>>> US Gapping up



Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

  • AMKR +18.2%, VRNS +14.8%, TXRH +13.6%, HLIT +8.8%, SHOO +8.8%, LODE +6.2%, NXPI +4.9%, FMS +4.9%, INCY +4.5%, GRFS +4%, MLM +3.7%, PAG +3.7%, NMR +3.4%, EXLS +3.3%, CEQP +3.3%, TRTX +2.9%, I +2.9%, PFE +2.9%, MRK +2.7%, VSH +2.7%, OMF +2.6%, XRX +2.6%, AUDC +2.3%, AN +2.3%, APPF +2.1%, NEO +2.1%, PCH +1.8%, GLW +1.8%, LDOS +1.6%, IR +1.6%, NXRT +1.6%, RE +1.2%, RGS +1.2%, WH +1.2%, MMC +1.2%, ZBRA +1%, COP +0.8%, TBI +0.7%, AKAM +0.7%, FDP +0.7%

Other news:

  • MRTX +12% (announces first clinical results from Phase 1/2 trial evaluating MRTX849 in patients with solid tumors expressing KRAS G12C mutations)
  • FG +10.7% (to join S&P SmallCap 600)
  • TALO +6.7% (to join S&P SmallCap 600)
  • S +2.1% (ahead of earnings on Oct 30 before the open; also following TMUS results)
  • NXRT +1.6% (increases quarterly dividend to $0.3125 per share from $0.275 per share)

Analyst comments:

  • DCPH +2.4% (upgraded to Mkt Perform from Underperform at SVB Leerink)
  • DRNA +1.7% (initiated with Outperform at Robert W. Baird)
  • UPS +0.9% (initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo)

>>> US; Early premarket gappers


Early premarket gappers

  • Gapping up:
    • MRTX +22.5%, AMKR +18.2%, VRNS +14.8%, TXRH +12.7%, FG +8.3%, TALO +6.7%, HLIT +6.6%, NXPI +5.4%, LDOS +4.6%, XRX +3.9%, EXLS +3.3%, AUDC +3.1%, TRTX +2.9%, I +2.9%, OMF +2.6%, APPF +2.6%, ZBRA +2.5%, ZBRA +2.5%, LEG +2.1%, RIG +1.9%, PCH +1.8%, SLCA +1.8%, DRNA +1.7%, IR +1.4%, INST +1.3%, RE +1.2%, WH +1.2%, S +0.8%
  • Gapping down:
    • GRUB -35.8%, SANM -15.9%, BYND -13.4%, OFIX -12.8%, OI -11.7%, CR -11.3%, XNET -9.6%, HEXO -7.3%, TREX -4.3%, GDI -4.1%, CGNX -3.5%, BP -2.9%, WGO -2.8%, MEDP -2.6%, BRX -2.2%, TCF -2.1%, GOOG -1.9%, ORAN -1.7%, NOV -1.2%, CVCO -1.1%, SHOP -1%

FT : US tech titans prepare for Brussels’ regulation

US tech titans prepare for Brussels’ regulation
A promised Digital Services Act will try to legislate and clarify rules on illegal content, disinformation and ad transparency

The era of self-regulation for tech giants in the EU is coming to an end. Later on Tuesday, the European Commission will publish its first (and perhaps last) annual report on how US tech titans — Google, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter — are complying with Brussels’ voluntary “code of conduct” to combat online disinformation. 

The results, as ever, are mixed. According to a copy of the report seen by the FT, the platforms win praise for proactively removing fake accounts, toughening up rules on who can place ads on their platforms (especially Facebook), and working with independent fact-checkers to monitor the spread of hateful content.

Despite hailing the “comprehensive efforts” made by platforms against hate speech, the commission criticises the still patchy reporting that tech companies are willing to disclose to Brussels.

The report notes that access to data for fact-checkers is still “episodic and arbitrary”. Facebook reports that it removed 2.19bn fake accounts in the first quarter of the year but doesn't say how many of those were in the EU. All the platforms are told they need to disclose more information about how disinformation campaigns can “manipulate voters . . . or more broadly artificially shape public discourse”. 

The code of conduct was established in 2016 to push platforms to get serious about the proliferation of hate speech and illegal content on their sites. In the run-up to the European elections last year, Brussels asked tech companies to provide monthly monitoring reports on fake news and potential foreign interference ahead of the vote. 

The code was designed to encourage the likes of YouTube and Facebook to self-regulate rather than have sweeping EU-wide legislation come down on them. But that battle looks to have been lost. The incoming commission has promised a Digital Services Act (DSA) by the end of next year that will try to legislate and clarify rules on illegal content, disinformation and ad transparency for any digital company operating in the EU.

One EU official describes the incoming DSA as the “biggest battle” in European tech policy that will probably outlive the multiyear fight about privacy and the General Data Protection Regulation in the last commission. Another official calls the DSA “a bulldozer which will take five years” to agree.

The lobbying wars over what should or should not be in the Act has already begun. Netzpolitik has got hold of the minutes of a private conversation between YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar in the summer, where Wojcicki urged Ireland to back a “responsible” approach to content moderation in the EU. 

But with no new commission in office and the nominated French commissioner in charge of the DSA awaiting a grilling from MEPs, there is little clarity about what the Act will or will not do. 

On the broader principle of making platforms more responsible for content posted by users, Aleksandra Kuczerawy, a researcher in intellectual property law at the University of Leuven, says tech companies should start getting ready for new legislation in the EU. 

“Platforms can’t say that they are passive hosts or just technical providers. Nobody believes that any more,” says Kuczerawy.

FT : Saudi Aramco plans November 3 IPO launch

Saudi Aramco plans November 3 IPO launch
Long-awaited listing has been delayed several times amid valuation stand-off

Saudi Aramco is to launch it much-anticipated initial public offering on November 3, Saudi-owned television reported.

The partial privatisation of the state oil company, which is the world’s most profitable company, has been delayed several times since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman first announced his intention to sell up to 5 per cent of the firm in 2015.

The main sticking point has been the heir apparent’s desire for the company to achieve a $2tn valuation, while bankers say $1tn to $1.5tn is more realistic.

But Al Arabiya television, a Saudi-owned television station, said the IPO announcement will be on Sunday and the company will list on the Tadawul, the kingdom’s stock market, on December 4.

Aramco, the Tadawul and the Capital Market Authority, declined to comment.

FT : Arnault’s LVMH hunts for breakfast at Tiffany’s

Arnault’s LVMH hunts for breakfast at Tiffany’s


It backfired for Hock Tan, but will Bernard Arnault, Europe’s richest man and the mastermind behind the world’s most powerful luxury group LVMH, have better luck? 

LVMH confirmed on Monday that it had made a $14.5bn all-cash bid for US jeweller group Tiffany & Co. That makes this at least the second high-profile US corporate takeover attempt that was set in motion just as the boss behind the would-be buyer was cozying up publicly to President Donald Trump. 

Recall that Tan, chief executive of Broadcom, was secretly making a move on chipmaker Qualcomm as he declared in the White House next to Trump that his company was moving its legal base and headquarters back to the US. Despite the charm offensive, Tan’s bid ended in disaster and humiliation, with the US government blocking Broadcom in brutal fashion. 

Enter Arnault, below left. The aptly nicknamed “wolf in cashmere” appeared in Texas with Trump to inaugurate a new workshop where LVMH’s Louis Vuitton would create 1,000 jobs and make “IN THE USA” its famous monogrammed handbags. It raised eyebrows in fashion circles, but it was chalked up to pandering-as-usual to America’s ego-in-chief, who called the brand “Looie VOO-ton” and joked that it had “cost me a lot of money over the years”. 


Little did we know that on October 15, Arnault had submitted an offer letter for the US jewellery brand that Trump reportedly named one of his daughters after. That may explain the smirk on his face above. 

The $120 per share bid valued Tiffany, which was immortalised in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, at $14.9bn including debt. The Arnault camp is claiming that’s a 33 per cent premium to the company’s undisturbed share price. 

The problem for them is that — somehow, magically, shares in Tiffany soared in the back half of last week — which makes the price he offered two weeks ago look lighter than it was. 

Their bid was flushed out over the weekend after having not heard back from the Tiffany board. LVMH put out a terse statement on Monday morning referring to preliminary discussions. Tiffany responded by confirming receipt of an offer from “LMVH” or as Alphaville joked Louis Mutton Voet Hennessy and said it is not in talks with any party. 

We are journalists at DD and therefore sympathetic to the odd typo. What to do when your ultra-pricey external communications and in-house comms team makes the mistake? Below you can see the original press release which was later corrected. (Also, not a vote of confidence for those using the inscriptions services at Tiffany.)


A takeover fight with Arnault is typically the stuff of legend. Earlier this year, we held an entire retrospective as part of the Due Diligence Forum in London on the time he tried (unsuccessfully) to buy Gucci. Interestingly, Skadden Arps — the law firm that helped defend Gucci back then — is now working with LVMH. 

The lesson from that battle and other Arnault fights is that, when the billionaire sets his sights on a target, he rarely loses. And in the instances where he doesn’t get exactly what he wants, he still finds a way to make money from the situation. With that in mind, Tiffany’s defence advisers have more than spelling mistakes to worry about.