Mid-Morning Market Update: Markets Mixed; Catalent To Acquire Bettera

Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded down 0.13% to 35,408.32 while the NASDAQ rose 0.61% to 15,221.76. The S&P also rose, gaining 0.32% to 4,523.75.

The U.S. has the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world, reporting a total of 38,798,960 cases with around 637,530 deaths. India confirmed a total of at least 32,737,930 cases and 438,210 deaths, while Brazil reported over 20,741,810 COVID-19 cases with 579,300 deaths. In total, there were at least 216,465,710 cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 4,502,260 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

Leading and Lagging Sectors

Information technology shares gained 0.8% on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Support.com, Inc. SPRT, up 40% and Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM up 40%.

In trading on Monday, financial shares fell by 1.2%.

Top Headline

Catalent, Inc. CTLT reported weaker-than-expected earnings for its second quarter on Friday. The company also announced plans to acquire Bettera, a gummy manufacturer, for $1 billion.

Catalent posted quarterly adjusted earnings of $1.16 per share, missing market estimates of $1.03 per share. The company’s quarterly sales came in at $1.19 billion, versus estimates of $1.14 billion. Catalent said it sees FY22 sales of $4.30 billion to $4.50 billion, versus analysts’ estimates of $3.94 billion.

 

Equities Trading UP

Vinco Ventures, Inc. BBIG shares shot up 52% to $8.07 on abnormally high volume amid increasing interest in the stock from retail traders.

Shares of Support.com, Inc. SPRT got a boost, shooting 47% to $38.95 on abnormally high volume amid continued volatility. The stock has recently been mentioned as a potential short squeeze play by traders on social media.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. AFRM shares were also up, gaining 38% to $93.96 after the company on Friday announced a partnership with Amazon.com Inc AMZN allowing customers to purchase items with an installment plan.

Check out these big movers of the day

Equities Trading DOWN

Astra Space, Inc. ASTR shares tumbled 17% to $9.64 after the company announced its LV0006 launch vehicle failed to properly launch.

Shares of 22nd Century Group, Inc. XXII were down 14% to $3.4050. 22nd Century Group announced entry into the global specialty hops market.

DatChat, Inc. DATS was down, falling 13% to $7.37 after climbing 24% on Friday. DatChat reported a partnership with Rutgers University Computer Science through their industry affiliates program.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.7% to $68.29, while gold traded down 0.1% to $1,819.10.

Silver traded up 0.1% Monday to $24.065 while copper rose 0.9% to $4.3695.

Euro zone

European shares were mostly higher today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 rose 0.1%, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.1% and the German DAX 30 gained 0.2%. Meanwhile, the London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, French CAC 40 rose 0.2% and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.2%.

The economic sentiment indicator in the Eurozone declined to 117.5 in August versus an all-time high of 119.0 a month ago, while industry confidence indicator declined to 13.7 from 14.5. The consumer confidence indicator in the Eurozone was confirmed at -5.3 for August. Spain's consumer price inflation increased to 3.3% year-over-year in August from 2.9% in the prior month.

Economics

Pending home sales dropped 8.5% year-over-year in July.

The Dallas Fed manufacturing index for August will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET. The general activity index is expected to decline to 25.0 for August from 27.3 in July.

The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Check out the full economic calendar here