S&P futures are down 0.6%, near the worst pre-market levels, in Wednesday morning trading. This comes after US equities finished higher on Tuesday.
Oil up, gold up and Bitcoin (BTC) flat.
Here are some of today’s trending stocks:
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL)
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL) stock is down over 50% in pre-market trading. The fall comes as the company announced disappointing results in its phase III fostamatinib trial.
Raul Rodriguez, CEO of Rigel Pharmaceuticals, said:
While we are disappointed in the overall results, which were impacted by a large placebo response rate from Eastern European clinical sites, we are encouraged by the top-line results from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Western Europe,
The company plans to continue analyzing the data to understand the geographical differences in patient disease characteristics and outcomes and discuss these findings with the FDA.
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: OLLI)
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: OLLI) is a retailer for closeouts, excess inventory, and salvage merchandise. The OLLI share price is down 7% in pre-market trading.
Q1 Highlights
Total net sales: $406.7 (down 10.1%)
Comparable store sales: decreased 17.3% Y/Y
Opened 9 new stores
Closed one store
439 stores in 29 states, a Y/Y increase in store count of 10.6%
Operating income: $17.1m (down 75.9%)
Operating margin: 4.2% (decreased 1,150 basis points)
Net income: $12.5m (decreased 77.3%)
Net income per diluted share: $0.20 (down 76.2%)
John Swygert, President and CEO, stated:
We were pleased with our first quarter results given that we were up against headwinds including strong stimulus-induced sales a year ago, cooler weather which impacted sales of our seasonal products, and a consumer faced with significantly higher inflation, particularly on gas and food.
Our current sales trends have improved meaningfully in the second quarter fueled by increased demand for warm weather seasonal products, combined with our incredible deals and strong inventory position. We are doubling down on our efforts to offer great value as consumers continue to feel inflationary pressures, although we have not yet seen the full benefit of consumers trading down.
Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU)
Roku Inc (NASDAQ: ROKU) stock is up over 7% pre-market as rumors circulate that it’s merging with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX).
Roku employees have been discussing a potential acquisition by Netflix after the Roku share price has plummeted 80% in the past year. Roku management are aware of the rumors and have stopped employees selling their assigned stock.
Roku is operating in a competitive environment, but it appears to be a market leader in its field. Its range of streaming devices are popular, as is its streaming channel. 50 Live TV channels will soon be available for free via The Roku Channel.
Meanwhile, NFLX stock is down 1% in pre-market trading.
Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC)
Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ: WDC) stock price is up 4% as activist investor pressures management.
The computer storage company will launch a review of its strategic options after activist investors at Elliott Management pushed for the sale of its flash business.
Options could include a sale, spinoff, splitoff, carve-out IPO or other similar separation of its Flash or HDD franchises, or a merger with or acquisition of Kioxia Holdings Corp.
Elliott Management, which owns a 6% stake in Western Digital pledged $1bn in financing last month to help fund a spin-off, sale or merger. Elliott believes the flash memory arm could be valued between $17bn and $20bn.
Western Digital CEO, David Goeckeler, said:
The Board is aligned in the belief that maximizing value creation warrants a comprehensive assessment of strategic alternatives focused on structural options for the company’s Flash and HDD businesses,
Through this process, we are actively engaging in a broad range of strategic and financial alternatives that will help further optimize the value of Western Digital, including Elliott’s offer to invest incremental equity capital in our Flash Business. We look forward to continuing our constructive dialogue with Elliott as this process unfolds.
Redbox Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ: RDBX)
Redbox Entertainment Inc (NASDAQ: RDBX) could be riding the coattails of the Roku Netflix rumors this morning. The RDBX share price is up 25% in pre-market trading. It’s also experiencing a short squeeze.
Redbox sells home entertainment products in the United States. It also produces, acquires, and distributes movies through its Redbox Entertainment label.
Redbox is being acquired by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, an ad-supported video-on-demand streaming company, for $375m.
Over the past year, Redbox Entertainment Inc (RDBX) has traded between $1.61 and $27.22. Today it sits around $10.76.
