By Peter Nurse

Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Monday, March 27th. Please refresh for updates.

• First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) stock soared 23%, PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ: PACW) stock climbed 9.6%, and Western Alliance (NYSE: WAL) stock rose 5.9% after a buyout deal for failed Silicon Valley Bank's deposits and loans helped ease stress in the banking sector.

• Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) ADRs rose 0.8% after its founder and former CEO Jack Ma returned to mainland China for the first time in a year, signaling an easing of tension between the government and the country's Internet leaders.

• Novartis (NYSE: NVS) ADRs rose 6.2% after the pharmaceutical giant announced positive results from a highly anticipated trial of its breast cancer drug.

• Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) stock rose 4.3% after UBS upgraded its stance to 'buy' from 'neutral', saying the image-sharing platform's shares can rise more than 25% on plans to improve advertising.

• M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) stock rose 2.2% after Citi upgraded its stance on the lender to 'buy' from 'neutral', saying the recent market selloff as an attractive entry point from a risk/reward standpoint.

• Wingstop (NASDAQ: WING) stock fell 1.8% after Jefferies downgraded the restaurant chain to 'underperform' from 'hold', saying valuations seem to reflect an overly optimistic view of near-term momentum.

• Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) stock fell 1.1% after Baird downgraded the construction equipment manufacturer to 'underperform' from 'neutral', saying the shares are nearing a cyclical pivot point.

• Hertz (NASDAQ: HTZ) stock rose 2.3% after the rental car firm announced its Chief Financial Officer Kenny Cheung was leaving the company to pursue another job.