>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:

  • FDS -5%, CRON -3.6%, BECN -0.5%

Other news:

  • CPRX -6.3% (following Monday's 30% move higher)
  • MYOK -3.6% (announces proposed public offering of $200.0 mln of shares of its common stock), IQ -3.4% (proposes offering of $1.05 bln convertible senior notes due 2025)
  • CTMX -1.6% (announces departure of Debanjan Ray as CFO, effective May 15)

Analyst comments:

  • CRTO -3% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at SunTrust; downgraded to Sector Weight from Overweight at KeyBanc Capital Markets)
  • CMCM -2.3% (downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura)
  • THO -1.7% (initiated with an Underperform at BofA/Merrill)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance:

  • CONN +1%

Other news:

  • ALDX +55.5% (announces positive results from the Phase 3 ALLEVIATE Trial of 0.25% and 0.5% reproxalap topical ophthalmic solution in patients with allergic conjunctivitis -- trial met primary endpoint and key secondary endpoint for both concentrations of reproxalap)
  • BBBY +19.7% (WSJ reported three activists are trying to replace the entire Board and the CEO; Raymond James also upgraded to Strong Buy this morning)
  • SNE +2% (announces realignment of key businesses and executive appointments effective April 1)
  • TSLA +1.8% (A Federal judge has dismissed a Tesla production lawsuit.)
  • CELG +1.2% (submitted a New Drug Application to the FDA for ozanimod for the treatment of adults with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis )
  • BA +1.1% (will provide free software upgrades to airlines who purchased 737 Max plane)
  • VALE +1% (announces court decision regarding freezing of funds)
  • X +0.9% (following CNBC FastMoney mention)
  • BMY +0.9% (Bristol-Myers/Celgene (CELG) receive request for additional information and documentary materials from the FTC in connection with pending merger)
  • MEOH +0.8% (confirms it received notice from M&G Investment Management of intention to nominate 4 candidates for election to the Board) . 

Analyst comments:

  • INO +6.4% (initiated with Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald)
  • NVDA +2.3% (initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray)
  • NBEV +2.3% (initiated with a Buy at Alliance Global Partners)
  • BBT +1.6% (upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank)
  • AAPL +1% (tgt raised to $201 from $187 at Piper Jaffray)
  • VRTX +0.9% (upgraded to Outperform from Mkt Perform at William Blair)

>>> US Early premarket gappers

Early premarket gappers

Gapping up:

  • INO +5%, X +1.2%, INFO +1.2%, VALE +1%, SNE +0.8%, MEOH +0.8%, AAPL +0.6%

Gapping down:

  • CPRX -8.2%, MYOK -3.6%, IQ -3.5%, BECN -3.3%, ALDX -3.2%, CTMX -1.6%, CONN -0.5%

FT : Hedge fund ExodusPoint makes first EU sortie with Rexel short Electrical eq

Hedge fund ExodusPoint makes first EU sortie with Rexel short
Electrical equipment distributor’s shares have dropped 12 per cent in three weeks

A hedge fund that last year pulled off the biggest launch in history has opened up its first public short position in Europe with a bet against Rexel, the French electrical equipment distributor.

ExodusPoint Capital Management, a New York-based firm set up by former Millennium Management traders Michael Gelband and Hyung Lee with more than $8bn in assets, has disclosed that it has a 0.52 per cent short position in the Paris-based company, according to regulatory data.

The disclosure comes amid a pick-up in hedge fund bets against the French company, whose shares have dropped some 12 per cent in just three weeks, although they are still above the near-three-year-low they hit in January.

The proportion of Rexel’s shares outstanding — a good indicator of short interest — is running at 3 per cent, according to data group IHS Markit. That is their highest level since at least the start of October, when they were running at 1.1 per cent.

Last week hedge fund Citadel hiked its bet against Rexel to 1.12 per cent of the shares outstanding.

Mr Gelband, a Wall Street veteran, spent the first 24 years of his career at Lehman Brothers before leaving in 2007 in a disagreement with senior management over the future of the fixed-income business. Just 14 months later he returned to help oversee equities and bonds during the financial crisis.

He left Lehman for Millennium, where he was seen as heir apparent to Israel “Izzy” Englander, the firm’s founder. Mr Gelband set up ExodusPoint with Mr Lee in 2017 and started managing investor money last summer.

ExodusPoint now employs more than 200 people and invests in equities and fixed income, including government bonds, credit and emerging markets.

So far this year the fund, which was up 0.6 per cent last year, has gained 1.7 per cent, which puts it roughly neck-and-neck with Millennium, said a person familiar with the matter.

In its results last month, Rexel revealed a slight fall in European and Asia Pacific sales but a sharp rise in sales in the US.

On Monday UBS cut its price target on the company to €13.40 from €18, although it maintained a buy rating, citing “slowing but steady organic growth” of around 2 per cent.

“We believe that the market is not giving credit to the improved business model, especially in the US, despite the demonstrated market share gains in the last few quarters,” UBS wrote.

According to data group Breakout Point, the position in Rexel is ExodusPoint’s first to be disclosed within the EU.

Neither ExodusPoint nor Millennium responded to a request for comment. Rexel declined to comment.