Stock futures were flat Monday as investors await key inflation data for further clues on the longevity of this year’s market rally. Earnings from some major financial giants and consumer companies are also on the docket.
Market Snapshot
At 08:04 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures rose marginally, while futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded just above the flatline. Nasdaq-100 futures dipped about 0.1%.
Pre-Market Movers
Morphic Holding — Shares surged more than 76% on news that Eli Lilly will acquire the biopharma company in a $3.2 billion deal. The deal will give Eli Lilly access to Morphic’s portfolio of treatments in development, such as those for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Eli Lilly shares inched up 0.2% on the news.
Paramount Global -- Shares added 3% following the announcement Sunday that the media and entertainment company reached a deal to merge with Skydance Media.
SolarEdge — The energy company rose 5% after Bank of America upgraded shares to neutral from underperform, citing an attractive entry point for investors. However, the firm said it is looking for “more tangible” margin and cash flow recovery.
ServiceNow — The cloud computing stock slipped 3% after Guggenheim downgraded ServiceNow to sell from neutral, expressing doubt the company will see an uptick in its generative artificial intelligence business. “Our field work indicates this is not likely until 2025, if ever,” said analyst John DiFucci.
Domino’s Pizza - The pizza chain rose more than 2% in premarket trading after Baird upgraded the stock to an outperform rating. The Wall Street firm said the company’s strong fundamentals have meaningfully increased investor confidence and conviction. Baird highlighted Domino’s Pizza’s advertising approach, product pipeline, operations, rising penetration and improved relative value proposition.
Gilead — Shares of the biotech stock rose more than 2% after an upgrade to outperform from market perform at Raymond James. The investment firm said Gilead has two strong drug candidates in its pipeline that could provide significant revenue growth in the next five years.
PNC — The regional bank advanced 1% on an upgrade from UBS to buy from neutral. UBS believes PNC shares have upside potential as loan demand improves.
KeyCorp — Shares dropped 1% following a downgrade to neutral from buy by UBS. According to UBS, KeyCorp is “out of catalysts for now” with shares looking fairly valued.
Columbia Sportswear — Shares gained 2.1% after a Stifel upgrade to buy from hold. The firm sees potential for a positive revenue inflection as outdoor recreation trends grow.
Market News
Nvidia Rises as UBS Boosts Target as Checks Confirm Demand Still “Exceedingly Robust”
Nvidia was in the spotlight on Monday after investment firm UBS reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target, noting that recent checks indicate that demand for its upcoming Blackwell line is "exceedingly robust." Shares rose 1% fractionally in premarket trading.
Based on the recent checks into Blackwell, it's likely that Nvidia could earn roughly $5 per share in 2025 as the order pipeline for NVL72 and NVL36 is "materially larger" than it was just two months as the budgets for the major hyperscalers firm up, analyst Timothy Arcuri said. Arcuri raised his price target to $150 from $120 as a result.
Additionally, investors may reap the rewards as a "wall of worry" has cropped up in recent weeks, Arcuri said, pointing out that sentiment has faded in recent memory.
Eli Lilly to Buy Bowel Disease Drug Developer Morphic for $3.2 Bln
Eli Lilly will acquire Morphic Holding for $3.2 billion in cash, the companies said on Monday, giving the U.S. drugmaker access to an experimental drug for types of inflammatory bowel diseases.
Shares of drug developer Morphic surged 76% to $56.15 premarket on Lilly's offer of $57 per share, which represents a 79% premium to stock's last closing price.
Morphic's lead drug MORF-057 is an oral treatment that is being evaluated in two phase 2 studies in ulcerative colitis patients and one phase 2 study in Crohn's disease.
Paramount Agrees to Skydance Deal, Ending Redstone Era
Paramount Global agreed to merge with Skydance Media in a deal that hands control of the storied Hollywood studio to producer David Ellison, ending one of the industry’s most dramatic acquisitions.
As part of the complicated deal months in the making, Paramount Chair Shari Redstone agreed to sell her family’s National Amusements Inc., which controls about 77% of the voting stock in Paramount, for $2.4 billion, according to a statement released by the company Sunday.
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