AbbVie Sinks on Drug Trial Results; Bristol Meyers Squibb Soars
44 minutes ago
Shares of AbbVie (ABBV) plummeted Monday after the company said its schizophrenia drug Emraclidine missed key goals in a pair of Phase 2 clinical trials.
AbbVie said the trials did not show a statistically significant improvement in symptoms compared with the placebo group at week 6.
“While we are disappointed with the results, we are continuing to analyze the data to determine next steps,” AbbVie Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Roopal Thakkar said.
Abbvie’s shares were recently down 11%. Meanwhile, shares of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), makers of recently approved schizophrenia treatment Cobenfy, jumped 12%.
Bitcoin, Crypto Related Stocks Continue Surging
1 hr 43 min ago
The cryptocurrency euphoria that followed Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election continued Monday, with everything tied to the digital currency industry powering ahead.
Bitcoin once again traded at an all-time high, surpassing $84,000. Shares of companies in the sector, including Robinhood Markets (HOOD), which was up 10%. Coinbase Global (COIN), Riot Platforms (RIOT), and Marathon Digital parent MARA Holdings (MARA) all soared 17% or better.
Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), such as iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), also jumped about 10% each.
The enthusiasm has been driven by Trump’s previous comments about his support of cryptocurrencies, at one point saying he wants the U.S. to be “the crypto capital of the planet.”
In addition, MicroStrategy (MSTR), the largest corporate holder of bitcoin, announced that it had purchased an additional 27,200 bitcoin for $2.03 billion. MicroStrategy shares recently were up 17%.
Humana Slumps, Cigna Rises as Deal Talks Off
2 hr 59 min ago
Humana (HUM) shares were down 5% Monday morning after The Cigna Group (CI) said it is not pursuing a combination with its smaller health insurance rival. Cigna stock, meanwhile, was up more than 6%.
Cigna reportedly called off its plans to buy Humana late last year after neither side could agree on financial terms. Bloomberg reported last month that the two companies had revived informal talks about a deal, with discussions in the early stages.
“In light of recent and persistent speculation, The Cigna Group expects to communicate that the company is not pursuing a combination with Humana Inc.,” Cigna said in a press release Monday,
“The Cigna Group remains committed to its established M&A criteria and would only consider acquisitions that are strategically aligned, financially attractive, and have a high probability to close,” the Bloomfield, Conn.-based company added.
Cigna said it had bought $6 billion of stock this year, including $1 billion so far in the fourth quarter, and will continue to “actively” repurchase shares into next year. It said it would use the bulk of proceeds from the sale of its Medicare businesses to fund the buybacks.
Humana shaves have lost 40% of their value this year, while Cigna is up about 15%,
S&P 500 Levels to Watch as Index at Record High
4 hr 5 min ago
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed at a record high Friday after briefly crossing the 6K level for the first time, as stocks have rallied following the U.S. presidential election.
Through Friday’s close, the S&P 500 has gained around 25% this year. The index broke above a rising wedge pattern on above-average volume last week, setting the stage for further potential gains in the week ahead.
A measured move, which calculates the distance between the rising wedge’s two trendlines near their widest point and adds that amount to the initial breakout area, projects a price target in the S&P 500 of 6,500.
Investors should watch important support levels on the index’s chart around 5,900 and 5,670.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Stock Futures Point to Higher Open for Major Indexes
5 hr 6 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.4%.
S&P 500 futures also were up 0.4%.
Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.5%.