Futures tied to the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq 100 were advancing 0.30%, 0.28% and 0.20%, respectively, in Wednesday’s pre-market trading on hopes of a new COVID-19 financial stimulus deal. Also, today the focus will be on the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting this year.
Tilray shares surged 32% in the pre-market session in reaction to a Bloomberg report that the company is in advanced merger talks with Aphria to form the biggest cannabis entity. As per Bloomberg, a deal could be announced as early as this week. The combined entity is expected to retain the Tilray name, while Aphria’s CEO Irwin Simon could be appointed as CEO of the new company. If the deal goes through, the combined company will hold a 19% share of the Canadian recreational cannabis market with annual revenue of C$930 million.
More on the deal front, GoDaddy has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire payment processing company Poynt for $320 million in cash and $45 million in deferred cash payments, contingent on certain performance and employment conditions over three years. The transaction is expected to close in 1Q21. GoDaddy believes that the Poynt deal accelerates its strategy to provide a complete suite of commerce and payment services to customers.
Dish Network shares fell over 3% in pre-market trading today in reaction to the news that the company is offering $2 billion in convertible notes to finance its 5G buildout. The company expects to grant to the initial purchaser an option to buy up to an additional $300 million in aggregate principal amount of the notes to cover over-allotments.
Meanwhile, discount retailer Ollie’s Bargain has announced a $100 million increase in its share buyback program, bringing the aggregate limit to $159.6 million. The company increased its share buyback limit supported by strong financial performance and cash flows. The authorization of the additional $100 million expires on January 13, 2023.
In earnings news, shares of Aspen Group were down 6.6% pre-market today as the education technology company posted a higher-than-expected adjusted loss per share of $0.05 in 2Q FY21, compared to analysts’ estimate of a loss per share of $0.03. The bottom line was adversely impacted by higher marketing spending and growth investments. Meanwhile, 2Q revenue rose 40% to $17.0 million, exceeding analysts’ estimate of $15.6 million.
Shares of Everspin Technologies were down 8.3% in today’s pre-market trading in reaction to the resignation of the company’s CEO and President Kevin Conley, effective Jan. 30, 2021. The semiconductor company named non-executive chairman Darin Billerbeck as the executive chairman of the board and the interim CEO. Additionally, it lowered its 4Q revenue guidance to the range of $10.1 million-$10.5 million from the previous outlook range of $10.1 million-$10.9 million.
Finally, Franklin Resources announced a 3.7% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.28 per share. The new dividend will be paid on Jan. 15, 2021, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 31, 2020. With this hike, the company’s annual dividend comes in at $1.12 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.1%.
