WEEKLY RECAP
IN TECH
Apple’s Vision Pro received a middling response.
Wall Street responded cautiously to Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) release of the highly anticipated mixed reality headgear,which costs $3,499 more than anticipated.
When the debut was announced, Apple shares first fell, but they later partially rebounded and closed the week down just 0.9%. To date, the stock has increased by almost 45%.
SEC sues Coinbase
Exchanging cryptocurrencies Early in the week, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) experienced a decline when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against it for allegedly breaking US securities laws.
While this was going on, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest raised its interest in the business as the stock fell to over five-month lows. Wood has frequently stated his faith in Coinbase and the larger crypto sector, and he has set a long-term price objective for Bitcoin of $1 million because of his conviction that it is a powerful inflation hedge.
Following Monday’s decline after the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance, Coinbase share prices dropped by about 16% for the week. It has risen by about 60% so far this year.
General Motors will use the Tesla network of charging stations
The North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector was created by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and General Motors (NYSE:GM) CEO Mary Barra announced this week that the corporation is preparing to include it into its EVs starting in 2025.
The news was made during a live Twitter Space meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and it follows a similar revolution from late last month when Ford Motor (NYSE:F), a nearby rival, also announced a partnership with Musk’s Tesla.
Amazon will introduce an ad-supported Prime Video tier.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) intends to introduce an advertising-supported tier of its Prime Video streaming services as part of an effort to boost growth from entertainment.
As streaming platforms try to find ways to fund content spending amid an ongoing struggle for dominance, competitors like Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) have taken similar actions. Amazon Prime Video is planning to follow suit.
Netflix adds more members despite a ban on password sharing.
After The Wall Street Journal revealed that the U.S. crackdown on password sharing resulted in an early subscriber windfall, Netflix’s stock rose.
The WSJ cited Antenna statistics to claim that the streaming behemoth signed up more new U.S. subscribers between May 25 and May 28, just a short time after notifying users in the U.S. and other countries of the limits, than during any previous four-day span since Antenna started collecting data in 2019.
IN EV SPACE
GM and Tesla’s explosive partnership;
The North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector was created by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), and General Motors (NYSE: NYSE:GM) CEO Mary Barra announced this week that the business is ready to incorporate it into its EVs starting in 2025.
The news was made during a live Twitter Space meeting with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and it follows a similar revolution from late last month when Ford Motor (NYSE:F), a nearby rival, also announced a partnership with Musk’s Tesla.
Through these arrangements, customers of Ford and GM can use the enormous network of Tesla Superchargers, which presently has 12,000 locations and is growing.
Competitors Are Rattled by Tesla’s Steamrolling
Not everyone was thrilled to learn that Tesla’s NACS might end up being the industry standard for EV charging. On hearing the news, shares of EV charging startups ChargePoint Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CHPT) and EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO) dropped sharply.
With more than 4,000 charging stations in the U.S., Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK) started trading on Friday down 0.5% before losing more than 10.6% for the day.
Stellantis is the focus of attention.
All eyes are now on Stellantis (NYSE:STLA) in the wake of the actions taken by Ford and GM. Analysts anticipate that the parent company of Chrysler will put aside any disputes and accept Tesla’s NACS as the new EV charging standard alongside its competitors.
However, the business has not yet made any comments regarding any potential future partnerships with Elon Musk and Tesla.
But this week, as it announced the beginning of its second round of share buybacks, the business was everything but silent. The buyback program, which will cover up to €1.5 billion (1 euro is equal to $1.08), was announced on February 22, 2023.
Bulk deals
TriNet increases due to sale rumours
Shares of Trinet (NYSE:TNET) increased by more than 9% on Friday after Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the situation, that the online payroll services provider is thinking about selling the business.
The company is reportedly in talks with prospective purchasers with the assistance of investment bank Morgan Stanley. TriNet and Morgan Stanley both chose not to comment on the situation, though.
Network International is purchased by Brookfield for $3.7 billion.
Shares of Network International Holdings (LON:NETW) increased more than 5% when it was revealed that Brookfield (NYSE:BAM) would pay $3.7 billion (£2.2 billion) to acquire the largest credit card processor in the Middle East and Africa. This news was first reported in real time by InvestingPro. In Q3/23, the deal is anticipated to close.
Amedisys rises on Optum’s unexpected bid amid an ongoing agreement with Option Care Health
Shares of Amedisys (NASDAQ:AMED) increased more than 15% on Monday after the company disclosed an unsolicited bid from Optum to buy all of its common stock for $100 per share. This follows the announcement on May 3, 2023 that Amedisys has already consented to a merger with Option Care Health (NASDAQ:OPCH).
In accordance with the terms of the merger agreement with Option Care Health, the Amedisys Board is assessing Optum’s proposal, and it has not determined that Optum’s proposal is a “Superior Proposal” as that term is defined in the current agreement.
Circor stock increases as KKR announces its $1.6 billion acquisition
Shares of CIRCOR International (NYSE:CIR) increased by around 50% on Monday on the announcement that the major global investor KKR & Co. (NYSE:KKR) will buy all outstanding Circor shares for $49 in cash per share.
The deal is anticipated to be finalised in Q4/23. If all goes according to plan, Circor will become a privately held business that is entirely controlled by the investment funds of KKR
Insider trades & hedge fund moves
Amid an SEC probe, Ark Invest purchases more Coinbase shares.
In the wake of the SEC’s crackdown on the cryptocurrency industry, Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest increased its stakes in Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN), pushing the stock to almost five-month lows. Three of Cathie Wood’s funds purchased more than 400,000 shares in Coinbase, according to data from Cathie’s Ark, with her primary ARK Innovation ETF (NYSE:ARKK) purchasing more than 300,000. As a result of an SEC complaint for operating an unregistered exchange and sending cease and desist letters regarding its staking services, Coinbase’s stock price fell by almost 20% at the beginning of the week.
The new CFO of M&T Bank purchases shares for $1.2 million.
Daryl Bible, the recently hired CFO of M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB), bought 10,000 ordinary shares for more than $1.2 million at a price between $120.3981 and 121.3532, according to real-time data from InvestingPro. His whole investment in the company is represented by these shares.
For its most recent Q1 earnings release, the business exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ); A few insider purchases occurred at Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ), including purchases of 74,930 common shares by CEO Richard Miles Brooks for more than $1M at $13.57 and 10,000 common shares by President International Adam Christopher Ellis for about $150,000 at $14.67.
ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW) ; Thomas Warsop, president and chief executive officer of ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ:ACIW), bought 43,000 common shares for almost $1 billion at $23.5874-$24.1629. Following the most recent trades, Warsop now owns 178,307 shares of ordinary stock in total.
Loews (NYSE:L) Benjamin Tisch, SVP/Corp Dev and Strategy at Loews (NYSE:L), bought 330,000 common shares for around $19 million at $56.36-$57.88. Following the purchases, Tisch now owns 350,309.80 shares in total.
Weekly Earnings Calendar
Monday, June 12
Oracle (ORCL), ECARX Holdings (ECX), and Streamline Health Solutions (STRM)
Tuesday, June 13
Burford Capital Limited (BUR) and Motorcar Parts of America (MPAA)
Wednesday, June 14
Anterix (ATEX) and Aurora Cannabis (ACB)
Thursday, June 15
Adobe (ADBE), The Kroger Company (KR), Lennar Corporation (LEN), Jabil (JBL), and Cognyte Software (CGNT)