Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Monday
6 hr 52 min ago
Decliners:
Advertising agency Omnicom (OMC) announced an agreement to acquire rival firm Interpublic Group (IPG). If the all-stock takeover comes to fruition, the combined entity would be the world’s largest ad conglomerate. Omnicom’s chief executive said the deal would expand opportunities to benefit from new technologies and ongoing changes in the advertising industry. However, Omnicom shares tumbled 10.3% after the announcement, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock on Monday. Interpublic Group shares added 3.6%.
Comcast (CMCSA) shares dropped 9.5% after the internet and cable provider said it expects to shed more than 100,000 broadband subscribers in the fourth quarter, mirroring negative trends from the first half of the year. Comcast’s CEO pointed to a tough competitive environment in the broadband business, especially among consumers concerned about reining in spending. Shares of fellow cable provider Charter Communications (CHTR) lost 9.2%.
Shares of nuclear power generators, which have posted outsized gains in 2024 on optimism around opportunities to power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, moved lower Monday. A co-chair of the U.S. Congressional Task Force on AI reportedly asked regulators to support the «co-location» of data centers adjacent to nuclear facilities. Last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled against a proposed Amazon (AMZN) data center at a Talen Energy (TLN) nuclear site. Vistra (VST) shares fell 9.3%.
Advancers:
Hershey (HSY) shares skyrocketed 10.9%, gaining the most of any S&P 500 stock, following reports that snack food giant Mondelez International (MDLZ) is evaluating a potential acquisition of the Pennsylvania-based chocolate maker. Combining Hershey with Mondelez, already the parent company of Cadbury, would create one of the largest confectionary companies worldwide. Mondelez shares slipped 2.3%.
Ryan Collerd / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Enphase Energy (ENPH) shares advanced 6.8% after the solar technology firm announced a partnership with Netherlands-based power provider NextEnergy. The new collaboration will help owners of Enphase’s solar and battery storage systems to maximize energy savings and profitability as they participate in the Netherlands’ grid imbalance energy markets.
Shares of Albemarle (ALB), the world’s largest lithium miner, jumped 4.5%. Albemarle stock dropped in the opening days of December as analysts predicted lithium prices would remain under pressure in 2025 as elevated supply levels persist. However, shares changed course in recent days and recouped the majority of those losses.
-Michael Bromberg
Why Reddit Stock Closed at a Record on Monday
8 hr 14 min ago
Reddit (RDDT) shares closed at a record high Monday after analysts from Morgan Stanley upgraded the social media stock, citing the company’s «multiple levers» for potential growth heading into 2025.
The analysts said they «have been wrong on the sidelines» about the stock’s growth since its initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year. They lifted their price target to $200 from $70 and upgraded the stock to «overweight» from «equal-weight,» highlighting new tools and products that could help grow Reddit’s user base and advertising revenue over the next year.
“In effect, RDDT is shipping engagement and ad products rapidly and has multiple levers to drive outsized growth,” the analysts wrote Sunday.
Reddit’s daily active users (DAUs) have grown about 20% faster than Morgan Stanley’s model had projected, and the analysts said they expect Reddit’s user base to keep growing along with the time users spend on the platform. They noted features like improved search and a partnership with Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google driving more users to Reddit links as tools to bring in new users.
A larger user base that spends more time on the platform would also make Reddit more attractive to advertisers, which could bring Reddit’s ad pricing closer to its competitors like Google and Meta (META), the analysts wrote.
Reddit shares rose nearly 3% to close above $167 on Monday. The stock has risen more than 230% since debuting in March.
-Aaron McDade
Comcast Stock Sinks as Executive Warns of Broadband Subscriber Losses
9 hr 3 min ago
Comcast (CMCSA) shares tumbled roughly 9% intraday Monday after an executive at the conglomerate warned that it expects to lose 100,000 broadband subscribers in the current quarter.
Comcast Cable CEO Dave Watson told the UBS Global Media & Communications Conference in New York that while the company anticipates being in its estimated average revenue per user (ARPU) range of 3% to 4%, «we’ll be at the lower end of that range,» according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.
Watson explained that about 10,000 of the subscriber losses could be attributed to the impact of Hurricanes Helen and Milton. He added that the ARPU softness was caused by rebates given because of storms, along with lower-end activity related to the timing of the Affordable Connectivity Program.
Watson pointed out that Comcast faced a «competitively intense» environment. He said that was especially true in the «more price-conscious end of the marketplace.» Watson noted that competitive intensity has been pretty consistent throughout the year, and continued in the fourth quarter.
Shares of Comcast had been essentially flat on the year until Monday’s declines.
-Bill McColl
TradingView
Reports of a Takeover Send Hershey Stock Soaring
9 hr 52 min ago
Hershey (HSY) shares climbed Monday on news that snack-food giant Mondelez International (MDLZ), is looking at acquiring the U.S.-based chocolate company.
Mondelez is exploring a takeover, but the process is in preliminary stages and a deal may not materialize, Bloomberg reported. The story provided no financial details about a potential offer for Hershey. Hershey’s market value is above $35 billion, according to Visible Alpha data.
Hershey in 2016 rejected another offer from Mondelez, which produces sweets including Cadbury chocolates and Oreo cookies as well as savory snacks like Wheat Thins and Ritz crackers.
Mondelez spokeswoman Tracey Noe said the company doesn’t comment on «market rumors and speculation.» Hershey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hershey shares were trading about 13% higher Monday afternoon, putting them in positive territory for the year. Mondelez shares slipped about 2%.
-Sarina Trangle
China ETFs, Stocks Jump on Beijing’s ‘More Proactive’ Stimulus Pledge
10 hr 44 min ago
China-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks of Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges jumped Monday, after the country’s top leaders announced plans for «more proactive» stimulus spending next year.
The announcement of next year’s priorities, cited by the state-run Xinhua news agency, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatens to boost tariffs on Chinese imports and follows a stimulus package by Beijing in September, aimed at bolstering the country’s downbeat economy.
That previous stimulus package, including measures that came later, fell short of investors’ expectations.
Xinhua said Monday that the Communist Party’s Politburo, in its latest monthly meeting, has embraced «implementing a more proactive fiscal policy and a moderately loose monetary policy next year.”
According to Bloomberg, Monday’s announcement marked Beijing’s «boldest» language around a stimulus in years; it noted that the last time China adopted a “moderately loose” monetary policy was when the leadership unleashed a wave of stimulus measures during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) jumped more than 8% Monday morning. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China index (HXC)—an index of 64 China-based companies traded in the U.S.—rose more than 9%.
-Nisha Gopalan
Macy’s Stock Rises as Activist Investors Call for Real Estate Unit
11 hr 41 min ago
Macy’s (M) shares rose Monday after activist investors released a proposal to turn around the retailer, including creating a real estate subsidiary and curbing capital expenses.
Barington Capital Group, an activist investment firm, and Thor Equities, a real estate investment company, collaborated on the proposal, which offered support for Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Spring’s plan to close many of the lowest-performing Macy’s. They urged the company to create a real estate arm to pursue property sales and redevelopments, and charge Macy’s stores rent.
«Macy’s owns valuable and well-located real estate assets—led by its flagship property at Herald Square in New York City—that we believe are worth between $5-$9 billion,» Thor chairman Joseph Sitt said.
The activists also are calling for reducing capital expenditures to 1.5%-2% of sales from the current level of about 4%; buying back «a minimum of $2-$3 billion in stock over the next three years»; and potentially spinning off Macy’s higher-growth Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury luxury brands. The group, which also seeks seats on Macy’s board, claimed its plan could bolster returns by 150% to 200% over the next three years.
«We remain confident in our Bold New Chapter strategy, which continues to gain traction across all three of its pillars, and we expect to share further details regarding our progress when we report our full third quarter results,» the Macy’s board said in a statement on Monday.
Macy’s shares were up about 2% Monday afternoon, but have shed about 17% of their value so far this year.
-Sarina Trangle
Interpublic Group Stock Jumps as Omnicom Strikes Deal to Buy Ad Rival
12 hr 45 min ago
Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) shares surged Monday after Omnicom Group (OMC) announced a deal to acquire its rival in an all-stock transaction that would form the world’s largest advertising company.
The stock-for-stock transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025, with the combined company keeping the Omnicom name and trading under the OMC ticker symbol. The deal is also subject to approvals from Omnicom and Interpublic shareholders as well as regulators.
In a report Monday before the deal was announced, Citi said while investors may anticipate a regulatory roadblock for the deal, with the combined company controlling 48% of the U.S. market, there is plenty of competition with smaller agencies, tech firms, and consulting companies also in the market.
«While regulatory questions will certainly be raised, we believe this transaction is apt to be approved (if it is attempted),» the Citi analysts wrote, noting that «mergers among large agency holding companies are rare.»
Interpublic shares, which as of Friday’s close had lost around 10% of their value this year, ended trading Friday at $29.26, giving the company a market value of almost $11 billion. The deal values Interpublic at $13.25 billion, a spokesperson for Omnicom said.
Interpublic shares were up 8% in mid-day trading on Monday, while Omnicom shares were down about 8%.
-Nisha Gopalan
Super Micro Computer Stock Jumps on Nasdaq Filing Extension—Watch These Price Levels
13 hr 53 min ago
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares traded higher in early trading on Monday after the embattled server maker said late Friday that it had received an extension until February from the Nasdaq to file its delayed annual report.
Supermicro said Friday that it anticipates filing its annual report, along with its delayed report for the September quarter, by the Feb. 25 deadline to meet its Nasdaq exchange listing requirements.
Although the stock dropped around 65% between late October and mid-November, it has recovered most of those losses over the past month and now trades more than 50% higher on the year through Friday’s close.
Since bottoming out last month, Supermicro shares have staged a remarkable recovery, with the price more than doubling from its mid-November low.
Importantly, above-average volume has backed the bullish reversal, indicating buying activity from larger market players.
More recently, the stock consolidated within a pennant last week, a chart pattern that signals a continuation of the stock’s recent impulsive move higher.
See here for three key overhead areas on Supermicro’s chart worth watching, and a major support level that may attract buying interest in the stock during pullbacks.
-Timothy Smith
Nvidia Stock Slips as Chinese Regulators Announce Anti-Monopoly Probe
14 hr 52 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) shares moved lower Monday morning after China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said it was investigating the chipmaking giant for potential violations of Chinese anti-monopoly laws.
The antitrust regulator said Monday that it is looking into Nvidia over the chipmaker’s 2020 acquisition of Israeli-American networking hardware maker Mellanox Technologies. SAMR said it «is opening a probe into Nvidia in accordance with the law,» according to a translation of the statement from CNBC.
The $6.9 billion deal was announced in March 2019 and completed in April 2020, days after the same Chinese regulators signed off on the deal along with regulators in Europe, Mexico, and the U.S.
Approval for the deal came with the conditions from Chinese regulators that Nvidia wouldn’t discriminate against Chinese companies and that Mellanox informed competitors of new products within 90 days of providing them to Nvidia, according to Bloomberg.
The chipmaker’s shares were down more than 2% in early trading Monday, but have still risen over 180% since the start of the year.
-Aaron McDade
Futures Mixed To Start Last Week Before Fed Decision
15 hr 30 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up about 0.1% in premarket trading on Monday.
S&P 500 futures were little changed after recovering from earlier losses.
Nasdaq 100 futures were off 0.1%.
