Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey addresses students at a town hall at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in New Delhi, India on November 12, 2018.
Anushree Fadnavis | Reuters
Discover the companies that make the front pages of newspapers on Monday:
Twitter (TWTR) – Elliott Management founder Paul Singer is looking to replace Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, noting that company management is divided by also running Square (SQ), CNBC learned from a source. Twitter’s shares increased 5.4%.
Apple (AAPL) – Oppenheimer analyst upgraded tech giant to “surpass” to “perform”, noting that Apple “has mastered the art of turning technology into deeply personal and essential everyday items , from the phone to the watch via the AirPod. ” The analyst added that given the company’s products and services, they will prove to be more resilient than competing products in times of uncertainty.
General Electric (GE) – JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa, who had a long-standing bearish position on GE, changed the industrial giant from “neutral” to “underweight”, noting that the company’s floor on free cash flow exceeded expectations. “We were wrong,” Tusa said in a note to customers.
Verizon (VZ) – Verizon has been upgraded to “outperform” the “performing market” by a Cowen analyst. “We are looking to take advantage of the recent massive sale of the security which is now trading with a dividend spread (compared to the 10-year rate) unequaled for 7 years and more”, according to the analyst, who added that there had a low risk to Verizon’s profits at this time.
Western Digital (WDC), Micron (MU) – Western Digital and Micron have been upgraded to “outperform” and “neutral” respectively by a Baird analyst. “The positive pricing outlook for memory chips remains unchanged for the year, despite the current weak demand for smartphones and PCs,” said the analyst.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) – A Piper Sandler analyst has upgraded JPMorgan Chase from “overweight” to “neutral”, calling the title “relative winner in any macro environment”. The analyst also said that after a “significant market liquidation, we think [JPMorgan] is about to be a relative outperformer, whether the operating environment continues to deteriorate or rebound. “
Gilead Sciences (GILD) – Gilead Sciences has announced that it will acquire immuno-oncology company Forty Seven (FTSV) for $ 4.9 billion in cash, or $ 95.50 per share. The deal represents a premium of 64.7% over the closing share price on Friday.
Carnival (CCL), American Airlines (AAL), Delta (DAL) – Travel stocks Carnival, Delta and American Airlines all fell as the number of coronavirus cases worldwide jumped over the weekend. In China, another 202 additional cases have been reported. South Korea has also confirmed 123 other cases.
SmileDirectClub (SDC) – A UBS analyst downgraded his SmileDirectClub rating from “neutral” to “buy” and reduced his price target to $ 9 per share from $ 18 per share. “The company must show that it can sell its Clear Aligner products in a model that can generate profits and cash flow for the company and its shareholders,” said the analyst. SmileDirectClub shares fell 2.4% in premarketing.
-CNBC Michael Bloom contributed to this report.