Bill Ackman Thinks Rival Icahn's Firm Still Overvalued, Nvidia Nears $1 Trillion Market Cap, Freshpet's Largest Shareholder Pushes For Board Overhaul: Today's Top Stories

Benzinga

Bill Ackman Thinks Rival Icahn's Firm Still Overvalued After Hindenburg Report: 'Reminds Me Somewhat Of Archegos'

• Pershing Square Capital Management founder and CEO Bill Ackman weighed in on billionaire Carl Icahn and his company following the release of a short report by Hindenburg Research. Ackman commented that there were some interesting takeaways from the unfolding situation.
• Ackman commented on the situation, stating that the key lesson learned is that a controlling shareholder with a small float and significant dividends can cause the company's stock to trade at a large premium to its intrinsic value. He indicated that the best approximation of intrinsic value is the net asset value (NAV) per share.

Nvidia Nears $1 Trillion Market Cap: How Much It Needs To Gain Thursday To Hit Milestone

• Nvidia Corp NVDA stock skyrocketed immediately after the company reported a first-quarter beat and forecast strong revenue growth for the second quarter.
•  Nvidia's market cap based on its after-hours price is about $940 billion, while at the regular session's closing price, its valuation was about $755 billion.
• For Nvidia to hit the $1 trillion market cap, the stock has to rally to $405. 

Grab Co-founder Tan Hooi Ling To Depart By 2023 End

• Grab Holdings Limited GRAB co-founder Tan Hooi Ling prepared to relinquish her operational and board roles by 2023 end.
• Tan will transition into an advisory role with the ride-hailing and food-delivery company.
• She co-founded Grab with Anthony Tan, Group CEO, in 2012.
• Tan currently leads Grab's technology organization and is mentoring the next generation of technology leaders.

Airbus Bags Order For 43 Helicopters From Air Corporate, Marks Its Largest Ever Commercial Helicopter Deal In Italy

• Airbus SE EADSY EADSF has received a firm order for 43 helicopters from business aviation operator Air Corporate in Italy. The financial terms were not disclosed.
• The order is Airbus' largest commercial helicopter deal in Italy. 
• The deal was received on the final day of The 2023 European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition.

Palantir Technologies Powers Ukraine's Digital Transformation in Defense and Reconstruction Efforts

• Palantir Technologies Inc PLTR stock is up Thursday after it disclosed a collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine to support the defense and reconstruction of the country in the wake of the Russian invasion.
• The deal will pave the way for cooperation in critical areas like cataloging, assessing damage to buildings and infrastructure, and harnessing software to optimize reconstruction.
• It will support and coordinate a digitally-led reconstruction of Ukraine.

Medtronic Stock Falls After Q4 Earnings and M&A Deal: Here's Why

• Medtronic Plc's MDT Q4 FY23 sales of $8.54 billion, up 5.6% Y/Y as reported and organic, ahead of expectations, beating the consensus of $8.25 billion.
• The company expects FY24 organic revenue growth of 4.5%-4.5%, with adjusted EPS of $5.00-$5.10, compared to the consensus of $5.20.
• Medtronic has agreed to acquire Korea-based EOFlow Co Ltd, manufacturer of the EOPatch device — a tubeless, wearable, and fully disposable insulin delivery device. 

Why Dollar Tree Shares Are Plunging Today

• Dollar Tree Inc DLTR reported first-quarter FY23 sales growth of 6% year-on-year to $7.32 billion, beating the consensus of $7.28 billion.
• Adjusted EPS of $1.47 missed the consensus of $1.52.
• Dollar Tree sees Q2 sales of $7 billion - $7.2 billion versus the consensus of $7.15 billion.
• The company expects Q2 EPS of $0.79 - $0.89, below the consensus of $1.22.

 

Financial Times

Softbank-Backed Arm Eyes Commercial Blockbuster Products Ahead Of IPO, Shelves Flagship Division

• Softbank Group Corp SFTBF SFTBY owned chip designer Arm Ltd eased down on its "blue sky" research by shelving a flagship tech division and focusing on more commercially viable products ahead of its public listing.
• The chipmaker separated Arm Research in 2022 under CEO Rene Haas, which involved downsizing by 15%. Also, the company redeployed more than half the people working in Arm Research into other parts of the organization.

 

Wall Street Journal

Freshpet's Largest Shareholder, Jana Partners, Pushes for Strategic Overhaul

• Jana Partners plans to launch a proxy battle with Freshpet Inc FRPT and nominate four directors.
• Jana is the largest shareholder in the pet food company, with an approximate stake of 9.3%.
• Jana says in the letter that more than half of Freshpet's independent directors "pursued outside interests with corporate resources and key members of management." 

 

Bloomberg

VinFast Recalls 999 Of Its First SUVs To US Over Software Issue

• Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast has recalled 999 sports utility vehicles (SUV) shipped to the U.S.
• The decision was made after malfunctioning software posed the risk of the car's main screen blanking out.
• The automaker is expected to produce an over-the-air software update that will help fix the issue.

Here's How Apple Is Making iPhone More Useful Via iOS 17 When Lying Idle And A Lot More

• Apple Inc AAPL eyed a new interface for iPhones to make them more useful while lying idle via its iOS 17 software update, Dawn, which will reach consumers in 2023.
• The new interface will show information, including calendar appointments, the weather, and notifications in the style of a smart-home display.
• Apple plans to showcase the software launch alongside its mixed-reality headset at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 5.

 

Reuters

Carl Icahn's Power Play at Illumina: Potential Board Changes and Management Overhaul

• According to undisclosed sources, activist investor Carl Icahn is poised to secure enough shareholder support to place Andrew Teno, an Icahn nominee, to join the board of Illumina Inc ILMN.
• However, it should be noted that the tally has not yet been finalized, and shareholders still have the opportunity to modify their votes before the commencement of the company's annual shareholder meeting on Thursday.

Chevron Seeks Profitability Shift with Sale of Congo Operations for $1.5B

• Chevron Corporation CVX plans to sell its oil and gas assets in Congo to focus on more profitable production.
• The Congo assets could fetch up to $1.5 billion.
• The plan to sell its Congo-based operations is because the energy behemoth wants to shift its focus more towards newer operations and more profitable production.

EV Startup Arrival Gets Hope For Survival From US IRA Subsidies

• Arrival ARVL reportedly expects its recently disclosed merger deal and significant subsidies from the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to drive its business growth.
• Last month, the company announced a merger with Kensington Capital Acquisition Corp V KCGI.
• The merger will allow Arrival access to up to $283 million of cash to build a factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, to develop the company's XL van. 

 

SCMP

Alibaba Gets Better of Amazon: US E-Commerce Giant Prepares To Shut China App Store Amid Rivalry and Regulatory Headwinds

• Amazon.Com Inc AMZN looks to close its official app store in China on July 17, following plans to shut down its Kindle e-book service in 2022.
• The company also prepared to discontinue its Amazon Appstore, launched in 2011 as an alternative to Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google for Android phone users to install apps and games.
• The company did not provide any reason for the closure.

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