US stock futures were trading flat on Tuesday as investors await the March Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation report scheduled to be released before Tuesday’s opening bell.
Dow futures were 0.11% higher, S&P futures had gained 0.05%, and Nasdaq futures were down 0.04% at the time of writing.
Fastenal (FAST) and OrganiGram Holdings (OGI) are expected to release earnings before the opening bell while Cogeco Communications (CGEAF) is expected to report after the market closes.
Dragon Victory (LYL) was the most actively traded stock and among the biggest gainers in pre-market trading, up by 41.5%. There was no fundamental news explaining the rise of the share price, however, there is growing speculation on social media that the company is looking to get involved with cryptocurrency.
Avenue Therapeutics (ATXI) was the biggest laggard falling 18.3% at the time of writing as the FDA is still in the process of reviewing its resubmission of a new drug application (NDA) for IV Tramadol.
In M&A news, Synopsys (SNPS) has agreed to acquire MorethanIP for an undisclosed amount. MorethanIP provides Ethernet Digital Controller IP, which supports data rates of 10G to 800G. The acquisition expands Synopsys’ DesignWare Ethernet Controller IP portfolio, and the acquired MAC and PCS IP complement the company’s current 112G Ethernet PHY IP solution.
Monitoring and analytics platform provider Datadog (DDOG) has closed the acquisition of Sqreen. The latter is a SaaS-based security platform that helps clients detect, block, and respond to application-level attacks. Olivier Pomel, CEO of Datadog, said, “The application layer is currently one of the most vulnerable and exploitable attack surfaces. In combining Sqreen with Datadog, we are closing the gap between application developers and security teams and providing our customers with robust application security, without the disjointed visibility, high implementation costs, or steep learning curve of traditional application security products.”
Meanwhile, consulting and digital services provider ICF International (ICFI) was awarded two contracts worth about $16 million from the U.S. Labor Department. These contracts are to provide IT and cybersecurity workforce development services under the H-1B One Workforce Grant Program.
Beyond Meat (BYND) is expanding its product distribution across Europe at several European retail locations by this spring. Beyond Meat’s Chief Growth Officer, Chuck Muth said, “These new and expanded retail partnerships throughout the continent serve as strong proof points that Europe’s appetite for plant-based meat and Beyond Meat products in particular is on the rise. In fact, because of our strict ingredient guardrails, we’ve been able to more easily enter global markets including the EU to make plant-based meat options that are better for people and the planet more accessible to all.”
Uber Technologies (UBER) posted its highest monthly gross bookings in its twelve-year history in March, according to an SEC filing reported on Monday. The company’s Mobility business crossed the $30 billion annualized gross bookings run-rate and had its best month since March last year.
Uber stated in the filing, “As vaccination rates increase in the United States, we are observing that consumer demand for Mobility is recovering faster than driver availability, and consumer demand for Delivery continues to exceed courier availability.”
IBM (IBM) is in the process of setting up a new independent company named Kyndryl that will be formed post-separation of its Managed Infrastructure Services business which is expected before year-end. Kyndryl’s Chief Executive Officer, Martin Schroeter, stated, “Our vision is to be the leading company that designs, runs and modernizes the critical technology infrastructure of the world’s most important businesses and institutions, ultimately powering human progress.”
