Take a look at some of the biggest movers in the premarket:
Apollo Global (APO), Athene (ATH) – The private-equity firm’s shares gained 8% in premarket trading following news that it will merge with retirement services company Athene in an all-stock transaction that values Athene at about $11 billion. Athene shares surged 19.6%.
McAfee (MCFE) – The cybersecurity company’s shares jumped 10.9% in premarket trading, following news that it sold its enterprise business to privately held Symphony Technology Group for $4 billion in cash.
Walt Disney (DIS) – Disney will be able to reopen Disneyland after more than a year. California officials cleared theme parks and stadiums to open at reduced capacity on April 1. Separately, Disney’s “Raya and the Last Dragon” topped the weekend box office with $8.6 million in ticket sales, though that opening was muted after movie theater chain Cinemark (CNK) declined to show the film. Disney rose 1.5% premarket.
General Electric (GE) – GE is near a $30 billion deal to merge its aircraft leasing business with Ireland’s AerCap (AER), according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal. An announcement is expected as soon as today, in what would be the latest restructuring move by GE. Its stock jumped 2.3% in the premarket, while AerCap shares surged 12.3%.
Adaptive Biotechnologies (ADPT) – Adaptive Biotechnologies received emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for its “T-Detect” test which confirms a recent or prior Covid-19 infection in patients. Its shares soared 11.3% in premarket action.
AT&T (T) – AT&T said Securities and Exchange Commission accusations against three employees are meritless and vowed to challenge them. The SEC alleges that the employees selectively shared information about smartphone sales in 2016, which prompted those analysts to lower their revenue forecasts.
Bumble (BMBL) – The dating service operator received a number of positive analyst recommendations, with Cowen rating the stock “outperform” in new coverage and Stifel and Citi initiating coverage with a “buy” rating, and Bumble shares rose 3.4% Friday. Analysts feel that Bumble is poised for a post-pandemic jump in usage. Despite the positive recommendations, the stock fell 2.8% in premarket trading.
GameStop (GME) – The video game retailer’s stock continues its volatile trading amid more Reddit-related momentum, up 11.4% in the premarket after rising for three straight sessions at the end of last week.
Xpeng (XPEV) – The China-based electric vehicle maker’s shares gained 2.2% in premarket trading after it reported a loss of $120.7 million for its latest quarter, 42% smaller than it had been in the year-ago quarter. Xpeng competitor Nio (NIO) fell 3.1% in premarket action after Jeffries cut its price target on the stock to $38.80 from $60.
Facebook (FB) – A racial bias investigation of Facebook by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been designated as “systemic,” according to attorneys for four plaintiffs who spoke to Reuters. The plaintiffs are accusing Facebook of bias in hiring and promotions, although the EEOC has not brought any allegations against the social media giant and the investigation may not result in any findings of wrongdoing. Facebook lost 1% in premarket trading.
Coherent (COHR) – Coherent said a revised takeover proposal from optical electronics maker II-VI (IIVI) is superior to its pending merger agreement with Lumentum (LITE). Coherent – a developer of laser-based technology – gave Lumentum until 11:59 p.m. PT on March 11 to submit a revised proposal, or it intends to accept II-VI’s proposal of $170 per share in cash and 1.0981 shares of II-VI common stock for each Coherent share. II-VI stock fell 2.2% in the premarket.
VF Corp (VFC) – VF was upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Pivotal Research, which cited a variety of factors including relatively easy comparable sales comparisons for Vans and a positive outlook for North Face and Timberland.
Pearson (PSON) – Pearson shares jumped 5.9% in premarket action after the educational publishing company announced a strategy update that more directly targets consumers.