Top Midday Stories: General Mills Lowers Adjusted EPS Guidance; Merck Strikes Licensing Deal With Chinese Drugmaker to Develop Weight-Loss Pill

MT Newswires Live12-19

All three major US stock indexes were up around midday trading on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's consequential decision on interest rates that will be announced later in the day.

In company news, General Mills (GIS) reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $1.40 per diluted share, up from $1.25 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet of $1.22. Fiscal Q2 net sales were $5.24 billion, up from $5.14 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $5.14 billion. The company said it now expects fiscal 2025 adjusted EPS to decline 1% to 3% in constant currency, compared to its previous forecast of a 1% decline to a 1% gain. Shares of the company were down 2.2% near noon.

Merck (MRK) and Hansoh Pharma said Wednesday they have signed a global licensing deal under which Merck will develop, produce and commercialize an investigational oral GLP-1 receptor agonist. Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will pay $112 million upfront to Hansoh, while the Chinese pharmaceutical company will be eligible to receive up to $1.9 billion in milestone payments and royalties on sales. Merck shares were up 0.5%.

Multiple US agencies are investigating whether to ban TP-Link, a Chinese router manufacturer that is the bestseller on Amazon.com (AMZN), over links to cyberattacks, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Authorities at the Departments of Commerce, Defense and Justice have opened up separate probes into the company, and the US could ban the sale of TP-Link routers in the country next year, the people reportedly told the WSJ. Amazon shares were down 0.6%.

A potential merger between Honda Motor (HMC) and Nissan Motor would be welcomed idea by Renault, Nissan's top shareholder, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Honda shares were down 2.5%.

Lennar (LEN) said Wednesday its recently formed subsidiary, Milrose Properties, has filed documents with federal regulators detailing a proposed spin-off of a majority stake of itself. The proposed spin-off would result in an independent, publicly traded real estate investment trust if approved by Lennar's board. Lennar shares were up 0.6%.

Gentex (GNTX) said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire Voxx International (VOXX) in an all-cash deal expected to close in Q1 of 2025. Under the terms of the deal, Gentex will acquire all Voxx common stock it doesn't already own for $7.50 per share, Gentex said, adding that it expects its annual revenue to increase in the range of $350 million to $400 million from the acquisition. Gentex shares were up 2.1%, while those of Voxx were down 6.2%.

Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Novo Nordisk (NVO), has completed its $16.5 billion all-cash acquisition of Catalent (CTLT), the companies said Wednesday. Under the terms of the deal, Catalent shareholders received $63.50 in cash for each share they own. Novo shares were up 0.1%.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear arguments by TikTok, which is looking to block a law that may result in a ban of the social media app in the US, multiple media outlets reported Wednesday.

Price: 64.40, Change: -1.53, Percent Change: -2.32

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