Premarket Roundup: Costco, Hewlett-Packard

Among the premarket stories for Wednesday, May 20, from AP Financial News:

NEW YORK (AP) — Customer traffic is rising fast at Costco Wholesale Corp. stores and the stock is a good value right now, a Credit Suisse analyst said, upgrading the wholesale club chain.

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Hewlett-Packard Co. stumbled in premarket trading Wednesday after the company's quarterly earnings report failed to lift spirits about the slumping personal computer market.

NEW YORK (AP) — The "looming threat of bankruptcy" at Talbots Inc. is lower, and the company's challenges are already reflected in the stock price, an analyst said Wednesday, upgrading shares of the apparel retailer.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The chief executive of General Electric Co. was more positive about its troubled finance business in an appearance before investor analysts Tuesday, but growth opportunities elsewhere at conglomerate are less visible, an analyst said Wednesday.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Troubles in the auto industry could lead to reduced second-quarter revenue at manufacturer Eaton Corp., prompting at least one analyst to cut her profit estimates for the company.

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of chip designer Analog Devices Inc. jumped in premarket trading Wednesday after the company's fiscal second-quarter results and outlook beat Wall Street forecasts.