Check out some of the biggest drivers in the front market:
GenMark Diagnostics (GNMK) – GenMark will be acquired by Swiss drugmaker Roche for $ 1.8 billion in cash, or $ 24.05 per share. The U.S. manufacturer of molecular diagnostic tests closed $ 18.50 a share on Friday. GenMark increased by 29.2% in pre-market performance.
NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), Penn National Gaming (PENN), Generac (GNRC), Caesars Entertainment (CZR) – The shares will join the S&P 500 as part of the index’s quarterly rebalancing. NXP rose 8.1% in pre-trading, with Penn up 5.8%, Generac up 3.6% and Caesars up 4.8%.
Carnival (CCL) – Carnival CEO Arnold Donald told the Financial Times he sees at least two more difficult years for the cruise industry. Donald said the full fleet of cruise ship operators may sail by the end of the year, but that it will take at least until 2023 before revenues return to above Covid levels. Carnival rose 1.2% in the pre-market.
AMC Entertainment (AMC) – AMC begins the reopening of movie theaters in Los Angeles, starting today in two locations. It is planned to open the remaining 23 theaters in Los Angeles on Friday, hoping that all 56 venues in California will then depend on local approval. AMC jumped 8.7% in pre-trading.
Shaw Communications (SJR) – The Canadian communications company has agreed to be bought by rival Rogers Communications for C $ 26B, including debt ($ 20.9B in US dollars). Shaw’s US shares rose 53% in the futures market.
Ford Motor (F) – Ford will call in 2.9 million vehicles to see if there are any faulty Takata airbags on the driver. The National Road Safety Administration has called on Ford to do so in January, and the carmaker plans to notify owners on April 1st.
Gilead Sciences (GILD), Merck (HRC) – The drug manufacturers will study a combination of their experimental drugs for the treatment of HIV. Gilead and Merck will look at the effectiveness of the medicine cocktail, even if it is only taken every few months.
Eli Lilly (LLY) – Eli Lilly said that the experimental treatment of Alzheimer’s in a middle study had modestly slowed the decline in patients over a period of 18 months. Lilly has already started a second study of the treatment. Lilly fell 5.3% in the futures market.
Lordstown Motors (RIDE) – Lordstown has said it will issue a “complete and thorough” statement in the coming days which, according to the manufacturer of electric trucks, will refute a critical report from short seller Hindenburg Research. Lordstown said the report contained ‘half-truths and lies’. Its shares rose 5.9% in pre-trading.
XPeng (XPEV) – XPeng has received a $ 76.8 million investment from the provincial government in KwaZulu-Natal, where the Chinese manufacturer of electric vehicles is located and has two manufacturing plants. XPeng added 4.2% in market performance.
Dollar General (DG) – The discount retailer has been upgraded to ‘overweight’ from ‘neutral’ at Atlantic Equities, citing the valuation, as well as a positive impact of spending stimulus checks and the continued gain of market share.
AstraZeneca (AZN) – Ireland has become the latest country to suspend the use of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine, according to reports from Norway regarding blood clots in some patients. Officials said they took the action “out of caution”, although AstraZeneca said the review of more than 17 million people showed no increased risk of blood clots.
United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), Delta Air Lines (DAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV) – Shares in airlines are gaining ground after the Transportation Safety Administration said that the airport’s selection levels are now at one year high. Separately, Southwest said that the demand for passengers is still improving this month. United rose 3% in the pre-market, American rose 4.3%, Delta rose 2% and Suidwes rose 1.3%.
DraftKings (DKNG) – The sports betting company has announced a proposed $ 1 billion offer for convertible notes that will be payable in 2028. DraftKings fell 3.5% in the pre-sale trade.