| The Dow and S&P 500 lost 1.1% to close out last week's final trading session on Friday. The Nasdaq lagged slightly with a 1.3% loss, while the small-cap Russell 2K was flat on the trading session. Today, futures are on the rise in the holiday-shortened trading week's first trading session. S&P 500 contracts are currently showing a 0.7% gain. Volkswagen plans to list Porsche in what is expected to be one of the biggest IPOs in years. Ernst & Young firm leaders are expected to approve a plan to split up the privately-held accounting giant.Bed Bath & Beyond's Chief Financial Officer, 52-year-old Gustavo Arnal, jumped to his death from a New York City high-rise on Friday, just days after the company announced job cuts and store closings in response to slowing sales. Illumina Inc [ILMN] - Last Close: $196.07 Illumina is trending after announcing a major regulatory update. News broke this morning that antitrust regulators at the European Union had blocked the genetics company's planned acquisition of biotech firm Grail. Regulators said the deal would have stifled competition and reduced consumer choice in blood-based early cancer detection tests. The European Commission ruled Illumina's proposed remedies didn't adequately address regulators' concerns regarding the deal. Illumina completed its acquisition last year, before receiving EU approval, and was forced to maintain Grail's independence until a ruling was reached. However, the firm has now been ordered to divest Grail. Illumina says it plans to appeal the ruling. ILMN is one of the top S&P 500 stocks in today's premarket with a 4.0% gain on active volume. My Take: This doesn't read like good news for ILMN, but it could be that investors weren't crazy about the deal in the first place. Regardless, the ongoing saga could give short-term traders many opportunities for catalysts in the coming weeks. Iveric Bio [ISEE] - Last Close: $9.44 Upbeat drug data is lifting shares of Iveric Bio. The micro-cap biopharma stock is running hot after announcing positive top-line data from Zimura Gather2 Phase 3 clinical trials in geographic atrophy. Zimura met its primary endpoint, showing statistical significance in its treatment potential and producing a favorable safety profile. Iveric says it plans to submit a New Drug Application to the US Food & Drug Administration by the end of Q1 2023. ISEE is one of today's hottest stocks with a 47.0% gain on the news. My Take: Iveric's latest clinical update makes a strong case for a potential approval in the future. Share prices have shown strong support around $9.50 per share, and today's breakout puts it past a key resistance point. HyreCar Inc [HYRE] - Last Close: $0.8032 Shares of HyreCar are surging after a major announcement. The web-based carsharing marketplace operator announced this morning that it had secured a pivotal $100 million revolving line of credit from a premier global bank. HyreCar said it has entered into a deal with Medalist Partners and an unnamed bank for a $100 million warehousing line of credit. The bank will provide primary financing, while Medalist will provide $20 million in additional funding. The company said its fleet operator partner, AmeriDrive Holdings, will use the facility to buy vehicles for exclusive listing on the HyreCar platform through a bankruptcy-remote joint venture company. HyreCar expects AmeriDrive to add 6,000 to 7,000 vehicles over the next 12 to 18 months to the platform, with the vehicles serving as collateral under the facility, the company said. HYRE is trading actively with a 32.0% gian on the news. My Take: HYRE could be an interesting speculative trade. The new credit line shows the company has secured some legit institutional backing, so maybe it's ready to break into the big leagues. I'm keeping my eye on this one. Ideanomics [IDEX] - Last Close: $0.607 Ideanomics is climbing after a key earnings release. The commercial EV company released its full-year 2021 financial results after Friday's closing bell, and the numbers are getting a warm reception in today's premarket. Ideanomics reported total revenues of $114 million, marking a sharp improvement from the previous year's $26.8 million figure. However, the company's operating loss widened to (-$0.57) pre diluted share from 2020's (-$0.47) diluted EPS. The company also announced it had entered into a standby equity purchase agreement with YA II PN. IDEX is trading actively with a 7.9% gain on the news. My Take: Ideanomics' strong revenue growth could be the catalyst for this move, but this company still has a long way to go before it becomes an established firm. |
