Berkshire reveals stake in Domino’s, Alibaba reports mixed Q2: Morning Buzz

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists. 

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Shares of Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) were trading higher after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) disclosed a new position in the company
• Alibaba (BABA) reported Q2 adjusted earnings per share that fell 4% year-over-year, while revenue for the quarter rose 5%
• Applied Materials (AMAT) reported better-than-expected Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1
• Halozyme (HALO) has submitted a proposal to combine with Evotec (EVO) for EUR11 per share in cash
• Federal Reserve Bank of Boston CEO Susan Collins told Bloomberg in an interview that some amount of easing is appropriate over time

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Twilio (TWLO) upgraded to Buy at Monness Crespi after 79% fall from peak
• Deutsche downgraded GSK (GSK) to Hold on Trump’s RFK nomination
• Bloom Energy (BE) upgraded at Piper Sandler after agreement with American Electric (AEP)
• Morgan Stanley downgraded SolarEdge (SEDG) to Underweight on longer path to profits
• Goldman Sachs resumed coverage of Delta (DAL) and United (UAL) with Buy ratings as the firm picked back up its coverage of U.S. airlines

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• The U.S. House Select Committee on China summoned Amazon (AMZN) staffers in September to discuss concerns about its shopping partnership with TikTok, Bloomberg says
• Samsung (SSNLF) and its labor union have reached a tentative wage agreement for 2023 and 2024 after 10 months of negotiations, DigiTimes says
• The New York Times (NYT) has initiated a lawsuit against the European Commission for the release of text messages exchanged between the European Union’s top officials and Pfizer’s (PFE) CEO, NY Times reports
• Salesforce (CRM) AI lead Clara Shih has exited the company to pursue another opportunity, Information reports
• Franklin Resources’ (BEN) Western Asset Management has lost $55B in client outflows since mid-August, WSJ reports

4. MOVERS:

• Despegar.com (DESP) higher in New York after reporting Q3 results and backing its guidance for FY24
• Red Cat (RCAT) gains after filing to sell $100M mixed securities shelf
• Oklo (OKLO) lower after reporting Q3 results
• Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) decreases after announcing a private convertible senior notes transaction
• AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) falls after reporting Q3 results and providing a business update

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Spectrum Brands (SPB) reported Q4 results, with EPS missing consensus
• Sol-Gel Technologies (SLGL) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue higher year-over-year
• AIM ImmunoTech (AIM) reported Q3 results, with CEO Thomas Equels commenting on “significant momentum across multiple clinical programs”
• Casi Pharmaceuticals (CASI) announced Q3 results, with EPS and revenue lower year-over-year
• TruGolf (TRUG) reported Q3 results and revised its outlook for FY24

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 323.46, or 0.74%, to 43,427.40, the Nasdaq was down 398.85, or 2.09%, to 18,708.80, and the S&P 500 was down 74.87, or 1.26%, to 5,874.30.