Benzinga Video Scripts - Monday, 01.09.23

Monday Premarket Moves: Lululemon, Duck Creek, Zillow, Hologic - CNBC

Lululemon shares dropped 10 percent in premarket trading after the athletic apparel company lowered its gross margin guidance for the first quarter. Duck Creek shares rose 39 percent premarket. The provider of intelligence solutions for the insurance company will be taken private by Vista for $19 a share in cash. Zillow rose 4 percent premarket after Bank of America double-upgraded the stock to buy. Hologic shares rose 2.8 percent premarket after the women’s diagnostics provider reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter revenue.

Goldman Sachs to Cut 3,200 Jobs - Bloomberg - WSJ

Goldman Sachs cutting 3,200 jobs, with more than a third coming from its core trading and banking units starting this week. Slowdowns and an uncertain outlook for the economy are prompting the bank to cut costs. The bank also branched out into retail banking, an area that experienced heavy losses in the last year, and merger activity and fees from raising money for companies have dropped all across Wall Street. The layoffs make up 7 percent of its 49,000 employees as of September’s payroll.

Jack Ma to Give Up Control of Ant Group - BBC

Ant Group Founder Jack Ma is giving up control of the Chinese fintech company. Ma, who founded e-commerce company Alibaba, directly and indirectly controls more than 50 percent of Ant Group. Following the changes in the company structure, he will control just 6 percent, and the shareholding structure will also change. In November 2020 Ant’s $30 million stock market flotation, which would have been the world's largest, was canceled at the last minute after Chinese authorities cited “major issues” over regulating the firm.

Stock Futures Rise Following Friday’s Rally - CNBC

Stock futures rose Monday following Friday’s first stock rally of the year. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.4 percent. S&P 500 futures rose 0.6 percent, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.7 percent. Stocks rallied on Friday after the December jobs report and an economic activity survey showed that inflation may be easing. All the major averages rose in the first week of 2023. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.13 percent. The S&P 500 rose 2.28 percent, and the Nasdaq rose 2.56 percent.

Duck Creek Reaches Takeover Deal with Vista - CNBC

Duck Creek Technologies has reached a takeover deal with Vista Equity Partners. According to the terms of the deal, Vista will pay $19 per share in cash, or $2.6 billion. Shares of Duck Creek rose more than 38 percent in premarket trading, or about $18 per share. Shares for the insurance technology company fell 60 percent in 2022. Duck Creek will be part of a wider portfolio of technology companies at Vista.

Lululemon Warns of Q4 Loses - WSJ

Luluemon Athletica warned of losses for its fiscal fourth quarter. The athletic apparel company expects its gross margin to fall between 0.9 percent and 1.1 percent for the quarter. Lululemon is projecting earnings of between $4.22 and $4.27 a share, compared with previous guidance of $4.20 and $4.30 a share. Shares fell 12 percent in premarket trading Monday to $288.50. 

ChatGPT in Talks to Sell Shares at $29B Valuation - WSJ

Open AI, the research lab that created ChatGPT, is in talks with venture-capital firms Thrive and Founders Fund to sell its shares with a valuation of $29 billion. The deal is structured as a tender offer, meaning investors buy shares from existing shareholders. If the deal goes through at that valuation, it could value at least $300 million in share sales, making Open AI would be one of the few startups able to raise money at higher valuations in the private market.