Streetbeat News

Acquisitions Mergers

AMZN

CMCSA

DIS

NFLX

ROKU

Amazon (AMZN) has hired Jeremy Helfand, a former Disney (DIS) and Hulu executive, as the new Vice President and Head of Advertising for Prime Video. Amazon plans to introduce an ad-supported tier on Prime Video, expanding its advertising revenue which grew by 21% to $9.5 billion in Q1. Helfand's experience with innovative ad formats at Hulu and Disney, such as 'pause ads', will be instrumental in Amazon's strategy. Other companies like Comcast (CMCSA) and Netflix (NFLX) have also hired experienced ad executives, indicating a trend in the streaming industry.

Portfolio Pulse from Anusuya Lahiri

January 05, 2024 | 7:50 pm

ALLO

Allogene Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ALLO) is shifting focus in its clinical trials, deprioritizing the ALPHA2 and EXPAND trials for cema-cel and instead pursuing the ALPHA3 trial for LBCL patients. The company is also starting a new cohort for CLL patients and expanding into autoimmune diseases with ALLO-329. A partnership with Foresight Diagnostics for an MRD IVD is announced. Allogene's cash is expected to last into 2026. William Blair maintains an Outperform rating despite a 15.49% drop in ALLO shares.

Portfolio Pulse from Vandana Singh

January 05, 2024 | 7:32 pm

AGL

APLT

AXGN

BNZI

MPW

RCAC

STZ

U.S. stocks saw gains with the Dow Jones rising by 50 points. Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ) reported Q3 earnings with higher-than-expected EPS but lower sales, leading to a reduced FY24 EPS outlook. AxoGen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AXGN) shares surged on positive preliminary revenue and CEO retirement news. Banzai International, Inc. (NASDAQ:BNZI) spiked after announcing a letter of intent to acquire IGLeads. Revelstone Capital Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ:RCAC) saw a jump in shares after cancelling a special meeting for a business combination. Applied Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLT), agilon health, inc. (NYSE:AGL), and Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW) experienced significant share price drops due to negative clinical trial results, lowered financial outlook, and exposure reduction plans, respectively. Crude oil prices increased by 2.3%, while gold saw a slight decline.

Portfolio Pulse from Avi Kapoor

January 05, 2024 | 7:30 pm

NEM

Benzinga's options scanner revealed significant bullish options activity on Newmont (NYSE:NEM), with 55% bullish sentiment among 9 trades. The options indicate a targeted price range of $30.0 to $42.5. Newmont, the world's largest gold miner, recently acquired Newcrest and is expected to produce 7.3 million ounces of gold in 2023. The stock is slightly up with a potential overbought RSI indicator, and UBS maintains a Neutral rating with a $40 target price.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Insights

January 05, 2024 | 7:01 pm

MLGO

WIMI

MicroAlgo has agreed to sell 8 million shares to WiMi Hologram Cloud for $4 million, according to an SEC filing. The transaction will take place at MicroAlgo Inc.'s offices once specific conditions are fulfilled.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 05, 2024 | 6:41 pm

ANSS

SNPS

Synopsys (SNPS) is reportedly in exclusive talks to acquire Ansys (ANSS) in a deal that could be valued at roughly $400 per share, combining cash and stock, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 05, 2024 | 6:19 pm

RCAC

Revelstone Capital Acquisition Corp. (RCAC) shares have risen following the cancellation of a special meeting intended to approve a business combination with Set Jet. The cancellation suggests that the deal may not proceed as planned, which could be driving investor sentiment.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

January 05, 2024 | 6:17 pm

AAPL

ADBE

AMZN

GOOGL

INTC

MDB

MNDY

MSFT

NVDA

Ivan Feinseth of Tigress Financial predicts AI will be the next goldrush, with every company needing to deploy AI for various business efficiencies. He quotes Tom Siebel of C3.ai, a company Feinseth invests in. Feinseth holds stocks in 'hyperscalers' like Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft, as well as smaller companies like MongoDB, Monday.Com, and C3.ai. He doesn't see AI as a job threat but as a tool for increased efficiency and creativity. Feinseth also sees growth potential in Intel due to its investment in new foundries and interest from companies like Apple and Nvidia.

Portfolio Pulse from Neil Dennis

January 05, 2024 | 6:14 pm

AGL

ANGO

APLT

ELAN

MPW

Applied Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:APLT) shares plummeted by over 35% after announcing topline results from the ARISE-HF Phase 3 trial of AT-001, which did not meet its primary endpoint. Other stocks experienced significant movement in Friday's mid-day session, with various companies reporting gains due to positive updates, acquisitions, and earnings, while some faced declines due to negative guidance, downgrades, and public offerings.

Portfolio Pulse from Avi Kapoor

January 05, 2024 | 6:13 pm

CTRM

Castor Maritime Inc. (NASDAQ:CTRM) announced the sale of the M/V Magic Venus vessel for $17.5 million to an entity owned by a family member of the company's leadership. The delivery is expected by the end of Q1 2024, with an anticipated net gain of $3.5 million. This follows recent sales of other vessels, with the latest being the M/V Magic Orion for $17.4 million, expecting a $2.0 million net gain. Shares of Castor Maritime rose by 3.10% to $0.62.

Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya

January 05, 2024 | 6:12 pm