Virgin Galactic, Alexion, Pluralsight, Pfizer: What to Watch When the Stock Market Opens Today

By Mischa Frankl-Duval 

Here's what we are watching as markets kick into gear Monday.

-- U.S. stock futures rose on optimism that talks for additional stimulus are progressing and that the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines could help stem the pandemic.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 ticked up 0.8%, suggesting the index may edge higher after the New York opening bell. Contracts tied to the Nasdaq-100 Index gained 0.6%.

Read our full markets wrap here.

What's Coming Up

-- Amdocs and Plantronics are among companies presenting at the Cowen Networking Summit.

Market Movers to Watch

-- Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals leaped almost 32% in premarket trade after AstraZeneca agreed to buy the company for $39 billion in cash and stock, a move that would bolster the British drug giant's footprint in rare diseases. AstraZeneca shares fell more than 5% in London.

-- Shares of Virgin Galactic fell 14% in premarket trading after the company said its Saturday test flight didn't reach space as planned.

-- Pfizer shares rose 1.2% before the bell. The company's vaccine, developed jointly with BioNTech, began shipping over the weekend from its production facility in Michigan.

-- Public Storage shares rose 4.1% premarket. The Wall Street Journal reported that Elliott Management has built a significant stake in the company and privately nominated six directors to the self-storage giant's board, according to people familiar with the matter.

-- Pluralsight shares rose 5.6% premarket. Private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners agreed to buy the firm in a deal that values Pluralsight at $20.26 a share, above Friday's closing price of $18.98.

-- Shares in Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bancshares rose 2% on news the company would merge with Detroit-based TCF Financial.

-- Several companies that have benefited from stay-at-home orders declined in offhours trade. Zoom Video Communications fell 1.1% while Teladoc Health fell 0.8%.

Market Fact

-- The British pound jumped 1.4% against the U.S. dollar and 1% against the euro Monday morning, after U.K. and European Union negotiators on Sunday agreed to extend their marathon Brexit talks.

Chart of the Day

Drugmakers have pulled off a remarkable feat: quickly developing vaccines that aim to stem a world-wide pandemic. Investors have been enthusiastic. Now the question is whether some upstarts can justify these windfall share-price gains.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 14, 2020 08:19 ET (13:19 GMT)

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