-line luxury department stores, the company said in a statement Tuesday. Among the 10 stores closing are ones at Potomac Mills in Virginia, Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Mich., and two in Philadelphia. The store associates who are affected, 241 in total according to Neiman Marcus, will be offered severance packages. “This decision is about optimizing our Last Call store portfolio … and freeing up resources to support new initiatives for our full-line Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman channels,” Last Call Senior Vice President Elizabeth Allison said in a statement. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 7.1% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 11.4% for the period.

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Offshore drilling company Seadrill Ltd. said late Tuesday is has filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to a major restructuring plan with its senior lenders. Under the plan, the company’s lenders will extend the maturity on $5.7 billion in debt until 2020. The restructuring agreement also delivers $1.06 billion in new capital, comprised of $860 million in secured notes and $200 million of equity. The struggling driller said last month it was planning to file for bankruptcy protection as part of a plan to restructure its debt. The Bermuda-based company, controlled by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, is one of the world’s largest offshore drilling companies.

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Uber Technologies Inc.’s general counsel and chief legal officer, Salle Yoo, announced Tuesday she is leaving the company amid myriad legal woes for the ride-hailing company, according to multiple reports. The Information, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg News all reported that she sent an email to staff saying she’ll leave as soon as Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi hires a new general counsel. Yoo joined Uber as general counsel in 2012 and was named chief legal officer in May. Uber has weathered a steady stream of regulatory battles in recent years, and is currently facing three separate federal investigations, including one over possible foreign bribes, as well as a high-profile battle with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo over alleged theft of trade secrets. It is also dealing with a number of sexual harassment and executive misconduct allegations. Yoo was the highest-ranking woman at Uber, which has suffered an exodus of top management in the past year.

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WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton announced his departure from the company Tuesday, three years after Facebook Inc. bought the messaging app for $22 billion. “After 8 years at WhatsApp, I have decided to move on and start a new chapter in my life,” he said in a Facebook post. Acton said he intends to start a foundation “focused at the intersection of nonprofit, technology and communications.” Acton ran WhatsApp’s engineering team. His fellow co-founder, CEO Jan Koum, will remain at the company. Last week, Facebook said it would eventually start charging companies for some of WhatsApp’s features as it seeks a path to monetization. In July, Facebook said WhatsApp had reached 1 billion daily active users, but that it will take a few years to start making money from the app. Facebook shares are up 17% in the past three months, and up 50% year to date, compared to compared to the S&P 500’s gains of 3% and 12%, respectively.

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