Charter to combine with Cox, Take-Two reports mixed Q4 results: Morning Buzz

The major averages were little changed near noon following the release of downbeat consumer sentiment data and as April housing starts came in slightly below consensus estimates. Investors continue to weigh potentially easing trade tensions as well. Meanwhile, President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Republican lawmakers “must unite” to pass his “beautiful” tax bill.

Looking to commodities, gold prices are slipping after yesterday’s rebound, while oil is up fractionally, keeping the commodity above the $60 threshold.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Charter (CHTR) and Cox will combine in a deal valuing Cox at an enterprise value of $34.5B
• Take-Two (TTWO) reported mixed Q4 results and provided a conservative outlook for FY26 following the delay of “Grand Theft Auto VI”
• Applied Materials (AMAT) reported mixed Q2 results and provided its outlook for Q3
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen will step down
• Boeing (BA) has reached a tentative non-prosecution deal with U.S. prosecutors, Reuters says

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Charter (CHTR) to Outperform, calls Cox deal a “major positive”
• Cisco (CSCO) downgraded at New Street, prefers to wait for a better entry point
• Carnival (CCL) upgraded to Hold from Reduce at HSBC
• SolarEdge (SEDG) downgraded to Underperform at Northland
• Astera Labs (ALAB) initiated with neutral view at Susquehanna

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Nvidia (NVDA) isn’t sending GPU plans to China following a report that the AI chipmaker is working on a research and development center in Shanghai, CNBC says
• Microsoft (MSFT) is set to dodge an antitrust fine after the European Commission said they’re seeking feedback on the company’s offer to settle an investigation into illegal bundling of its Teams app, Bloomberg reports
• Intel (INTC) recently argued with EU antitrust regulators over a $421.4M fine levied two years ago for excluding rivals from the market, stating it was disproportionate and unfair, Reuters says
• Citi (C) is cutting up to 200 information technology, IT, contractor roles in China, with around 100 IT staff informed this week their contracts will not be renewed and another 100 likely to receive their termination notices soon, Reuters says
• Google (GOOGL) has surpassed IBM (IBM) to become the leader in generative AI-related patents and also leads in the emerging area of agentic AI, Axios says

4. MOVERS:

• Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) gains after a decision posted to the site of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware indicated the court found Aurobindo infringed on Acadia’s patent claims
• Evolv (EVLV) and Bit Digital (BTBT) higher reporting quarterly results
• CoreWeave (CRWV) increases after Nvidia (NVDA) disclosed a 13G stake in the company
• Travere Therapeutics (TVTX) falls after announcing the U.S. FDA acceptance of sNDA for Filspari
• Globant (GLOB) and Doximity (DOCS) lower in New York reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• RBC Bearings (RBC) reported Q4 results, with EPS beating consensus
• Brady (BRC) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25
• Flowers Foods (FLO) reported Q1 results and cut its guidance for FY25
• Polar Power (POLA) reported Q1 results, with EPS higher year-over-year
• Metalla Royalty & Streaming (MTA) reported Q1 results, with CEO Brett Heath commenting, “Q1 2025 marked further progress for several royalties in the Company’s portfolio”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.02%, or 9.94, to 42,332.69, the Nasdaq was down 0.06%, or 12.07, to 19,100.25, and the S&P 500 was up 0.07%, or 3.92, to 5,920.85.