Early Bird
Posts
Bill Ackman's Bid Gets Rejected

Bill Ackman's Bid Gets Rejected

August 21, 2023

Photo by Daniel Herron / Unsplash

Today is Monday, August 21, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 54.46.

New to this newsletter? Sign up here

Turn Up the Heat on Your Crypto Game! (Sponsored)

Grow your ETH, WBTC, OP or USDC holdings with an automated strategy that's low risk and offers high returns by joining the Hot Tub: a set of vaults on Optimism enabling anyone to soak up the profits from arbitrage trading.

Dip into the Hot Tub

Bill Ackman's Bid Gets Rejected

Hedge fund Sculptor Capital Management (NYSE: SCU) rejected an unsolicited proposal to buy the company on Sunday, saying that the “bidder has not demonstrated adequate committed funding.”

Details: The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, along with Marc Lasry and Boaz Weinstein, made a rival offer for Sculptor. The report comes weeks after Sculptor agreed to be acquired by another company.

Stock Price: Sculptor is up 31% this year, including an 18.9% increase in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: An acquisition would be beneficial for investors of Sculptor, especially as the company has faced many ups and downs over the past year.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Zoom Video Communications (Nasdaq: ZM), Fabrinet (NYSE: FN), Nordson (Nasdaq: NDSN), Flexsteel Industries (Nasdaq: FLXS), Qifu Technology (Nasdaq: QFIN), Lufax (NYSE: LU), Motorsport Games (Nasdaq: MSGM).

Notable IPOs Today: Bukit Jalil Global Acquisition 1 Ltd. Ordinary Shares (Nasdaq; BUJA), Regency Centers Corporation 5.875% Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (Nasdaq: REGCO), Regency Centers Corporation 6.25% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (Nasdaq: REGCP).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Allergenis (StartEngine), B.T.R. NATION (Republic), Lucky Carrot (Republic), Blackout Coffee (StartEngine), Nunbelievable (Republic), Yasheng Group (PicMii).

Notable Economic Events Today: N/A.

Fallout From CVS Health’s Bad News

Photo by Fern M. Lomibao / Unsplash

Shares of CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) plummeted last week after Blue Shield of California dropped some of the health giant’s pharmacy services.

Details: A big chunk of CVS Health’s revenue comes from its role as a pharmacy benefit manager for health plans.

Stock Price: CVS is down over 28% this year, including a 10% drop in the last 30 days.

Final Thoughts: Healthcare stocks were already having a bad year. This decision by Blue Shield of California could be bad for CVS and other competitors. Keep an eye on UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and Cigna (NYSE: CI), which are companies that also act as pharmacy benefit managers.

As China’s Economy Craters, So Do Stocks Tied To China

There’s a reason why stock prices for China-based companies, as well as those international companies that do a lot of business in China, are declining right now.

Background: China is going through a serious economic slowdown. In particular, the real estate and property markets are struggling. Property developer China Evergrande Group (OTCMKTS: EGRNF) filed for bankruptcy last week and is down 99% this year.

Also: It’s not just real estate in China that is problematic. Consumer spending in China is down, as is factory production. Youth unemployment has skyrocketed.

Stocks: What are some stocks that do a lot of business in China? There’s Starbucks (SBUX), Nike (NKE), and Las Vegas Sands (LVS) to start. Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) have factories there.

Final Thoughts: The economic mess in China could drag down stocks across the world.