?? 9 March 2023 – CrowdStrike, Merck, & Campbell Soup
Rise and shine, readers! ??
This Thursday morning read brings you all the latest corporate news you need to know for a well-rounded understanding of the stock market. Let’s grab a hot beverage and a snack and get started!
On Wednesday, stocks ended the day mixed after Fed Chair Jerome Powell appeared before Congress for a second time. The Dow lost 0.2%, the S&P 500 added 0.1%, and the tech-centric NASDAQ gained 0.4%.?
Powell stated the need to keep an open mind about upcoming interest rate increases, especially in light of stronger-than-expected economic data. ADP employment reports revealed the U.S. private sector raised 242,000 jobs in February, exceeding analyst estimates despite recent layoffs.
Nonfarm payroll data will provide more clarity for investors and for the Fed. The two-year Treasury note yield closed at 5.064%, while the 10-year yield hovered around 3.974%. The inversion causes concern about a possible recession.
Stay tuned for more!
CrowdStrike tops analyst estimates for fourth-quarter earnings and revenue; shares climb 3%
Cybersecurity firm?CrowdStrike (CRWD)?reported fourth-quarter financials that overshot Wall Street expectations, sending shares higher. For the quarter that ended January, revenue stood at $637.37 million, up 47.9% from a year earlier. Earnings per share came in at $0.47 with 23,019 new subscribers. On the flip side, the cloud security company posted a net loss of $47.5 million for the fourth quarter. For the fiscal year 2024, CrowdStrike predicts revenue between $2.96 billion and $3.02 billion – topping estimates once more!
Merck & Co signs deal with Opko Health to drive the experimental Epstein-Barr virus vaccine
On Wednesday,?Opko Health (OPK)?shares shot up after the company announced it closed a deal with?Merck & Co (MRK)?to expand its Epstein-Barr virus vaccine. The deal dictates that Merck will have to pay Opko $50 million upfront, with further milestone payments and royalties totaling up to nearly $922.5 million. Once Merck files the applications with Opko’s ModeX Therapeutics unit, the next step is human trials. If successful, the vaccine could help those battling mononucleosis – for which there is currently no vaccine!
Campbell Soup’s second quarter financial boosted by Goldfish cracker sales; shares rise 2%
For its second quarter,?Campbell Soup (CPB)?blew analyst predictions out of the water – and it is all thanks to its beloved Goldfish crackers. On Wednesday, the snack makers reported $1 billion in annual sales, with net earnings coming in at $232 million and diluted earnings per share at 80 cents. Sales stood at $2.5 billion - up 12%, with 21% consumption growth and a 0.7-point share gain. Organic net sales surged 13%, with strategies like targeted pricing and cost efficiencies. Campbell raised its outlook for 2023!