Big Tech, Chip Stocks Boost Nasdaq While the Dow Lags

Crypto Keeps Sliding After Last Week’s

26 minutes ago

Cryptocurrencies continued to lose ground Monday, with Bitcoin hovering around $26,000 after trading yesterday around $26,300. Ethereum was down a bit over 1% from yesterday at $1,665. Ripple sank 4% from yesterday to 52 cents.

Bitcoin is down about 10% in the last five days after plummeting Thursday afternoon amid a massive liquidation of leveraged long positions. It was the cryptocurrency’s worst week since the cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in November.

Midday Market Movers

1 hr 17 min ago

Novavax Inc. (NVAX): Shares of the biotech company gained 16% after a Biden administration official said Sunday the White House would urge all U.S. residents to receive Covid-19 booster shots as new subvariants spread ahead of flu season. Shares of other Covid-19 vaccine makers Moderna (MRNA) and BioNTech SE (BNTX) advanced 9% and 6%, respectively. 

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares rose 6% after HSBC, KeyBanc, and BMO Capital Markets all raised their price targets for the chipmaker ahead of its quarterly earnings report Wednesday. Nvidia stock jumped 24% the day after its last earnings report in May when it said sales for the most recent quarter would total $11 billion, 50% more than analysts had forecast. 

Tesla Inc. (TSLA): Shares of the electric vehicle maker gained 6%, rebounding from a month-long sell-off during which the stock lost more than a quarter of its value. 

Goldman Sachs Group (GS): Shares of the investment bank fell more than 1% after reports it was considering selling its investment advisory business as it retreats from its push into consumer banking. 

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Shares fell 2% after the company announced it would be able to convert just 24% of the J&J shares investors opted to exchange for an equivalent stake in Kenvue (KVUE), its recently spun-off consumer healthcare unit. Kenvue stock gained over 1%. 

Napco Shares Tumble After Disclosing Accounting Errors in Earnings Reports

1 hr 57 min ago

Shares of security firm Napco (NSSC) lost more than 40% of their value in Monday trading after the company said accounting errors would require the restatement of its last three quarters of earnings.

“The company has determined that a material weakness existed in the company’s internal controls over financial reporting,” Napco management said in a news release Friday.

Napco said it was revising its net sales lower in the first, second, and third quarters of fiscal 2023 by a total of $9.5 million. Monday’s slump in the company’s stock price means that it is now down 17% year-to-date.

-Kevin George

DuPont Agrees to Sell $1.8 Billion Resins Unit to Jordan Co.

2 hr 17 min ago

Materials manufacturer DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD) has agreed to sell its 80.1% controlling stake in Delrin to private equity firm The Jordan Company in a deal valued at $1.8 billion.

In addition to the cash proceeds of approximately $1.25 billion, DuPont, as part of its strategy to refocus its business, will also receive a note receivable of $350 million and hold a 19.9% non-controlling equity interest in Delrin following the deal’s closing.

“Today’s announcement largely completes our planned exit of the former M&M segment, advancing our position as a premier multi-industrial company,” said Ed Breen, DuPont Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.

-Kathleen Marshall

Broadcom’s $69 Billion Acquisition of VMware Approved by UK Regulators

3 hr 15 min ago

U.K. regulators gave the green light for Broadcom’s (AVGO) $69 billion purchase of VMware (VMW) on Monday, sending shares of both companies higher in early trading.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Monday cleared Broadcom’s $69 billion acquisition of Palo Alto, CA-based cloud computing company VMware, concluding a two-phase investigation that began in March. An independent panel of regulators ruled that the merger would not stifle competition in the supply of server hardware components in the U.K.

The deal, first announced in May of last year and initially valued at $61 billion, cleared one of its biggest regulatory hurdles this week. Regulators in the European Union (EU), Australia, Canada, Brazil, Israel, South Africa, and Taiwan have already cleared the deal, with the U.S. and China now the last remaining hurdles.

-Mack Wilowski

Marsh to Acquire Australian Company in $448 Million Deal

4 hr 4 min ago

U.S. insurance broker Marsh, a unit of Marsh & McLennan (MMC), announced Sunday that it would acquire Australia’s Honan Insurance Group, including the 80% holding of majority shareholder TA Associates (TA), a leading global private equity firm.

The deal could be worth up to $448.70 million once finalized.

“The addition of Honan’s highly complementary capabilities, particularly in corporate risk and strata insurance, will enable Marsh to deepen the specialist expertise we provide to clients across Australia and New Zealand, and support them in managing the risks they now face,” Nick Harris, Marsh’s CEO of Pacific said in a statement.

-Kathleen Marshall

Cybersecurity Stocks Get a Boost from Palo Alto Networks

4 hr 51 min ago

Shares of cybersecurity firms are rising across the board Monday after Palo Alto Networks (PANW) reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal fourth quarter ended July 31. 

Revenue grew 26% year-over-year to $2 billion while adjusted net income nearly doubled to $482.5 million, or $1.44 a share. The company forecast full-year billings of between $10.9 and $11 billion, above Wall Street’s estimate of $10.8 billion. 

Palo Alto Networks stock jumped 15% Monday morning along with other cybersecurity stocks ZScaler Inc. (ZS), up 6%, and Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD), up 5%.

The First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR) gained more than 2% but remained 6% below its highest point this year.

Meta’s Threads to Hit the Web

5 hr 15 min ago

Shares of Meta Platforms (META) gained 1% early Monday after reports that the company’s Twitter competitor, Threads, would be getting a web version, possibly as early as the first half of this week.

Currently, the mobile-geared platform is only available through an app.

Threads became the fastest app to reach 100 million downloads when it launched in early July. User engagement has since fallen off a cliff, dropping more than 80% by the end of July.

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

6 hr 9 min ago

Gainers:

• Palo Alto Networks (PANW): Shares of the cybersecurity firm gained more than 12% after it beat earnings expectations after the bell Friday. Earnings of $1.44 a share topped analyst estimates, as did its full-year billing forecast.
• VMWare Inc. (VMW): Shares jumped more than 5% after chipmaker Broadcom won approval from British regulators for its $61 billion acquisition of the cloud computing company. Regulators in the U.S. and China are yet to approve the deal.
• Tesla Inc. (TSLA): Shares gained 3% after falling 11% last week after the EV maker cut prices in China multiple times in an effort to undercut competition in the world’s largest EV market.
• Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares gained a bit over 2% after analysts at KeyBanc and HSBC raised their price targets for the chipmaker ahead of its quarterly earnings report, due post-market Wednesday.

Losers:

• Jet.AI Inc. (JTAI): Shares of the AI-powered aviation booking company, which went public on Aug. 11, sank 12% after jumping more than 60% Friday on news its app has been made available on the Apple App Store.
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): The pharmaceutical company’s shares fell almost 2% after it said its exchange offer for its spun-off consumer products business, Kenvue (KVUE), was oversubscribed.

5 Things to Know Before Markets Open

6 hr 34 min ago

Here’s what investors need to know to start their day:

1. Instagram-parent Meta Platforms (META) reportedly plans to launch a web version of its Threads app, expanding the reach of the microblogging service from just tablets and smartphones to computers.
2. Shares of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) jumped 12% in pre-market trading after the cybersecurity provider reported a full-year billing forecast above analysts’ expectations.
3. NAPCO Security Technologies (NSSC) shares fell after it said it had identified errors in its financial statements that overstated results in the last three quarters.
4. DuPont de Nemours Inc. (DD) is reportedly in advanced talks to sell its Delrin resin units to the private equity firm The Jordan Company for about $1.8 billion.
5. Shares of Jet.AI Inc. (JTAI) fell 16% in pre-market trading as investors took profits from a 60% jump Friday after the company made its AI-power flight booking platform available on Apple’s App Store.

-Terry Lane

Stock Futures Show Equities Staging a Recovery

6 hr 59 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% in early trading Monday.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.5%.

Nasdaq 100 futures contracts gained 0.7%.