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DIS

The New York City Retirement System announced its intention to support Walt Disney's current board of directors in the ongoing boardroom conflict involving Trian's Nelson Peltz and Blackwells Capital. This decision is significant in the context of the power struggle within one of the world's leading entertainment companies.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

March 28, 2024 | 6:22 pm

PP

TSLA

VCR

RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan maintained an Outperform rating on Tesla Inc (TSLA) with a $298 price target, citing challenges including Gigafactory disruptions and governance issues, but expects a boost from free FSD trials. HSBC analyst Michael Tyndall retained a Reduced rating with a $143 price target, concerned about Tesla's price cuts and regulatory hurdles for autonomous vehicles. Tesla's stock has fallen over 28% YTD, with exposure available through ETFs like PP and VCR.

Portfolio Pulse from Anusuya Lahiri

March 28, 2024 | 5:51 pm

ANET

CSCO

JACK

Andreas Bechtolsheim, founder of Arista Networks Inc (ANET), settled insider trading charges related to Acacia's takeover by Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO) for nearly $1 million. The SEC also charged minor league baseball players with insider trading in Del Taco's takeover by Jack in the Box Inc (JACK). Additionally, the CFTC filed a civil action against KuCoin for operating an illegal exchange.

Portfolio Pulse from Neil Dennis

March 28, 2024 | 5:45 pm

DIS

Neuberger Berman supports Trian's slate in Disney's proxy fight due to concerns over Disney's succession planning, criticizing the board's past decisions, including the selection and ousting of Bob Chapek and the extension of Bob Iger's contract. The outcome hinges on investor confidence in the board's ability to choose a strong successor for Iger.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

March 28, 2024 | 5:07 pm

JNJ

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has been granted the opportunity to challenge the scientific evidence linking its talc products to ovarian cancer in a federal ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp. This decision could affect over 53,000 lawsuits against the company. J&J, which has denied allegations of its talc products being carcinogenic, announced a tentative settlement of approximately $700 million in January to address investigations by 42 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. The company has until July 23 to present renewed arguments regarding the scientific evidence.

Portfolio Pulse from Vandana Singh

March 28, 2024 | 4:58 pm

SPY

Speaker Johnson announced that the U.S. House will transmit articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10, according to Reuters.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

March 28, 2024 | 4:57 pm

CSCO

Cisco has issued a warning about password-spraying attacks targeting Remote Access VPN services on Cisco Secure Firewall devices and other VPN services. These attacks are part of reconnaissance activities and involve trying the same password across multiple accounts. Cisco provided a mitigation guide with indicators of compromise and recommendations such as enabling logging, securing VPN profiles, leveraging TCP shun, configuring ACLs, and using certificate-based authentication. Security researcher Aaron Martin linked these attacks to the 'Brutus' botnet, which initially targeted SSLVPN appliances from various companies and has now expanded to web apps using Active Directory. The botnet uses 20,000 IP addresses worldwide and rotates IPs to avoid detection. Concerns are raised about the acquisition of specific usernames, suggesting a possible undisclosed breach or zero-day exploitation. Two IPs associated with Brutus have been linked to APT29, a Russian espionage group.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

March 28, 2024 | 4:50 pm

MPW

UNH

UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) provided over $3.3 billion in advance payments to healthcare providers affected by a cyberattack on Change Healthcare's insurance claims system. The attack, attributed to the hacking group 'ALPHV' or 'BlackCat', disrupted financial stability and data security in the healthcare sector. UnitedHealth's response highlights the severity of the situation. Additionally, Medical Properties Trust Inc's (NYSE:MPW) tenant Steward Health Care sold its physician network to UnitedHealth's Optum Care unit. UNH shares slightly increased by 0.02% to $493.19.

Portfolio Pulse from Vandana Singh

March 28, 2024 | 4:48 pm

PLTR

RH

Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years, impacting the broader market sentiment. RH reported strong Q4 earnings, leading to a surge in its stock price. Meanwhile, Palantir's stock fell following a downgrade by analysts.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

March 28, 2024 | 4:23 pm

CCI

Ted B. Miller, co-founder of Crown Castle Inc. (CCI), and his investment vehicle, Boots Capital Management, LLC, have filed preliminary proxy materials with the SEC for Crown Castle's 2024 Annual Meeting. Miller criticizes the current leadership for destroying shareholder value and proposes a new slate of directors to restore the company's performance. Crown Castle's stock recently hit a six-year low, underperforming peers for over a decade. Miller's plan aims to refocus on the core tower business and reverse the company's fortunes.

Portfolio Pulse from Benzinga Newsdesk

March 28, 2024 | 3:54 pm