The major averages are mixed at midday, with the S&P and Nasdaq rising and the Dow a bit lower, as investors weigh the latest vaccine and COVID case count news and await a pick-up in earnings reporting as the week progresses. Some of the big names reporting this week will include IBM (IBM), which is scheduled to report tonight, as well as Microsoft (MSFT), Intel (INTC), Coca-Cola (KO) and Tesla (TSLA).
ECONOMIC EVENTS: The latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 14.54M confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 3.77M in the U.S., and 606,922 deaths due to the disease. At the state level for some U.S. hot spots, Florida reported 360,394 COVID-19 cases, up 10,347 cases from yesterday, while Arizona reports 145,183 COVID-19 cases, up 1,559 from yesterday.
TOP NEWS: Shares of eBay (EBAY) are fractionally higher following reports that the company is nearing a deal to sell its classifieds unit to Adevinta (ADVEF) for about $9B.
In confirmed M&A news, Chevron (CVX) announced an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Noble Energy (NBL) in an all-stock transaction valued at $5B, or $10.38 per share. The total enterprise value, including debt, of the transaction is $13B. In addition, Majesco (MJCO) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in a transaction valuing the company at $594M, or $13.10 per share in cash.
In news on the search for pharmaceutical answers to COVID-19, AstraZeneca (AZN) announced interim results from the ongoing Phase I/II COV001 trial, led by Oxford University, showed AZD1222 was "tolerated and generated robust immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all evaluated participants." Additionally, BioNTech SE (BNTX) and Pfizer (PFE) announced initial data from their ongoing German Phase 1/2, open-label, non-randomized, non-placebo-controlled, dose-escalation trial, that is part of the global mRNA-based vaccine program against SARS-CoV-2.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE), which rose 17% after the company received FDA clearance to begin its Phase 2 trial of Abivertinib. Also higher was BioXcel (BTAI), which gained 13% after reporting Phase 3 trials of BXCL501 met their primary and secondary endpoints.
Among the notable losers was Nikola (NKLA), which dropped 21% after disclosing late Friday that its S-1 filing became effective. The company's 24M warrants are now exercisable, giving holders the right to buy the shares for $11.50, and this also registers the 53.4M shares owned by PIPE investors, enabling them to be traded on the market, an analyst at Deutsche Bank explained. Also lower was PetMed Express (PETS), which fell 16% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was down 38.14, or 0.14%, to 26,633.81, the Nasdaq was up 158.96, or 1.51%, to 10,662.15, and the S&P 500 was up 12.51, or 0.39%, to 3,237.24.
