By Joe Woelfel
Markets closed in the green Friday, after tumbling earlier in the day on a stronger-than-expected September jobs report.
These stocks made moves Friday:
Exxon Mobil (ticker: XOM) is close to acquiring Pioneer Natural Resources $(PXD)$, the shale-drilling company, in a takeover that could be worth roughly $60 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported. The deal could be finalized in the coming days, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Pioneer has a market capitalization of about $50 billion. An acquisition of Pioneer likely would be Exxon's largest deal since its megamerger with Mobil in 1999, the Journal noted. Pioneer rose 10% to $237.35 and was the S&P 500's top performer on Friday. Exxon fell 1.7%.
MGM Resorts $(MGM)$ said a recent cyberattack would cost the casino operator about $100 million. However, MGM said most of the costs will hit third-quarter results with "minimal impact to its fourth quarter. The stock rose 4.9%.
Walmart $(WMT)$ fell 1.7% and snack maker Mondelez $(MDLZ)$ dropped 2.6% after an executive at Walmart told Bloomberg in an interview that customers were buying fewer groceries and cutting back on higher-calorie foods because of the new class of weight-loss drugs.
Tesla $(TSLA)$ cut prices of its Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the U.S., according to the electric-vehicle maker's website. The Model 3 was reduced to $38,990 from $40,240, while prices on the Model Y long-range vehicle were cut to $48,490 from $50,490. The Model Y performance car was lowered to $52,490. The price cuts The price cuts follow Tesla's report of 435,059 deliveries in the third quarter, which missed analysts' estimates. Tesla rose 0.2%.
Rivian Automotive $(RIVN)$ rose 3.6% after tumbling 22.9% on Thursday, the stock's largest percentage drop on record. The plunge came after the EV truck maker issued disappointing guidance and announced plans to raise more funds.
Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) reaffirmed its fiscal 2024 guidance despite improved fiscal first-quarter profit and a revenue jump of 93%. Shares of the maker of semiconductor test and production burn-in equipment fell 13%.
Levi Strauss $(LEVI)$ said it was lowering its financial forecasts "given the ongoing uncertainty in the macro environment." The jeans maker said it expected adjusted profit in the fiscal year to be "on the low end" of a prior forecast of between $1.10 and $1.20 a share. The company also forecast fiscal-year sales to be flat to up 1%, compared with previous expectations for growth of 1.5% to 2.5%. Levi Strauss finished down 0.8%.
U.S.-listed shares of Philips $(PHG)$, the Dutch health-technology company, declined 7.3% after the Food and Drug Administration asked for additional testing of its recalled sleep and respiratory devices.
Apellis Pharmaceuticals $(APLS)$ jumped 3.5% to $41.03 after the stock was upgraded by J.P. Morgan to Overweight from Neutral and the price target was raised to $81 from $60.
AES $(AES)$ was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS and the price target was reduced to $13 from $22. Shares of the utility company fell 1.3% to $12.45.
Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 06, 2023 16:11 ET (20:11 GMT)
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