Asian stocks took a step back in the new quarter following their 9% surge from January through the end of March. However, U.S. futures are tracking slightly higher in Monday morning’s trade, so the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major American indices are at least on track to start off Q2 on the right foot.
As we enter a fresh quarter, we’re being greeted by a few fireworks. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) put out some exciting news on Sunday, and Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE:SNY) has a positive headline of its own. Meanwhile, U.K.-based Imagination Technologies Group plc (LON:IMG) is staring down what could be a disaster.
Here’s what you should know heading into Monday’s trade.
Tesla Inc (TSLA)
TSLA shares are up in Monday premarket trading thanks to a robust Q1 in which it beat its previous deliveries record, and analyst estimates.
Tesla said it shipped 25,000 vehicles over the first quarter — a 69% rise year-over-year — which was enough to beat analyst expectations, which mostly ranged between 23,000 and 24,500 deliveries. That also puts TSLA on track to make good on its own projections of delivering 50,000 cars during the first half of 2017.
Helping Tesla were 6,450 vehicles that were in transit during the fourth quarter but not delivered by the end of December, and thus those deliveries were pushed into the first quarter. The electric-vehicle automaker announced that during its Q4/full-year vehicle deliveries announcement, which came to 76,230 for 2016 — well shy of 80,000 expected.
The company said 13,450 of the vehicles delivered in Q1 were Model S, and the remaining 11,550 were Model X units.
Tesla also said that 4,650 more vehicles were in transit at the end of the quarter and would bleed into Q2 deliveries numbers.
TSLA stock was up more than 3% on Monday morning, which would help extend its 30% year-to-date run.
Sanofi SA (ADR) (SNY)
French pharmaceutical outfit Sanofi had positive news regarding its latest clinical trial.
SNY medication Toujeo helped to lower blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia without causing adverse effects on patients suffering from Type 2 diabetes. These patients switched from basal insulin to Toujeo.
The Deliver 2 study, which monitored 1,894 patients, looked at patients on basal insulins, then studied the effect of switching came six months after the initial study where they switched from the treatments in 881 patients.
According to Sanofi:
“After six months, patients who switched to Toujeo experienced 33 percent fewer hypoglycemic events (event rate per 100 patients-months: 7.98 vs 5.32, respectively; p<0.01) versus those who switched to other basal insulins, without compromising blood sugar control.”
Sanofy is currently conducting additional clinical studies with Toujeo.
SNY shares are up 12% year-to-date.
Imagination Technologies Group plc (IMG)
IMG shares were slashed by about 64% in European trade amid news that its largest customer — Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) — was withdrawing its business.
Apple currently uses Imagination Technologies’ chips in most things “i” — iPhones, iPads, iPods. However, AAPL is going it solo now, telling Imagination it will develop “independent graphics design in order to control its products and will be reducing its future reliance on Imagination’s technology.”
The news rocked Imagination, which boasts (boasted) Apple as its biggest customer. IMG shares were knocked to their lowest levels in eight years.
There’s a small bit of hope for Imagination — namely, that Apple’s actions could constitute a breach of contract, with the company asserting AAPL can’t do what it’s doing “without violating Imagination’s patents, intellectual property and confidential information.”
AAPL was mostly unmoved Monday, though the news did prompt rampant speculation on social media, including the (unsubstantiated) idea that Apple would buy Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD).
