Take a look at some of the biggest drivers in the pre-market:
Apollo Global (APO), Athene (ATH) – The private equity firm’s shares gained 8% in the premarket after news that it will merge with retirement services company Athene in a transaction with all the shares it values Athene at about $ 11 billion. Athene’s shares rose 19.6%.
McAfee (MCFE) – Shares in the cybersecurity company rose 10.9% in premarket trading after news that it sold its corporate business to Symphony Technology Group for $ 4 billion in cash.
Walt Disney (DIS) – Disney may reopen Disneyland after more than a year. California officials released theme parks and stadiums to open with reduced capacity on April 1. Separately, Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” topped the weekend box office with $ 8.6 million in ticket sales, although the opening was silenced after the Cinemark (CNK) cinema chain refused to show the movie. Disney rose 1.5% in the pre-market.
General Electric (GE) – GE is close to a $ 30 billion deal to merge its aircraft leasing business with Irish AerCap (AER), according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. An announcement is expected today, in what would be GE’s latest restructuring move. Its shares jumped 2.3% in the pre-market, while AerCap’s shares jumped 12.3%.
Adaptive Biotechnologies (ADPT) – Adaptive Biotechnologies has received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its “T-Detect” test, which confirms a recent or previous Covid-19 infection in patients. Its shares rose 11.3% in pre-market shares.
AT&T (T) – AT&T said the Securities and Exchange Commission ‘s charges against three employees are without merit and has promised to challenge them. The SEC claims that employees selectively shared information about smartphone sales in 2016, which led these analysts to lower their revenue forecasts.
Bumble (BMBL) – The dating services operator has received a series of positive recommendations from analysts, with Cowen classifying the shares as “outperform” in new coverage and Stifel and Citi starting the coverage with a “buy” rating, and shares in Bumble rising 3.4% on Friday. Analysts think Bumble is ready for a post-pandemic leap in use. Despite positive recommendations, the stock fell 2.8% in the pre-market.
GameStop (GME) – The video game retailer’s shares continue their volatile trading amid a Reddit-related boost, up 11.4% in the premarket, after rising for three consecutive sessions late last week.
Xpeng (XPEV) – China-based electric vehicle maker’s shares gained 2.2% in the pre-market after it reported a loss of $ 120.7 million in the last quarter, 42% less than in the quarter the previous year. Xpeng’s competitor, Nio (NIO), fell 3.1% in the pre-market share after Jeffries cut its target share price from $ 60 to $ 38.80.
Facebook (FB) – An investigation of Facebook’s racial prejudice by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was considered “systemic”, according to the lawyers of four plaintiffs who spoke to Reuters. The plaintiffs are accusing Facebook of bias in hiring and promotions, although the EEOC has not made any accusations against the social media giant and the investigation cannot result in any findings of irregularities. Facebook lost 1% in pre-market negotiations.
Coherent (COHR) – Coherent said that a revised proposed acquisition of optical electronics manufacturer II-VI (IIVI) is superior to its pending merger agreement with Lumentum (LITE). Coherent – a developer of laser-based technology – gave Lumentum until 11:59 pm PT on March 11 to submit a revised proposal, or intends to accept the II-VI proposal for $ 170 per share in cash and 1.0981 common shares of II-VI stock for each Coherent share. II-VI shares fell 2.2% in the pre-market.
VF Corp (VFC) – VF has been updated to “buy” from “keep” at Pivotal Research, which cited a variety of factors, including comparatively relatively easy sales comparisons for Vans and a positive outlook for North Face and Timberland.
Pearson (PSON) – Pearson’s shares jumped 5.9% in the pre-market share after the educational publisher announced a strategy update aimed more directly at consumers.