Streetbeat News

Acquisitions Mergers

PARA

WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) shares are trading lower after reports of a potential merger with Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA). WBD CEO David Zaslav and PARA CEO Bob Bakish discussed a possible merger, with talks in early stages. WBD's trading volume is up, with 15.6 million shares traded versus an average of 22.086 million. The stock is also a target for short-sellers, with 13.51% of shares sold short. WBD is trading above its 50-day moving average but below its 52-week high.

Portfolio Pulse from Erica Kollmann

December 21, 2023 | 4:30 pm

JNJ

MGTX

SNY

MeiraGTx Holdings plc (MGTX) announced an asset purchase agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) company, for the gene therapy bota-vec for XLRP. MeiraGTx will receive $130 million in upfront and near-term milestone payments, with potential for an additional $285 million upon commercial sales and manufacturing technology transfer. J&J will handle any royalty or milestone payments to UCL Business plc. MeiraGTx also has a commercial supply agreement with J&J for bota-vec manufacturing. Previously, Sanofi SA (SNY) invested $30 million in MeiraGTx. The deals extend MeiraGTx's cash runway to mid-2026. MGTX shares surged 22.50% to $6.02.

Portfolio Pulse from Vandana Singh

December 21, 2023 | 4:11 pm

GILD

HOOK

Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ:GILD) has increased its stake in HOOKIPA Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:HOOK) by purchasing 15 million shares for approximately $21.25 million. This investment boosts Gilead's ownership to about 19.4% of HOOKIPA's outstanding shares. The deal also grants HOOKIPA the right to sell Gilead an additional $8.75 million in common stock in future equity raises. This agreement supersedes the one made in 2022. HOOKIPA is progressing with its HIV program, including the HB-500 vaccine, and Gilead has the option to take over development after Phase 1b trials. HOOKIPA's stock soared by 80.50%, while Gilead's shares saw a modest increase of 0.80%.

Portfolio Pulse from Vandana Singh

December 21, 2023 | 4:02 pm

PAYX

WBD

ZJYL

Paychex, Inc. reported Q2 FY24 sales of $1.26 billion, missing estimates by $0.01 billion, but beat EPS estimates by $0.01. The stock fell 5.4%. Other stocks also declined: ZJYL after a Nasdaq compliance notice, BB following Q3 results, and others due to various reasons. WBD's CEOs discussed a potential merger.

Portfolio Pulse from Avi Kapoor

December 21, 2023 | 4:02 pm

NTDOY

SONY

Sony Group Corporation has acquired a 9.87% stake in Japanese mobile game developer Akatsuki, aiming to expand its mobile gaming reach globally. Additionally, Koei Tecmo, affiliated with Nintendo ADR, has partnered with Akatsuki, acquiring 7.97% of its shares to develop next-gen live-ops games for the global market. This follows Sony's partnership with NCSoft and comes as Microsoft plans to launch its mobile gaming store after acquiring Activision Blizzard King.

Portfolio Pulse from Franca Quarneti

December 21, 2023 | 3:16 pm

GMS

GMS Inc. (NYSE:GMS) has announced the acquisition of Kamco Supply Corporation, a building materials distributor in the New York City area, with the deal expected to close by April 30, 2024. Kamco, with $245 million in revenue for the 12 months ended June 30, 2023, will continue to operate under its brand post-acquisition. GMS plans to finance the acquisition through cash and credit lines, aiming to enhance customer service and cross-selling opportunities. GMS shares rose by 0.81% to $82.27 recently.

Portfolio Pulse from Akanksha Bakshi

December 21, 2023 | 3:14 pm

CLNN

DMK

HOOK

MSAI

NOGN

POL

U.S. stocks opened higher with the Dow Jones gaining 250 points. Information technology shares led the gains, while energy shares had modest increases. U.S. initial jobless claims slightly rose to 205,000, defying expectations of 215,000. Infrared Cameras Holdings, Inc. (MSAI) surged 112% after a previous day's drop. HOOKIPA Pharma Inc. (HOOK) soared 54% due to a $21.25 million investment from Gilead Sciences. DMK Pharmaceuticals Corporation (DMK) gained 47% after regaining rights to ZIMHI. Polished.com Inc. (POL) fell 42% following a prior surge, while Clene Inc. (CLNN) and Nogin, Inc. (NOGN) also saw significant declines.

Portfolio Pulse from Avi Kapoor

December 21, 2023 | 2:48 pm

LUNA

Luna Innovations received a $50M investment from White Hat Capital Partners. Approximately $25M of the proceeds were used to fund the acquisition of Silixa. The remaining proceeds were utilized to repay a $17M loan with PNC Bank and to improve Luna's balance sheet, enhancing financial flexibility for future strategic growth initiatives.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 21, 2023 | 2:38 pm

LUNA

Luna Innovations has acquired Silixa, expecting to generate approximately $30M in revenue for 2023, which indicates an annual growth of around 15%. The acquisition deal includes an upfront cash payment of $21.5M and up to $16.5M in additional payments contingent on achieving certain milestones by 2025. This acquisition enhances Luna's distributed fiber optic sensing solutions portfolio, opens up new growth markets and applications, and broadens its global presence.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 21, 2023 | 2:35 pm

MGTX

MeiraGTx shares have risen following the announcement of an asset purchase agreement for its AAV-RPGR collaboration, which could be worth up to $415 million.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

December 21, 2023 | 2:27 pm