U.S. stock futures were slightly lower on Tuesday after closing at record highs yesterday as corporate earnings and fiscal stimulus plans reinforce investors’ appetite for risk.
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All three major U.S. indices were trading around 0.3% lower at the time of writing.
There’s another busy day of earnings ahead, with FIS, SPGI and DD releasing their results before the bell, and CSCO, FISV and TWTR reporting after the market closes.
Iterum Therapeutics was most actively traded before the bell, with almost 6 million shares having already changed hands at the time of writing. Additionally, the stock was up by around 60% in the pre-market session.
Comstock was the top gainer in pre-market trading and looked set to open 215% higher than its close on Monday, followed by Aware Inc. (+67%) and Zosano Pharma (+52%).
The biggest losers in the pre-market session were Ekso Bionics (-20%), Cemtrex (-18%) and Infinity (-17%).
In corporate earnings news, shares of Chegg (CHGG) were 4.8% higher in pre-market trading after reporting better-than-expected Q4 results driven by a substantial increase in subscriptions as demand for remote learning increased amid the coronavirus pandemic. Earnings increased 57% year-on-year to $0.55 per share, beating analysts’ estimates of $0.49, while revenues of $205.72 million came in ahead of consensus forecasts of $189.55 million. The revenue result reflects 64% growth.
LiveRamp Holdings (RAMP) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and provided Q4 and fiscal 2021 revenue guidance that topped analysts’ expectations. Q3 earnings came in at $0.14 per share, beating analysts’ forecasts of $0.07, while revenue grew 17% to $120 million and surpassed analysts’ expectations of $113.1 million. The company projects a 16% year-on-year increase in revenues for 2021 to $440 million, compared to analysts’ initial projections of $430.4 million.
In M&A news, Nike (NKE) announced the acquisition of data integration platform Datalogue for an undisclosed fee. The acquisition is a part of the company’s CDA (Consumer Direct Acceleration) strategy to step up its digital integration and boost sales growth. Nike CEO John Donahoe commented, “The acquisition of Datalogue builds on our digital momentum by enhancing our ability to transform raw data into actionable insights in real time and across the enterprise.”
Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has entered into a partnership deal with IBM to build AI-driven applications for businesses that will be integrated with Palantir’s operations platform. The partnership is targeted towards businesses who need to analyze and access large amounts of data using AI for data-driven decision making and process automation. The new product is expected to be available to consumers by next month.
Private equity firms, Veritas Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital, have agreed to acquire public transportation and defense company, Cubic Corp. (CUB), for $2.8 billion including debt. Veritas and Evergreen will pay $70 per share in cash, which represents a 58% premium to Cubic’s stock price the day before the buyout talks were announced on Sep. 18, 2020.
