>>> US After Hours Summary: APPS +13.9%, SMTC +6.1%, MOD +1.4% higher on earning

After Hours Summary: APPS +13.9%, SMTC +6.1%, MOD +1.4% higher on earnings; ZS -18.6% lower on earnings; VRRM -41.7% under heavy pressure after Avis Budget terminates contract

After Hours Gainers:

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: APPS +13.9%, SMTC +6.1%, MOD +1.4%, OOMA +1.3%, KLRA +0.1% (also provides clinical data updates),

Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: VRDN +4.1% (enters commercial manufacturing services agreement with WuXi Biologics), MYGN +3.9% (launches Prolaris + AI), APGE +2.8% (to report Part B 16-week data from the Phase 2 APEX trial of zumilokibart), HIMS +1.9% (Director bought 48,400 shares at $24.235 worth ~$1.173 mln), DELL +1.4% (IREN enters purchase agreement with Dell for air-cooled Blackwell systems), SNEX +1.1% (approves 3-for-2 split of common stock), RMBS +1.1% (announces its complete DDR5 9600 Client Memory Module Chipset), NN +1% (stock offering, relates to warrants), DD +0.7% (reverse stock split; also reaffirms Q2 and FY26 guidance), NCLH +0.6% (CEO bought 153000 shares at $16.37 worth ~$2.5 mln), IREN +0.4% (purchase agreement with Dell for air-cooled Blackwell systems), RKLB +0.2% (completes acquisition of Motiv Space Systems), LULU +0.2% (close to settlement with founder Chip Wilson to end proxy fight, according to Reuters), BNT +0.2% (board approval for corporate simplification)

After Hours Losers:

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ZS -18.6%, TRNS -4%, BOX -2.9%

Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: VRRM -41.7% (termination notice from Avis Budget Group regarding its contract with the company; revises FY26 guidance), FPS -6.9% (stock offering by co and selling stockholders), MWH -6.3% (stock offering), PODD -6.1% (voluntary medical device correction for certain Omnipod Pods in the U.S.), FLY -4.8% (awarded a $75 mln subcontract from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; also stock offering by co and selling stockholders), BN -0.7% (board approval for corporate simplification), BILL -0.6% (executive leadership appointments and organizational updates), RTX -0.2% ($1.02 bln firm-fexed-price Army contract for the procurement of NASAMS fire units), XRAY -0.1% (expanded partnership with Nashville Dental)

>>> VOl DIspersion : AB InBev, Safran, Siemens Energy, TotalEnergies

  • Highest vol dispersion:
    • Bayer (YTD: +2.5%; RSI: 45); IV 49.5 vs RV 30 with vol dispersion of 24.7; IV in the 74th percentile
    • Adyen (YTD: -29.5%; RSI: 56); IV 41 vs RV 32 with vol dispersion of 14.2; IV in the 38th percentile
    • Siemens Energy (YTD: +51.2%; RSI: 58); IV 50.8 vs RV 43.6 with vol dispersion of 12.3; IV in the 51st percentile
    • EssilorLuxottica (YTD: -34.7%; RSI: 38); IV 34.1 vs RV 30.1 with vol dispersion of 9.1; IV in the 76th percentile
    • TotalEnergies (YTD: +42.2%; RSI: 52); IV 26 vs RV 22.7 with vol dispersion of 8.4; IV in the 76th percentile
  • Lowest vol dispersion:
    • AB InBev (YTD: +30.8%; RSI: 64); IV 19.6 vs RV 41.4 with vol dispersion of -16.6; IV in the 35th percentile
    • Deutsche Post (YTD: +11.3%; RSI: 60); IV 25 vs RV 46.4 with vol dispersion of -16.3; IV in the 50th percentile
    • Rheinmetall (YTD: -20%; RSI: 43); IV 44.2 vs RV 58.1 with vol dispersion of -8.8; IV in the 38th percentile
    • Safran (YTD: +0.3%; RSI: 55); IV 35.5 vs RV 49.4 with vol dispersion of -8.8; IV in the 84th percentile
    • Munich Re (YTD: -11.9%; RSI: 35); IV 21.5 vs RV 35.1 with vol dispersion of -8.5; IV in the 48th percentile

FT : Brussels set to open in-depth probe into JD.com’s takeover of Ceconomy

Brussels set to open in-depth probe into JD.com’s takeover of Ceconomy
Decision would be first time EU conducted detailed review of Chinese takeover

Brussels is set to launch an in-depth foreign subsidies investigation into Chinese ecommerce group JD.com’s bid for German electronics retailer Ceconomy, in the latest sign the EU is taking a more aggressive stance towards Beijing.

The decision, which people familiar with the matter said was expected to be announced later this week, would be the first time a Chinese takeover has been the target of a detailed probe under the EU’s foreign subsidies rules and comes ahead of a debate among commissioners on the bloc’s stance towards China.

China’s JD.com launched its €2.2bn bid for Ceconomy, which operates more than 1,000 stores across Europe under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands, last July. 

Billed as one of the largest Chinese investments in Europe in recent years, the deal was initially expected to close in the first half of 2026.

But the European Commission has decided to pursue an in-depth probe that will hand Brussels an extra 90 working days to examine whether the deal involves unfair subsidies, people briefed on the decision said, in a move that threatens to further complicate the transaction.

The EU’s foreign subsidy regulations allow Brussels to block companies subsidised by foreign governments from public procurement, mergers and acquisitions.

Although not specifically aimed at China, the rules have been used to target Chinese companies amid growing concern that oversupply by the world’s largest manufacturer is jeopardising European industry.

The EU’s competition chief Teresa Ribera has previously said the bloc is set to pursue more subsidy investigations against foreign companies investing in the bloc as it steps up efforts to combat what it sees as unfair competition.

JD.com is one of China’s largest online retailers, competing with Chinese groups Alibaba and Meituan, and already operates logistics hubs in the UK, France and Germany.

The company considered a bid for UK electronics retailer Currys, but withdrew its interest in March 2024.

Austria’s foreign investment watchdog had already raised concerns about JD.com’s planned acquisition of the MediaMarkt owner, and a German decision also remains outstanding.

A spokesperson for the European Commission declined to comment. Ceconomy also declined to comment. JD.com did not reply to a request for comment.

WSJ : Lilly Agrees to Buys Trio of Vaccine Developers

Lilly Agrees to Buys Trio of Vaccine Developers
Weight-loss drug market leader is renewing focus on infectious-disease prevention


Eli Lilly LLY 2.24%increase; green up pointing triangle agreed to acquire three vaccine developers in deals worth up to nearly $4 billion combined, the company told The Wall Street Journal.

The deals, to be announced later Tuesday, mark a new push by the weight-loss drug market leader into infectious-disease prevention.

The details
Indianapolis-based Lilly has agreed to acquire Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Co.

Curevo is developing a shingles vaccine that Lilly believes could be as effective as the current standard but with reduced side effects, said Daniel Skovronsky, Lilly’s chief scientific and product officer. Lilly could pay up to $1.5 billion in cash for Curevo, including an undisclosed upfront payment and a potential subsequent payment if a certain milestone is met.

LimmaTech is developing vaccines against bacterial pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus. Lilly agreed to pay up to $780 million in cash for LimmaTech, including an undisclosed upfront payment and additional payments for certain clinical and regulatory milestones.

Vaccine Co. is developing a vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus. Lilly agreed to pay up to $1.55 billion in cash including an undisclosed upfront payment and potential clinical and commercial milestone payments.

The context
Lilly has had infectious-disease products in the past, including one of the original polio vaccines and Covid-19 antibodies, but the segment hasn’t been a key area of focus at the company for a while. If the new acquisitions pan out, vaccines could become a core focus joining diabetes, obesity, cancer, immunology and neurodegeneration.

Lilly is approaching dealmaking from a position of strength, flush with cash from its successful GLP-1 drugs, including Zepbound for weight loss and Mounjaro for diabetes. It recently agreed to several acquisitions of companies developing drugs for cancer, sleep disorders and autoimmune diseases, each valued at less than $10 billion.

Curevo’s shingles vaccine has completed a midstage clinical trial and is likely a few years away from becoming a commercial product, assuming it clears a larger, late-stage study and regulatory approval, Skovronsky said. Shingles vaccines are recommended for U.S. adults ages 50 and older.

LimmaTech’s staph vaccine, if successful in testing, could be given to patients before surgeries to ward off staph infections. There is no licensed vaccine for staph aureus.

The vaccine that Vaccine Co. is developing could protect against mononucleosis and potentially reduce long-term risk of multiple sclerosis, Skovronsky said. There is no licensed vaccine against Epstein-Barr virus.

“The burden of infectious disease around the world continues to be high and in many cases growing,” Skovronsky said. “And we think we have the scientific tools now to address them.”

FT : ByteDance offers AI team special stock to fend off poaching

ByteDance offers AI team special stock to fend off poaching
TikTok owner issues shares tied to AI business unit as China’s tech talent war heats up

ByteDance is offering special stock to employees of its AI lab to fend off poaching from rivals as China’s tech talent war heats up.

The Beijing-based owner of TikTok is offering low-priced stock options linked to its Seed AI division to employees of the unit, according to four people with knowledge of the incentive. It is the first time ByteDance has issued shares tied to a specific business unit.

The structure gives staff exposure to Seed’s growth without dilution from ByteDance’s other business lines. The move is meant to keep staff at the company after rivals including Tencent began poaching members of its top research team.

Like in Silicon Valley, a fierce talent war is under way in China, particularly for engineers specialising in infrastructure and data labelling, areas viewed as critical to improving AI model efficiency amid constrained computing resources.

ByteDance, which aggressively recruited for Seed after establishing the lab in 2023, is widely regarded as having one of the highest concentrations of elite AI researchers in China. The company made early and large bets on AI infrastructure, becoming Nvidia’s largest Chinese customer.

Tencent conceded late last year that it had fallen behind competitors in the development of large language models and has intensified its hiring push in recent months, including targeting ByteDance staff.

Recent high-profile departures include Xiao Xuefeng, a senior member of Seed’s visual AI platform, and Zhang Chi, an infrastructure specialist, who both left for Tencent. The recruitment drive has been led by Yao Shunyu, a prominent AI researcher who joined Tencent from OpenAI last year.

To stem the tide, ByteDance offered Seed employees around the world the option to buy so-called Doubao stock at $13 a piece this month, according to the people with knowledge of the incentive.

Their value has risen almost 30 per cent since the end of last year, when the units were priced at about $10, the people added, reflecting faster commercialisation of ByteDance’s LLMs in the cloud business and better model performance. The valuation is also low compared with those of rival AI labs in China, implying significant potential gains for employees.

The compensation method is controversial because it can create internal division, discourage collaboration and make it harder for talent to move internally.

While ByteDance has built one of China’s largest AI research operations, several insiders said the organisation had become overly bureaucratic, with responsibilities fragmented across teams. Seed has about 2,000 employees, including core researchers, infrastructure engineers, a data labelling team and translators.

Tencent’s AI operation, by contrast, is smaller and offers researchers greater scope over projects and decision making, said the insiders. The company has sought to attract Seed employees with promises of more lucrative compensation packages and broader managerial responsibilities.

DeepSeek is also contending with fierce talent competition. The Hangzhou-based lab is fundraising for its first round with investors, in part to retain top researchers, the FT previously reported.

DeepSeek gained recognition last year for its powerful R1 model built with limited chip resources, but the breakthrough has made it vulnerable to deep-pocketed rivals. ByteDance poached several members of its infrastructure team last year, according to a person with knowledge of the hires.

ByteDance, DeepSeek and Tencent did not respond to requests for comment.