Premarket roundup: Whiting Petroleum, Citigroup

Premarket roundup: Whiting Petroleum downgraded after stock rally, Citigroup shares may fall

• On 9:29 am EDT, Wednesday September 16, 2009

Among the premarket stories for Wednesday, Sept. 16, from AP Financial News:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Whiting Petroleum Corp. rallied over the summer to a fair value, an analyst said on Wednesday as he downgraded the independent oil and gas company's stock.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Citigroup Inc. shares could take an additional beating in the near-term, an analyst said Wednesday.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rising stock prices of five producers of equipment that controls manufacturing and processing activities led an analyst Wednesday to downgrade the shares.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Carnival Corp. may come in ahead of third-quarter earnings expectations and boost its full-year forecast as pricing steadies and comparisons ease, an analyst said Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Oracle Corp.'s fiscal first-quarter earnings could show a pattern the business software maker has demonstrated in the recession: new business might take a hit, but upgrades and maintenance contracts might help buffer the company.