Oil prices fell on Friday as drillers added rigs as producers ready themselves to buy cheaper crude prices. U.S. markets are looking to recover Monday following a harrowing Friday that saw all four major markets decline more than 2% apiece.
Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) actually had some good news to report … but Monday is shaping up to be ugly for the broader market, and it likely will sweep it up in the tide regardless. Samsung Electronic KRW5000 (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) is sinking hard as its Note 7 calamity worsens. And Perrigo Company plc Ordinary Shares (NYSE:PRGO) might be one of the only equities in the black today.
Here’s what investors and traders should be looking at on Monday:
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA)
TSLA has announced a major shift to its Autopilot feature that it expects will prevent potential crashes in the future.
In light of recent accidents that occurred in Tesla vehicles with Autopilot mode engaged, the electric car maker has revised the software by expanding radar technology in its sensors.
The functionality previously consisted mostly of cameras and 3D-imaging with some radar technology to supplement the software. With Version 8 of the feature, Tesla cars still will use cameras, but radars will be the vehicles’ prevalent form of scanning its surroundings.
The feature reads everything from fog, rain and snow to people and other opaque objects in an accurate manner to avoid accidents. Radar technology does have a weakness as metallic objects look like mirrors, so a scan of something like a soda can potentially could create a false alarm that activate’s a Tesla’s brakes. Elon Musk & Co. believe they’ve figured this out.
The news, while certainly welcome amid an awful month that has seen TSLA stock shed 13%, might not do much. Tesla shares were off about 1% in Monday’s premarket trade.
Perrigo Company plc Ordinary Shares (PRGO)
PRGO shares are up strongly in the face of a broader down market amid a letter from Starboard Value LP, which now has a 4.6% stake in the drugmaker.
Starboard is criticizing Perrigo’s management has allowed itself to become distracted thanks to a merger fight with Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL), and performance has suffered as a result. The firm has urged PRGO to hire advisers to explore the possibility of unloading noncore assets such as multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri, as well as other value-unlocking initiatives.
Perrigo has lost roughly 40% of its value since the beginning of the year – a period that has included a drastically reduced full-year outlook and the departure of its CEO to Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX).
PRGO shares are up more than 3% on Monday.
Samsung Electronic KRW5000 (SSNLF)
Samsung Electronic KRW5000 (OTCMKTS:SSNLF) shares continue to plummet amid the growing disaster that is the Galaxy Note 7. Now, reports say a 6-year-old boy was injured when a Note 7 exploded while he was using it. The phone “suddenly burst into flames,” according to the report.
Reports of such explosions have forced Samsung’s hand. The South Korean electronics giant has now told Note 7 owners that they should stop using the phones. Owners also are urged to have their phones replaced as soon as possible – Samsung initiated a voluntary recall back on Sept. 2 — but many users aren’t quite sure where or how to get these replacements. Users have reported confusion from AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and other carriers over how to proceed.
According to Fortune: “’Some said initially the Galaxy Note 7 could be the best smartphone ever, but now it’s possible the phone will go down as the worst ever,’ IBK Securities analyst Lee Seung-woo said, predicting weak sales in the fourth quarter.”
Samsung’s shares dropped more than 7% in Korea’s Monday trading session, putting the stock off about 15% since its August peak.
