Stocks opened little changed as there was little to help lure investors off the sidelines with the market having just finished its fifth consecutive positive week. There was also little in the way of macro news or earnings to spur buying, though the average have managed to drift back into the green as the session continues. Investors will be looking to the close, when Alphabet (GOOGL) is scheduled to report its earnings.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., factory orders fell 0.6% in November. Excluding transportation, factory orders declined 1.3%, both of which proved disappointing compared to expectations.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Papa John's (PZZA) have rebounded after having slid on news Friday that the company had abandoned an outright sale after takeover bids from private equity firms did not meet its expectations. This morning, the company announced that Starboard Value is making a $200M investment and Jeffrey Smith, the investment firm's CEO, is becoming chairman of the pizza chain. John Schnatter, the company's founder and deposed CEO, sent an alternate proposal to the board to make an investment of up to $250M on terms he said were "substantially similar to, but superior to," the Starboard transaction, but that was rejected, after which it was disclosed that Schnatter is evaluating his legal remedies.
In M&A news, Maxwell Technologies (MXWL), a developer and manufacturer of energy solutions, announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Tesla (TSLA) for $4.75 per share in an all-stock transaction. Also, it was disclosed that Expedia Group (EXPE) has proposed to acquire the outstanding shares of Liberty Expedia Holdings (LEXEA) in a transaction in which Liberty's Series A and B common stock would be exchanged for newly issued shares of Expedia.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Ultimate Software (ULTI), which rose 20% after it agreed to be acquired by an investor group for $331.50 per share, or about $11B. Also higher was Evolus (EOLS), which gained 16% after the FDA approved its lead product Jeuveau.
Among the notable losers was MacroGenics (MGNX), which fell 1% after Citi analyst Yigal Nochomovitz downgraded the stock to Sell on expectations for a failure of the company's SOPHIA Phase 3 metastatic breast cancer study of margetuximab. Also lower was Triton International (TRTN), which declined 8% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 7.41, or 0.03%, to 25,071.30, the Nasdaq was up 61.98, or 0.85%, to 7,325.85, and the S&P 500 was up 6.18, or 0.23%, to 2,712.71.
