Midday Fly By: Ares to acquire Whitestone REIT, Disney to make ‘sizable’ layoffs

The major averages were higher near noon despite the price of oil having jumped back above the $100 per barrel mark as investors continue to monitor developments in the Middle East after the U.S. and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire. While the ceasefire remains intact on paper, cracks have emerged as ongoing military activity in Lebanon, disputes over compliance, and continued restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz are all raising doubts.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Meta Platforms (META) and CoreWeave (CRWV) announced a $21B expanded AI infrastructure agreement
• Ares Management (ARES) (WSR) for $1.7B
• Constellation Brands (STZ) reported upbeat Q4 results and provided its outlook for FY27
• Disney (DIS) is planning to make “sizable” layoffs for up to 1,000 positions, WSJ reports
• The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the National Football League over alleged anticompetitive tactics, (TXN) upgraded to Buy at Stifel
• Datadog (DDOG) upgraded to Buy at Guggenheim
• Instacart (CART) upgraded to Outperform at Raymond James
• Circle Internet (CRCL) downgraded to Sell at Compass Point
• Zscaler (ZS) downgraded to Neutral at BTIG

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Tesla (TSLA) has contacted suppliers recently to discuss the details on developing a smaller, cheaper electric SUV, Reuters reports
• Rene Haas, CEO of chip designer Arm (ARM), is in line to lead much of the international business of parent company SoftBank (SFTBY), while retaining his current position at Arm, The Financial Times says
• AI cloud company Nebius (NBIS) is in talks to acquire Israeli AI company AI21 Labs after Nvidia (NVDA) pulled out of negotiations with the firm, The Information reports
• Samsung (SSNLF) is planning to invest $4B to construct a chip packaging plant in northern Vietnam as the company expands it footprint in the country, Bloomberg reports
• Nissan (NSANY) will deliver roughly 1,400 vehicles that were originally meant for the Middle East to the U.S. amid disruptions to its export plans caused by the Iran war, Nikkei Asia reports

4. MOVERS:

• Staar Surgical (STAA) higher after Canaccord upgraded the stock to Buy
• Invivyd (IVVD) increases after announcing the discovery and advancement of a measles antibody candidate while also providing an update on its Phase 3 DECLARATION study of VYD2311
• Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) gains after entering into a $60M at-the-market offering
• Spire Global (SPIR) lower after pricing 5M shares at $14
• Applied Digital (APLD) falls after reporting Q3 results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Beyond Meat (BYND) reported revised Q4 results
• Simply Good Foods (SMPL) reported Q2 results and provided guidance for Q3 and FY26
• BlackBerry (BB) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Orthofix (OFIX) reported preliminary Q1 results and reaffirmed its guidance for FY26
• Neogen (NEOG) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY26

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up/down xxx%, or xxx, to xxx, the Nasdaq was up/down xxx%, or xxx, to xxx, and the S&P 500 was up/down xxx%, or xxx, to xxx.