Exxon and Shell cautious on Q4, Flutter cuts guidance: Morning Buzz

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Shell (SHEL) trimmed its LNG production outlook for Q4 while Exxon Mobil (XOM) estimates a negative impact on Q4 results from a change in oil prices
• Synopsys (SNPS) said it is “very pleased” the U.K.’s CMA accepted its proposed remedies regarding the Ansys (ANSS) deal
• Flutter Entertainment (FLUT) lowered its 2024 U.S. revenue guidance, noting that U.S. player momentum has been offset by a period of “very unfavorable” sports results
• Accolade (ACCD) agreed to be acquired by Transcarent for $7.03 per share in cash
• Ally Financial (ALLY) will cut hundreds of jobs companywide, Charlotte Observer reports

 2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Citi upgraded Carvana (CVNA) to Buy on “dislocation” post short report
• HSBC says AMD (AMD) can’t compete with Nvidia (NVDA) in 2025, double downgrades shares
• WK Kellogg (KLG) downgraded to Sell at TD Cowen on lower organic growth estimates
• Merck (MRK) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Truist
• Mizuho upgraded Twilio (TWLO) to Outperform

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• GSK (GSK) and Pfizer (PFE) vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, will carry warnings that they can increase the risk of developing a rare neurological disorder, Reuters says
• Apple (AAPL) is still banned from selling the iPhone 16 in Indonesia after a top government official dismissed its $1B plan to meet local investment requirements, Bloomberg reports
• Meta’s (META) fact-checking partners, including Ganett’s (GCI) USA Today, were “blindsided” by Meta’s decision to drop them in favor of Community Notes, Wired says
• Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) Rocksteady quietly laid off half a dozen staff just before the end of 2024, Eurogamer reports
• Microsoft-owned (MSFT) Activision filed a request asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from families of victims killed or injured in a 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which claims the “Call of Duty” maker played a role in “chewing up alienated teenage boys and spitting out mass shooters,” Polygon says

4. MOVERS:

• Sana Biotechnology (SANA) higher after announcing initial results from its type 1 diabetes study
• Vir Biotechnology (VIR) gains after presenting safety and efficacy data in VIR-5818 and VIR-5500 trials
• Arcadium Lithium (ALTM) increases in New York after receiving CFIUS clearance for its proposed acquisition by Rio Tinto (RIO)
• Quantum Computing (QUBT) lower after announcing an 8.163M share offering
• Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and IonQ (IONQ) plunged after Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said the timeline for quantum computers is “15 years at the earliest” and “30 years at the latest”

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• UniFirst (UNF) reported Q1 results and provided guidance for FY25
• Collegium Pharmaceuticals (COLL) provided guidance for FY25
• LifeVantage (LFVN) provided guidance for Q2 and raised its guidance for FY25
• Albertsons (ACI) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY24, with CEO Vivek Sankaran commenting, “We delivered solid operating and financial performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2024”
• Halozyme (HALO) backed its guidance for FY24 and raised its outlook for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.08%, or 33.37, to 42,561.73, the Nasdaq was up 0.12%, or 22.67, to 19,512.35, and the S&P 500 was up 0.15%, or 9.12, to 5,918.15.