Early this morning, U.S. stock futures were on the rise. Notably, Nasdaq futures surged by over 100 points on Friday, bringing a glimmer of hope to investors.
However, the news was not all rosy for shareholders of iRobot Corporation. Their stocks took a nosedive in today’s pre-market trading session following reports that the European Union’s competition watchdog is set to veto Amazon.com Inc’s $1.7-billion acquisition of iRobot. This grim revelation, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, has caused iRobot shares to plummet by a staggering 35.8% to $15.16.
And iRobot isn’t the only company facing a bumpy pre-market ride with AST SpaceMobile, Inc. also witnessing a substantial 18.5% drop to $3.39. The unsettling trend continued as several other big stocks recorded significant losses in today’s pre-market trading session.
- AST SpaceMobile, Inc. ASTS shares tumbled 18.5% to $3.39 in pre-market trading. Investors were disheartened by AST SpaceMobile’s announcement of a $100 million offering of common stock, coupled with their strategic investment from AT&T Inc, Alphabet Inc, and Vodafone.
- MorphoSys AG MOR also witnessed a decline of 10.7% to $9.14, after dropping 6% on Wednesday. This decline followed a downgrade by Morgan Stanley analyst James Quigley, who lowered MorphoSys from Overweight to Equal-Weight.
- Absci Corporation ABSI shares fell 5.8% to $3.41 in pre-market trading, despite the recent appointment of seasoned R&D executive Professor Sir Menelas “Mene” Pangalos to its Board of Directors and as co-chair of Absci’s Scientific Advisory Board.
- Diversified Energy Company PLC DEC shares also declined by 4.2% to $12.00 in pre-market trading.
- XPeng Inc. XPEV shares fell 3.9% to $9.49 in pre-market trading, following a decline of over 2% on Thursday.
- Chegg, Inc. CHGG shares also fell 3.7% to $9.69 in pre-market trading. This decline followed a downgrade by Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan, who shifted his rating from Neutral to Sell and lowered the price target from $10 to $8.
- Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. ARQT witnessed a 3.1% drop to $3.17 in pre-market trading, after Arcutis Canada announced the acceptance of the supplement to a new drug submission for Roflumilast Foam 0.3% for seborrheic dermatitis in individuals 9 years of age and older.
Given these startling developments, investors are bracing themselves for a turbulent day in the market. The journey of these stocks, once on the trajectory to success, has been derailed. As investors confront these unfortunate outcomes, they continue to hold onto the hope that the market can, against all odds, spring a surprise comeback.
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