Apple to invest $500B in U.S., Domino’s reports downbeat Q4: Morning Buzz

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Apple (AAPL) said it plans to spend over $500B in the U.S. over the next four years
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) reported a year-over-year decline in Q4 earnings per share, with the company saying earnings dropped in 53% of 189 Berkshire businesses
• Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) reported downbeat Q4 results but increased its quarterly dividend 15%
• Robinhood (HOOD) announced the closure of the SEC’s investigation into Robinhood Crypto
• Apollo Global (APO) agreed to acquire Bridge Investment Group (BRDG) in a $1.5B all-stock transaction

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba (BABA) to Overweight
• Rivian Automotive (RIVN) downgraded to Underperform at BofA as risks “pile up”
• Jefferies upgraded Nike (NKE) to Buy
• BMO Capital upgraded Block (XYZ) to Outperform
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Smithfield Foods (SFD) with a Buy rating while BofA, Citi, Barclays, Morgan Stanley, and UBS also started coverage of the stock with Buy-equivalent ratings

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Trump is considering tariffs to counteract foreign taxes on tech firms, (TSLA) is planning to deploy full self driving features in China, Bloomberg reports
• Scientists are skeptical of Microsoft’s (MSFT) quantum claim, WSJ says
• Veteran NBC (CMCSA) newscaster Lester Holt will step down from “NBC Nightly News,” NY Times reports
• Amgen (AMGN) is planning a $200M investment in its new technology center in southern India, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• PepGen (PEPG) higher after announcing initial clinical data from cohorts in its FREEDOM-DM1 trial
• Century Aluminum (CENX) jumps after BMO Capital upgraded the stock to Outperform from Market Perform
• Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) lower after announcing a clinical trial collaboration with Pfizer (PFE)
• Gran Tierra (GTE) falls after reporting quarterly results
• Fresh Del Monte (FDP) slips after reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• BioCryst (BCRX) reported mixed Q4 results
• Westlake (WLK) reported a year-over-year increase in Q4 earnings per share and revenue
• EuroDry (DRY) reported downbeat Q4 results
• Volaris (VLRS) reported lower-than-expected Q4 earnings and revenue
• Owens Corning (OC) reported upbeat Q4 results

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.33%, or 142.89, to 43,570.91, the Nasdaq was down 0.32%, or 63.42, to 19,460.58, and the S&P 500 was up 0.04%, or 2.42, to 6,015.55.