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Moderna leads S&P 500 in skin cancer vaccine trial with Merck
10 minutes ago
Moderna (MRNA) was the top-performing stock on the S&P 500 on Monday after the vaccine maker began clinical trials for its experimental skin cancer vaccine in combination with Merck’s (MRK) Keytruda.
The trial is scheduled to begin next month and last until April 2029, according to information posted on the government’s website.
This trial is a continuation of Moderna and Merck’s ongoing collaboration on skin cancer treatments and vaccines. In December, the companies announced that the personalized vaccine developed by Moderna, when used in combination with Keytruda, reduced patients’ risk of skin cancer recurrence by 49% compared to Keytruda alone.
Moderna shares rose more than 10% in late trading Monday and are up 14% so far this year. Still, the stock has fallen more than 75% since its peak in summer 2021 amid the rollout of the company’s only commercial product, a coronavirus vaccine.
Merck shares fell about 1% after Société Générale analysts downgraded the stock to sell due to the impending expiration of the Keytruda patent.
Duolingo stock rises after JPMorgan initiates coverage with ‘overweight’ rating
1 hour ago
Shares of education technology company Duolingo Inc. (DUOL) rose on Monday as JPMorgan began covering the language learning products provider with an “overweight” rating. The investment bank also set a price target for the company’s stock at $270, about 26% above Friday’s closing price.
Analysts Brian Smailke and Doug Unmuth pointed to Duolingo’s “freemium” business strategy, which they said is helping it increase subscriber penetration.
They say their “bullish thesis” about the company is based on several factors, including strong user growth “driven by product optimization, gamification/socialization, and a social-first marketing strategy.” He pointed out that there was. He also predicted that the number of paid members would double to 12.3 million by 2026, and claimed that the demand for English learning among non-native English speakers would surge.
Duolingo stock rose more than 4% to $222.74 on Monday afternoon, hitting a record high in December, but has slumped this year before rebounding near the end of last month. It’s up about 90% in the past year.
-Bill McCall
What to expect from Oracle’s Monday earnings report
1 hour 33 minutes ago
Oracle (ORCL) is scheduled to release its fiscal 2024 third-quarter financial results after the closing bell on Monday, March 11, which will show how the company’s cloud revenue is trending and how it is responding to demand. Potentially provide insight into data center expansion. We are in the middle of an artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
Analysts expect Oracle’s third-quarter 2024 revenue to be $13.28 billion, up from the previous quarter and year-ago period, according to estimates compiled by Visible Alpha.
Adjusted net income is expected to be $3.87 billion, up from $3.38 billion in the third quarter of 2023, with diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.37, up from $1.22 in the year-ago period. It is expected.
When Oracle reported its last quarter results in December, its stock fell after the company missed its cloud growth expectations. Analysts expect revenue for Oracle’s cloud division to be $5.06 billion, an increase of 23% from the same period last year.
-Naomi Buchanan
Boeing stock falls after Justice Department investigation, reports of injuries on Latin American airline
2 hours 20 minutes ago
Following reports of injuries due to a “technical issue” on a Latin American flight involving a Boeing aircraft, and a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into a damaged door panel on an Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight on January 5th. , Boeing Co. (BA) stock fell Monday. Get off the plane.
According to reports, the Justice Department has begun interviewing the pilot and flight attendants on the plane and has taken steps to contact the passengers. Wall Street Journal.
Separately, a LATAM flight that arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday reportedly experienced a “technical event” that caused “violent movement.” The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed safely, but an estimated 50 passengers and crew members were treated for injuries by airport first responders.
Boeing shares were down 2.9% at $192.83 early Monday afternoon. Its value has fallen by about 26% since early 2024 due to concerns about the ongoing investigation and other issues.
-Aaron McDade
EQT acquires Equitrans Midstream to expand natural gas business
2 hours 53 minutes ago
EQT Corp. (EQT) was the worst-performing stock on the S&P 500 index midday Monday after the natural gas producer announced it would acquire midstream infrastructure provider Equitrans Midstream Corp. (ETRN) for about $5.5 billion. Ta.
EQT explained that the transaction will give Equitrans investors 0.3504 EQT shares for each Equitrans share they own. This equates to an implied value of $12.50 per share based on the volume-weighted average of Equitrans stock over the 30 days ending Friday, it added. Equitrans stock then closed at $11.15 and EQT stock closed at $37.52.
EQT said the merger will create “America’s first large-scale integrated natural gas production company.” The combined company is expected to be valued at more than $35 billion.
Equitrans Midstream shares have pared early gains and were up 2.4% as of 12:20 p.m. ET Monday, but are still trading near their highest level in more than two years. EQT stock fell 8.2% to $34.45 and is down more than 10% so far in 2024.
-Bill McCall
Choice Hotels closes $7.8 billion acquisition offer for Wyndham
3 hours 29 minutes ago
Choice Hotels International (CHH) has filed a $7.8 billion takeover bid for fellow Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH), saying Wyndham’s board of directors “refused to engage constructively and materially.” has been discontinued.
The acquisition attempt began nearly a year ago, and Choice’s attempt to acquire Wyndham evolved over time from a takeover offer to a December takeover attempt. Although Choice has received some support from Wyndham shareholders, he said he has determined there is no “pathway towards a transaction” at this time.
Choice said it would now refocus on its business and also announced that its board of directors had approved a 5 million share increase in its stock repurchase program (worth approximately $632 million at Choice’s current price).
Choice Hotels’ stock rose 4.3% to $126.64 late Monday morning, while Wyndham’s stock rose 1.2% to $76.94.
-Aaron McDade
Reddit plans to raise up to $748 million in IPO
4 hours 3 minutes ago
Reddit aims to raise up to $748 million in an upcoming initial public offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.
The social media company said it plans to sell 22 million shares at prices between $31 and $34 per share, with 1.76 million shares, or 8% of the offering, reserved for users and moderators.
Reddit previously stated that its user sharing program had six levels of priority, with each eligible participant receiving a “participant karma,” as measured by Redditors’ Karma, an indicator of a user’s community contribution to the platform. tiers will be assigned based on their contributions to Reddit.
The company filed for an IPO in late February to list on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol RDDT.
-Naomi Buchanan
Bitcoin extends bull market, rising to all-time high above $72,000
4 hours 50 minutes ago
Bitcoin (BTCUSD) soared to an all-time high of more than $72,000 on Monday morning, continuing last month’s strong rally as money flooded into Bitcoin ETFs ahead of the long-awaited halving event.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies received a boost on Monday after the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority said it would not oppose listing cryptocurrency-backed exchange-traded funds (ETNs) on exchanges. .
The move comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing of several Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January, which is a huge boost for the cryptocurrency and its backers in mainstream finance. It will be a big milestone. This decision and Monday’s notification by the UK helped the crypto community assert its legitimacy and lowered the bar for investing in cryptocurrencies.
Since the SEC’s decision in January, money has been flowing into new ETFs. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) surpassed $10 billion in assets under management last week. It reached this milestone in a record two months, fueled by billions of dollars in inflows and soaring Bitcoin prices.
Bitcoin has risen nearly 50% in the last month alone. This rally is being driven by interest in the ETF and expectations for the upcoming halving next month, which will reduce the reward for Bitcoin mining to 3.125 BTC.
Following Bitcoin’s rise on Monday morning, the stock prices of crypto-related companies such as major US exchange Coinbase (COIN) also rose, rising 3%.
Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software company led by Bitcoin bull Michael Taylor, fell 9% after Thaler announced the company had bought 12,000 Bitcoins at an average price of $68,477. It has soared to record highs. This addition brings MicroStrategy’s total Bitcoin holdings to approximately 205,000 Bitcoins, valued at more than $14.8 billion.
Stocks that move the most before the market
5 hours 53 minutes ago
Profit:
- MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR): The stock price of this Bitcoin-heavy software company is rising after CEO Michael Saylor announced that the company has acquired an additional 12,000 Bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 205,000 coins ( The stock soared more than 9% after the company announced it was worth about $15 billion.
- Equitrans Midstream Corporation (ETRN): Shares rose more than 5% after EQT (EQT) proposed to acquire the company for approximately $5.5 billion. EQT stock fell more than 5% in premarket trading.
- Linde Plc (LIN): The gas company’s stock rose more than 2% after it was added to the Nasdaq 100 index on March 18th.
loss:
- Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. (WH): Shares fell 5% as Choice Hotels (CHH) exited its hotel operator acquisition efforts. Choice stock rose more than 6%.
- Boeing Co. (BA): The aircraft maker’s stock fell more than 2% after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the Alaska Airlines case earlier this year.
- Nvidia Inc. (NVDA): The company’s stock fell more than 1%, extending Friday’s 5% decline after three authors sued the company for copyright infringement related to its use as training material for its AI platform. did.
Stock futures start the week lower
6 hours 35 minutes ago
Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% in premarket trading Monday.
S&P 500 futures fell about 0.5%.
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.6% about an hour before the market opened.
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