Stocks soared Monday as Brexit fears eased, giving investors a reason to revisit riskier assets. The S&P 500 added 0.58% as new polls showed Great Britain is likely to remain in the European Union following the June 23 Brexit vote. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.73% while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.77%.
Ebbing Brexit fears also helped oil futures gain 2.5% while gold languished as investors departed safe-haven assets. On a similar note, 10-year Treasury yields surged 3.2% as market participants dumped bonds in favor of equities.
On what was an excellent day for stocks, Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), Under Armour Inc (NYSE:UA) and Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) legitimately stood out.
Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO)
Shares of Marathon Oil Corporation climbed 10% on just over double the average daily volume after the oil producer announced the acquisition of PayRock Energy Holdings, LLC.
Houston-based MRO will pay $888 million for PayRock Energy, which is a portfolio company of EnCap Investments.
MRO gains 61,000 acres with current production of 9,000 net barrels of oil equivalent per day in Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin through the acquisition, according to a statement issued by MRO.
MRO, which expects the deal to close in the third quarter, is paying for PayRock with cash on hand. Oil prices settled higher by nearly 2.5% today at $49.18 per barrel.
Under Armour Inc (UA)
Shares of athletic apparel maker Under Armour Inc rose 2.4% after Buckingham Research Group upgraded the stock to “buy.” The research firm also boosted its price target on UA to $48 from $44, implying significant upside from UA’s Monday close of just over $38.
Buckingham’s upgrade of UA comes a day after Stephen Curry — the two-time reigning NBA MVP — and the Golden State Warriors lost the NBA Finals. Curry is arguably UA’s most well-known spokesperson.
Curry represents an opportunity of up to $14 billion for UA in the eyes of some analysts, reports Business Insider.
Yelp Inc (YELP)
Shares of online review site Yelp jumped 5.7% on above-average turnover after Deutsche Bank raised its rating on YELP to “buy” from “hold.”
The bank also boosted its price target on shares of YELP $33, implying notable upside from Monday’s close of $28.44.
“We expect to see more aggressive experimentation around product and monetization under the new CFO, which could help unlock improved revenue per user over time,” said analyst Lloyd Walmsley.
With Monday’s gain, shares of YELP are nearly flat on a year-to-date basis. More recently, YELP is on a tear, gaining over 35% over the past three months.
At the time of this writing, Todd Shriber did not own any of the aforementioned securities.
