Latest Updates:
- Churchill Capital Comes Out On Top After Tumultuous Trading Day
- After Resolving Royalty Dispute, BlackBerry Ends Day Up 28%
- Major Indices Mixed At Market Close Monday
- Social Media Investors Eye EXPR Stock, Send Shares Soaring
- IACA Stock On The Rise After Announcing Taboola As SPAC Target
Churchill Capital Comes Out On Top After Tumultuous Trading Day
[Monday, January 25, 4:26 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
Despite sharp losses in the first half of the day, Churchill Capital (NYSE:CCIV) still closed Monday 11% higher. The drama in CCIV stock was due primarily to a rumor that the SPAC’s merger target, electric vehicle company Lucid Motors, was in talks with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to build an EV factory.
There are concerns this could lead to a delay of the EV-maker’s possible merger with Churchill Capital. But it could also be a very lucrative deal, given Lucid’s history of investment by Saudi Arabia.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on CCIV stock here.
After Resolving Royalty Dispute, BlackBerry Ends Day Up 28%
[Monday, January 25, 4:17 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
Though BlackBerry (NYSE:BB) told Reuters it was “unaware” of any reason BB stock was surging Monday, the fact remains the stock closed the day up by almost 30%.
The gain comes after a week of positive trading for BlackBerry following the January 15 resolution of a patent royalties dispute with none other than Facebook (NASDAQ:FB). The terms of that agreement are confidential, and resolve a dispute stretching back to 2018.
For more read the InvestorPlace.com brief on BB stock here.
Major Indices Mixed At Market Close Monday
[Monday, January 25, 4:02 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
- The S&P 500 closed higher by 0.36%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 0.12%
- The Nasdaq Composite closed higher by 0.69%
- The Russell 2000 closed lower by 0.46%
Social Media Investors Eye EXPR Stock, Send Shares Soaring
[Monday, January 25, 3:43 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
Express (NYSE:EXPR) stock saw huge gains on Monday as retail investors bought into the stock dramatically. EXPR stock was up more than 140% on the day at time of writing.
Also notable is the surge in volume; as of writing, 333 million shares had been traded on the day, compared to an average daily volume of just under 7.3 million. That’s more than 45x as many shares trading hands today.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on EXPR stock here.
IACA Stock On The Rise After Announcing Taboola As SPAC Target
[Monday, January 25, 1:44 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
Ion Acquisition (NYSE:IACA) announced on Monday it would be taking digital advertising company Taboola public via special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. IACA stock was up 33.2% in per-market trading on Monday.
Taboola is partnered with CNBC, NBC News, Business Insider, The Independent and El Mundo. The company also uses artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to help clients serve better targeted advertising.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on IACA stock here.
Midday Update: Major Indices Declining Slightly
[Monday, January 25, 12:35 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
- The S&P 500 is lower by 0.26%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average is lower by 0.53%
- The Nasdaq Composite is lower by 0.06
- The Russell 2000 is lower by 1.13%
GME Stock Surges 40% In Pre-Market Trading
[Monday, January 25, 12:33 pm]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
Following a frenzied run of trading that culminated in a brief trading halt Friday, Jan. 22, 2021, GameStop (NYSE:GME) stock continued to rally Monday morning, the latest red-hot name in a year that has seen retail investors thoroughly outperform their institutional counterparts.
The rally in GME stock flies in the face of logic and fundamentals, part of the reason the stock has been a target for short-sellers. GameStop is currently the single-most shorted equity with more than 138% of shares borrows and sold short, per data from FactSet.
For more, read the InvestorPlace.com brief on GameStop stock here.
3 Big Stories to Watch Today
[Monday, January 25, 10:51 am]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
- Vaccines and Covid-19. Pharmaceutical company Merck (NYSE:MRK) has discontinued development of two Covid-19 vaccine candidates following early clinical trials. The company said in a news release that the vaccines were “generally well tolerated” but immune response was below those seen following natural infection or other vaccines. Merck’s vaccine candidates were more “traditional” vaccines, which utilize a weaker version of a virus to build immunity, compared to those by Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), which utilize mRNA. Also of note in vaccine news, Moderna has announced that its vaccine is effective against Covid-19 variants found in the U.K. and South Africa, though less so against the latter. Those variants have spurred President Biden to implement new travel restrictions. This follows news on Sunday the U.S. has passed 25 million Covid-19 cases.
- Credit card delinquency reaches record lows. Per a new report from the American Bankers Association, stimulus checks and freezes on mortgage and student loan payments were two of the major factors contributing to the shift. In Q3 2020, delinquency rates were 1.53%, compared to 2.62% near the start of the pandemic last spring. ABA Senior Economist Rob Strand said, “consumers have remained cautious about spending amid economic uncertainty.” This news should be comforting to investors in credit card companies such as American Express (NYSE:AXP), Visa (NYSE:V) and Mastercard (NYSE:MA), as well as those interested in the financial space more broadly, such as Paypal (NASDAQ:PYPL) investors.
- Oil companies eye alternative energy. With the election of President Biden and Democrats taking narrow control of Congress, alternative energy bulls have had a lot to celebrate. But oil and natural gas players won’t go quietly, with producers making moves to tighten their core businesses and diversify interests. Most notably Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) just inked a deal to purchase Ubitricity, which runs a large European network of electric vehicle charge points. While the specifics of the deal remain unknown, this isn’t the first push by a fossil fuel player into the alternative energy sphere and it certainly won’t be the last. Whether these changes will move the needle in a meaningful fashion for oil and natural gas companies remains to be seen.
Major Indices Start Higher On Monday
[Monday, January 25, 9:36 am]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
- The S&P 500 opened higher by 0.29%
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower by 0.29%
- The Nasdaq Composite opened higher by 1.32%
- The Russell 2000 opened higher by 1.28%
Stock Market Futures Mostly Dip To Start The Week
[Monday, January 25, 8:57 am]
Contributed by Vivian Medithi
- S&P 500 futures are down 0.09%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 0.63%
- Nasdaq Composite futures are up 0.90%
- Russell 2000 futures are down 0.72%
