Keurig Dr Pepper buys JDE Peet’s, Thoma Bravo to acquire Verint: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mixed near noon after a strong rally last Friday spurred by renewed optimism around a potential September rate cut. Investors, still upbeat after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole comments, are now focused on key data releases like the upcoming PCE inflation report and nonfarm payrolls, which will guide the Fed’s next move. Barclays and Deutsche Bank have raised their expectations for a 25-basis-point rate cut, pushing the probabilities above 84%.

Looking to commodities, gold was little changed near noon, while oil was sharply higher. 

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists, and follow the Fly By on YouTube.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) agreed to acquire JDE Peet’s for EUR 31.85 per share in cash
• Verint (VRNT) agreed to be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $20.50 per share in cash
• Crescent Energy (CRGY) will acquire Vital Energy (VAL) in a $3.1B all-stock transaction
• MannKind (MNKD) will acquire scPharmaceuticals (SCPH) for up to $6.35 per share in cash
• Intel (INTC) has warned of potential risks to the U.S. government’s stake in the company

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Raymond James upgraded Dyne Therapeutics (DYN) to Strong Buy into DMD trial readout
• Okta (OKTA) upgraded at Truist, here’s why
• American Eagle (AEO) downgraded to Underperform at BofA on longer turnaround path
• SentinelOne (S) downgraded to Neutral at BTIG on slowing growth
• William Blair initiated Figma (FIG) with an Outperform, most of the Street less bullish

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• The Pinault family is weighing options for Puma (PUMSY), the German sports brand that lost more than half of its market value in the past year, including a possible sale, Bloomberg reports
• Mercedes-Benz’s (MBGYY) Pension Trust will be selling approximately $346M worth of shares it holds in Nissan Motor (NSANY), with shares set to be offered at price ranges between 337.5 and 345 yen per share, Reuters reports
• Krispy Kreme (DNUT) is making a concentrated push to get its doughnuts into more big-box retailers like Costco (COST), Kroger (KR), and Walmart (WMT), as well as convenience and grocery stores, NYT says
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) is cutting the use of Chinese chipmaking equipment in its most advanced chip factories to avoid any possible U.S. restrictions that could disrupt production, Nikkei reports
• Porsche (POAHY) has abandoned plans to produce high-performance batteries at its Cellforce subsidiary and expects to cut 200 of nearly 300 jobs at the unit, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) gains after receiving additional follow-on orders for six Sonoma systems
• Olaplex (OLPX) increases after Canaccord upgraded the stock to Buy
• Richtech Robotics (RR) rose after disclosing a services agreement with a large retailer
• DeFi Development (DFDV) lower after announcing a $125M equity raise for the Solana treasury
• Axogen (AXGN) falls after the FDA extended its PDUFA goal date for its BLA for Avance Nerve Graft

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• PDD Holdings (PDD) reported Q2 results, with EPS lower year-over-year
• DMG Blockchain (DMGGF) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue higher year-over-year
• Blue Star Foods (BSFC) announced results for Q2
• StealthGas (GASS) reported Q2 results, with EPS lower year-over-year
• Napco Security (NSSC) reported Q4 results, with CEO Richard Soloway commenting, “Our RSR remains strong as we continue to see double-digit growth in Q4”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 180.15, or 0.39%, to 45,451.59, the Nasdaq was up 61.24, or 0.28%, to 21,557.77, and the S&P 500 was down 1.85, or 0.03%, to 6,465.06.