U.S. Stock futures were trading mixed on Tuesday as overvalued technology stocks once again look set to lead the markets lower.
Dow futures were trading around 0.25% higher, S&P futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures had slipped around 0.6% at the time of writing.
On the earnings calendar today, FactSet Research (FDS), AngioDynamics (ANGO) and QIWI (QIWI) will release their results before the bell, while Chewy (CHWY), PVH (PVH) and Phreesia (PHR) are expected to report after the market closes.
Color Star Technology (CSCW) was the most actively traded stocks before the bell with over 7 million shares having already changed hands at the time of writing. The company announced today that it is developing a non-fungible token (NFT) for its Entertainment business. Color Star was also among the biggest gainers in pre-market, rising around 50% at the time of writing.
VirTra (VTSI) was the strongest stock before the bell, gaining around 70%, while Performant (PFMT) looked set to open around 30% higher than Monday’s close.
AeroCentury (ACY) led the laggards list falling 35% before the bell, followed by Wave Life Sciences (WVE), down 24% and Trxade Group (MEDS), down 12%.
In corporate earnings news, shares of Canoo, Inc. (GOEV) fell 3% before the open despite reporting better-than-expected Q4 bottom-line results. A loss of $0.08 per share improved from the year-ago period’s loss of $0.57 per share and compared favorably to analysts’ expectations of a loss of $0.14 per share. However, an adjusted EBITDA loss of $42.5 million was wider than the year-ago period’s loss of $35.3 million.
In M&A news, Fly Leasing Limited (FLY) climbed 27.5% on Monday after it was announced that Carlyle Aviation Partners had acquired the aircraft leasing investment company for $2.36 billion. CEO Colm Barrington said, “This transaction represents strong value for FLY shareholders at a time when airlines are facing an extremely difficult environment and smaller aircraft lessors are disadvantaged in the debt markets.” Carlyle Aviation will pay $17.05 in cash for each share of Fly Leasing.
Meanwhile, engineering services company NV5 Global (NVEE) has acquired Geodynamics in a cash-and-stock deal worth $42 million. The acquisition will allow NV5 to add full-ocean depth hydrographic and geophysical surveying to the company’s topographic and nearshore geospatial capabilities. The deal is expected to be immediately accretive to NV5’s earnings.
Hartford Financial Services (HIG) has decided to walk away from discussions around its potential sale to Chubb Limited (CB). The business combination was unanimously rejected by Hartford’s board on March 23 as they felt that the deal would not be in the best interests of the company’s shareholders. Chubb, however, remains committed to seeking other acquisition opportunities in order to create value for its shareholders.
Palomar Holdings (PLMR) rose 5.3% in Monday’s extended trading session after the insurance company announced a stock repurchase program of up to $40 million. The repurchase program will be completed over the next two years and will be funded using the company’s current cash balance. Palomar’s CEO Mac Armstrong believes that the shares are currently undervalued and does not feel that the repurchasing of shares will affect the company’s long-term growth trajectory.
