Streetbeat News

Acquisitions Mergers

AAPL

MBGAF

RIVN

STLA

Rivian Automotive Inc (NASDAQ:RIVN) has hired Jonas Reinke, a former executive from Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Porsche, as Vice President for Product Management to oversee the launch of its R2 platform. Reinke brings extensive experience in automotive product management. Rivian's R2 platform is set to begin production in 2026, with unveilings in early 2024, aiming to fill a market gap in the $45,000 to $50,000 midsize SUV range. The company has also recently hired Arnhelm Mittelbach from Mercedes-Benz Group AG (OTC:MBGAF) and Carlo Materazzo from Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) for key positions.

Portfolio Pulse from Anan Ashraf

January 23, 2024 | 5:21 am

ARKB

ARKW

BITO

META

MSFT

Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, sold 648,091 units of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) worth $12.6 million and bought 523,541 units of ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) valued at $21.04 million through ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). The firm also bought shares of Meta Platforms Inc (META) and sold shares of Microsoft Corp (MSFT). These trades occurred amid a volatile crypto market, with Bitcoin (BTC) briefly dropping below $40,000.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Neuro

January 23, 2024 | 4:19 am

FBTC

GBTC

IBIT

Major cryptocurrencies Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin experienced declines amid rising outflows from Grayscale's GBTC. BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted over $1 billion in AUM each, post-launch. FTX offloaded its entire GBTC stake valued at nearly $1 billion. The global cryptocurrency market cap decreased by 1.59%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit record highs. Analysts predict Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin, and Bitcoin's price movements are influenced by ETF flows around the US market open.

Portfolio Pulse from Mehab Qureshi

January 23, 2024 | 3:03 am

WFG

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. (WFG) has announced the permanent closure of its Fraser Lake Sawmill in British Columbia due to the inability to access economically viable fibre. The closure will affect about 175 employees, though the company plans to offer them opportunities at other operations. This will result in a reduction of West Fraser's Canadian lumber capacity by 160 million board feet and lead to restructuring and impairment charges of approximately $81 million in Q4 2023.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 22, 2024 | 10:49 pm

DIS

Blackwells Capital has filed a preliminary proxy statement for Disney's 2024 Annual Meeting, advocating for changes in the board to support Disney's transformation. They have reiterated their demand for Trian to end its campaign and have invited Ike Perlmutter to meet with their nominees. Blackwells insists that Disney should disseminate information equally among all shareholders, not just ValueAct.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 22, 2024 | 9:23 pm

FWRG

First Watch has acquired a previously franchise-owned restaurant in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The purchase was made using the company's available cash.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 22, 2024 | 9:06 pm

CDE

FEAM

Coeur Mining, Inc. (CDE) reported significant drilling results from its Silvertip project, with high-grade mineral intercepts. Nippon Steel Corp.'s (NISTF) acquisition of United States Steel Corp. (X) was defended by Larry Summers, citing benefits to the U.S. steel industry. 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (FEAM) completed a $10 million equity financing round to advance mining operations.

Portfolio Pulse from Austin DeNoce

January 22, 2024 | 8:02 pm

BLK

COIN

SOLUSD

Ondo Finance, a tokenization project backed by Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), has announced its expansion into the Asia Pacific region, coinciding with a 60% surge in the price of its ONDO token over the past week. The company has opened its first office in the region and appointed Ashwin Khosa as the vice president of Business Development for Asia Pacific. Ondo Finance has also announced partnerships with Mantle and Solana to expand the USDY stablecoin to their blockchains. The company offers four primary products, including tokenized wrappers of BlackRock (NASDAQ:BLK) funds and a lending protocol. Cryptocurrency analysts anticipate listings on major exchanges and significant growth for the ONDO token.

Portfolio Pulse from Khyathi Dalal

January 22, 2024 | 7:42 pm

Macy's stock is up following the company's decision to turn down a takeover offer from Arkhouse Management.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 22, 2024 | 7:17 pm

DHI

MDC

MTH

TMHC

TOL

Seaport analyst Kenneth Zener downgraded several homebuilding stocks due to a weak outlook for FY24, citing potential headwinds and a possible sector rotation. He expects builder margins to bottom out, with higher-turn builders faring best. Zener downgraded D.R. Horton, Meritage Homes, Taylor Morrison Home, and Toll Brothers to Neutral and dropped coverage of M.D.C. Holdings due to its pending acquisition.

Portfolio Pulse from Lekha Gupta

January 22, 2024 | 6:29 pm