ESPN Bets on PENN Entertainment

Today is Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

The Early Bird Index today is 58.10.

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ESPN Bets on PENN Entertainment

PENN Entertainment (Nasdaq: PENN) rebranded its sportsbook to ESPN Bet on Tuesday, which caused shares of the gaming company to surge by 12.96% in after-hours trading.

Details: The deal to rename its sportsbook to ESPN Bet includes a $1.5 billion cash payment to ESPN. Penn also gave ESPN $500 million of warrants to purchase Penn shares.

Powering the Story: This is the first time that ESPN, which is owned by Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), has launched a sportsbook for gambling. ESPN has been struggling in recent years with declines in viewership and revenue.

Stock Price: Penn is down 15% this year, including a 4% decline in the last 30 days. Disney is also down for the year.

Final Thoughts: Both Penn and Disney report financial results today. Disney is hoping to turn things around after a bad start to 2023.

Notables

Notable Earnings Today: Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), Plug Power (Nasdaq: PLUG), PENN Entertainment (Nasdaq: PENN), The Trade Desk (Nasdaq: TTD), AppLovin (Nasdaq: APP), Jack In The Box (Nasdaq: JACK), Warby Parker (NYSE: WRBY), GoodRx (Nasdaq: GDRX), Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN), 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD), Alarm.com (Nasdaq: ALRM), Ballard Power (Nasdaq: BLDP), Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE), Coeur Mining (NYSE: CDE), EnerSys (NYSEL: ENS), Genpact (NYSE: G), Canopy Growth (Nasdq: CGC), Nuvei (Nasdaq: NVEI), Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN), Village Farms (Nasdaq: VFF), Magnite (Nasdaq: MGNI), Wendy's (Nasdaq: WEN), Jazz Pharma (Nasdaq: JAZZ), Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF.A), LL Flooring Holdings (NYSE: LL), Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC), Nomad Foods (NYSE: NOMD), ODP (Nasdaq: ODP), Ginkgo Bioworks (NYSE: DNA), Proterra (Nasdaq: PTRA), Vertex (Nasdaq: VTRN), Copa Holdings (NYSE: CPA), International Seaways (NYSE: INSW), Sonos (Nasdaq: SONO), Infinera (Nasdaq: INFN), OGE Energy (NYSE: OGE), Pan Am Silver (NYSE: PAAS), Reynolds Consumer Products (Nasdaq: REYN), Stratasys (Nasdaq: SSYS), Taboola (Nasdaq: TBLA), The Beauty Health Company (Nasdaq: SKIN), Valvoline (NYSE: VVV).

Notable IPOs Today: Vitro Biopharma, Inc. (NYSE American: VTRO), Neuraxis, Inc. (NYSE American: NRXS), USCF ETF Trust (NYSE Arca: ZSC).

Notable Equity Crowdfunding Campaigns Ending Today: Kosmic Vegan Marketplace (Honeycomb).

Notable Economic Events Today: Crude Oil Inventories (10:30 a.m. ET).

Upstart's Challenging Environment

The financial technology company Upstart (Nasdaq: UPST) dropped 19.40% in after-hours trading on Tuesday after reporting mixed financial results.

Financials: Upstart reported earnings of six cents per share in the past quarter and revenue of $136 million; both were better than expected.

Details: Upstart’s revenue dropped 40%. As a result, the company expects revenue in the current quarter to only hit $140 million, which was lower than what analysts projected.

Quote: “While the economic environment continues to be challenging, Upstart has the opportunity to grow quickly and profitably when we return to a normalized economy.” - CEO Dave Girouard.

Stock Price: Since the start of 2023, Upstart’s stock is up over 300%.

Final Thoughts: These results worried investors, but the company is still bullish about its prospects with artificial intelligence.

Rivian Grows Production Target

After posting better-than-expected financial results on Tuesday, shares of the electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (Nasdaq: RIVN) ticked up 0.04% in after-hours trading.

Final Thoughts: Rivian, up 43% this year, increased its 2023 production target to 52,000.

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Trends to Watch

Turning a Corner: Why is Bitcoin price stuck? (Cointelegraph)

We in Trouble: WeWork Tumbles After Raising ‘Substantial Doubt’ About Future (Bloomberg)

Before September: Apple and Samsung line up to invest in Arm (The Verge)

Optimistic: Cathie Wood and Mike Novogratz Are Both Bullish on Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals (CoinDesk)

Biggest Loser: Lilly hits record high after Mounjaro fuels forecast raise, rival data (Reuters)

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