Pfizer to acquire Metsera, Oracle names new CEOs: Morning Buzz

The major averages were broadly higher near noon, adding to last week’s strong gains as investors weigh a mix of policy signals, corporate risks, and regulatory surprises. Despite the optimism surrounding potential future rate cuts, growing risk of a government shutdown still remains, as the Senate last week rejected Republican and Democratic proposals to at least temporarily fund the federal government ahead of a larger measure. The deadline for a government funding deal is September 30.

Looking to commodities, gold surged once again, achieving yet another record high as the commodity inches closer to the $3,800 mark. Meanwhile, oil was fractionally lower near noon.

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1. STOCK NEWS:

• Pfizer (PFE) agreed to acquire Metsera (MTSR) for $47.50 per share in cash upon closing
• Premier (PINC) agreed to be acquired by Patient Square Capital for $28.25 per share in cash
• Compass (COMP) and Anywhere Real Estate (HOUS) agreed to merge in a $10B all-stock transaction
• ODP Corporation (ODP) agreed to be acquired by Atlas Holdings for $28 per share in cash
• Oracle (ORCL) promoted Clay Magouyrk and Mike Sicilia to the roles of CEOs

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Sarepta (SRPT) upgraded to Outperform at BMO Capital
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Applied Materials (AMAT) to Overweight
• Wells Fargo upgraded Brinker (EAT) to Overweight
• Piper Sandler downgraded Crocs (CROX) to Neutral
• BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) to Underperform

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Anson Funds Management, the sixth-largest shareholder in Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) with a stake of around 3.6%, is urging Clear Channel to pursue a sale of the company, Bloomberg reports
• U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema will hear testimonies from Google (GOOGL) employees, advertisers, publishers, and others as she considers potential penalties for Google for maintaining an illegal monopoly in parts of the online ad industry, WSJ reports
• Jehoshaphat Research says it is short Canadian subprime loan “time bomb” Goeasy (EHMEF)
• Chinese authorities launched an investigation after a fireworks show in Tibet sponsored by Amer Sports’ (AS) Arc’teryx sparked a backlash on social media, Bloomberg reports
• VodafoneThree has chosen Ericsson (ERIC) and Nokia (NOK) for a GBP 2B contract to expand the operator’s network across the U.S., Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• MBX Biosciences (MBX) higher after achieving the primary endpoint in its Phase 2 trial
• Pros Holdings (PRO) gains after announcing it will be acquired by Thoma Bravo for $23.25 per share in cash
• Kodiak Sciences (KOD) increases after Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy rating
• Quantum Computing (QUBT) falls after announcing it will sell 26.879M shares
• Cosan (CSAN) lower after HSBC downgraded the stock to Reduce

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Marti Technologies (MRT) reported 1H results and provided guidance for FY25
• Ennis (EBF) reported Q2 results, with EPS higher year-over-year
• ZJK Industries (ZJK) reported results for 1H, with CEO Ning Ding “pleased to report strong performance”
• Amen Properties (AMEN) reported Q2 results, with revenue lower year-over-year
• InterDigital (IDCC) raised its guidance for Q3

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.04%, or 20.00, to 46,335.27, the Nasdaq was up 0.34%, or 78.03, to 22,709.51, and the S&P 500 was up 0.20%, or 13.52, to 6,677.88.