Virgin Galactic, Alexion, Pluralsight, Pfizer: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today
December 14 2020 - 8:34AM
Dow Jones News
By Mischa Frankl-Duval
Here's what we are watching as markets kick into gear
Monday.
-- U.S. stock futures rose on optimism that talks for additional
stimulus are progressing and that the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines
could help stem the pandemic.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.8%, suggesting the
index may edge higher after the New York opening bell. Contracts
tied to the Nasdaq-100 Index gained 0.6%.
Read our full markets wrap here.
What's Coming Up
-- Amdocs and Plantronics are among companies presenting at the
Cowen Networking Summit.
Market Movers to Watch
-- Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals leaped almost 32% in
premarket trade after AstraZeneca agreed to buy the company for $39
billion in cash and stock, a move that would bolster the British
drug giant's footprint in rare diseases. AstraZeneca shares fell
more than 5% in London.
-- Shares of Virgin Galactic fell 14% in premarket trading after
the company said its Saturday test flight didn't reach space as
planned.
-- Pfizer shares rose 1.2% before the bell. The company's
vaccine, developed jointly with BioNTech, began shipping over the
weekend from its production facility in Michigan.
-- Public Storage shares rose 4.1% premarket. The Wall Street
Journal reported that Elliott Management has built a significant
stake in the company and privately nominated six directors to the
self-storage giant's board, according to people familiar with the
matter.
-- Pluralsight shares rose 5.6% premarket. Private-equity firm
Vista Equity Partners agreed to buy the firm in a deal that values
Pluralsight at $20.26 a share, above Friday's closing price of
$18.98.
-- Shares in Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares rose 2%
on news the company would merge with Detroit-based TCF
Financial.
-- Several companies that have benefited from stay-at-home
orders declined in offhours trade. Zoom Video Communications fell
1.1% while Teladoc Health fell 0.8%.
Market Fact
-- The British pound jumped 1.4% against the U.S. dollar and 1%
against the euro Monday morning, after U.K. and European Union
negotiators on Sunday agreed to extend their marathon Brexit
talks.
Chart of the Day
Drugmakers have pulled off a remarkable feat: quickly developing
vaccines that aim to stem a world-wide pandemic. Investors have
been enthusiastic. Now the question is whether some upstarts can
justify these windfall share-price gains.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 14, 2020 08:19 ET (13:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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