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U.S. stocks opened virtually unchanged on Monday as investors remained on the sidelines ahead of this week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Most investors expect the Fed to deliver a rate hike. The S&P 500 was flat at 2,371. The Nasdaq Composite was unchanged at 5,861. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session at 20,909.
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Amgen Inc. said early Monday that its pricey cholesterol drug Repatha significantly reduced patients’ need for a high cholesterol blood therapy in a late-stage clinical trial. Repatha also met secondary endpoints in the clinical trial, working on certain cholesterol measures, Amgen said. The blood therapy apheresis removes LDL cholesterol from a patient’s blood and is typically used by patients with very high LDL levels. That patient group has “limited treatment options and face the daunting challenge of frequent, invasive and costly procedures,” said Sean Harper, Amgen’s executive vice president of Research and Development. Repatha is one of a class of PCSK9 inhibitors which haven’t sold as well as drugmakers expected, due to their high cost and a lack of data demonstrating PCSK9 inhibitors’ benefit relative to statins, which are very inexpensive. Amgen shares surged about 0.8% in pre-market trade Monday. Shares have surged 22.3% over the last three months, compared with a 4.4% rise in the S&P 500 .
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Under Armour Inc. said Monday that Clay Dean is joining the company as chief innovation officer. He’ll be responsible for global strategy and collaboration between the design, marketing, product and category management teams. Dean joins from General Motors Co. where he most recently led the Global Advanced Design group. Under Armour shares are down nearly 55% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 17.3% for the period.
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Shares of Boeing Co. dropped 0.8% in premarket trade Monday, after the aerospace and defense giant was downgraded at Morgan Stanley, which cited concerns over valuation after the recent run up in price. Analyst Rajeev Lalwani cut his rating to equal weight from overweight, but raised his stock price target to $190, which is 6.3% above Friday’s closing price of $178.70, from $185. Lalwani said he remains upbeat on the company’s earnings potential, given fundamental positives including increased aircraft orders, emerging defense opportunities, potential tax reform and economic stimulus, but its current valuation implies just a “moderate” total return. The stock has soared 15% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.8%.
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Billionaire investor Carl Icahn disclosed Monday that he spent $19.1 million to buy 372,324 more shares of Herbalife Ltd., just as the stock was falling to a 2-month low. An S-4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that Ichan bought the stock Friday at $51.35, to boost his stake in the nutrition and weight management company to 22.9 million shares, or 24.6% of the shares outstanding. The stock, which had tumbled 16% over the previous three weeks, was headed for a seventh-straight drop on Friday, falling as much as 2.3% intraday before bouncing to close up 0.7%. Icahn is by far Herbalife’s biggest shareholder, and runs counter to billionaire investor William Ackman’s bearish call on the company. Ackman said he has bet $1 billion that Herbalife’s stock will fall, calling the company a “pyramid scheme.” Herbalife’s stock, which surged 1.4% in premarket trade, has lost 8.3% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.
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Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday confirmed plans for a second Scottish independence referendum in the wake of the U.K.’s plan to leave the European Union. In a press conference in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said she will ask the Scottish parliament next week to vote in favor of her plans for a new independence ballot. The new referendum could take place between the autumn of 2018 and spring 2019. That would allow Scotland to vote on its independence before the U.K. has left the EU and possibly allow the Scots to stay in the political union. Sturgeon said she’s been trying to reach a Brexit compromise with Westminster, but has been met with a “brick wall of intransigence.” Scottish voters overwhelmingly backed remaining in the in the EU in the U.K.’s Brexit referendum in June last year. In the first Scottish independence ballot in 2014, the country chose not to split from the U.K., with 55% choosing to remain. The pound rose to $1.2230, up from $1.2168 late Friday in New York.
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Mobileye N.V. said Monday it agreed to be acquired by Intel Corp. in a deal with an equity value of $15.3 billion. Under terms of the agreement, Intel will commence a tender offer of $63.54 for each of the camera-based driver assistance system maker’s shares outstanding, which represents a 34.4% premium to Friday’s closing price of $47.27. Intel expects the deal, which it will fund with cash on hand, to immediately add to adjusted earnings per share. The deal is expected to close within the next nine months. “We expect the growth towards autonomous driving to be transformative,” said Mobileye CEO Ziv Aviram. “By pooling together our infrastructure and resources, we can enhance and accelerate our combined know-how in the areas of mapping, virtual driving, simulators, development tool chains, hardware, data centers and high-performance computing platforms.” Mobileye’s stock had soared 33% in active premarket trade prior to a trading halt, while Intel shares dropped 1.6% ahead of the open. The deal was originally reported by Israel’s TheMarker. Over the past 12 months, Mobileye’s stock had climbed 35% through Friday, while Intel shares have gained 13% and the S&P 500 has run up 17%.
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Clothing and home furnishings retailer Gordman Stores Inc. said Monday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nebraska. The company, which operates 106 stores in 22 states, said it has entered an agreement with Tiger Capital Group LLC and Great American Group LLC for the sale in liquidation of its inventory and other assets of its retail stores and distribution centers, subject to the receipt and court approval of a more favorable transaction. In the meantime, the stores remain open for business as usual, Chief Executive Andy Hall said in a statement. The news comes as a growing number of retailers are forced into restructuring or bankruptcy filings, hurt by competition from Amazon.com Inc., as well as changing shopping behavior, falling mall traffic and pressure on spending.
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Shares of Mobileye N.V. soared 34% in active premarket trade Monday, after a news report that Intel Corp. was buying the camera-based driver assistance systems company for up to $16 billion. Israeli news service TheMarker reported Monday reported that the deal would be announced as early as Monday morning, with Intel paying $15 billion to $16 billion for Jerusalem-based Mobileye, which would mark the largest-ever deal for an Israel-based company. Intel’s stock slipped 0.3% in premarket trade. A deal for $16 billion would be 52% above Mobileye’s market capitalization of $10.5 billion as of Friday’s close. The stock traded at $63.55 ahead of the open, putting it on track for the highest open since August 2015. The stock has rallied 30% over the past three months through Friday, while Intel shares have lost 2.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.
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Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. said Monday its board has approved a $675 million share buyback program. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 15% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 17%.
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