Good Evening! After early gains, U.S. equities retreated in the afternoon on Monday, starting off a busy week on Wall Street with a mixed tone.
The S&P 500 closed on the flatline (0.07%), while the Dow Jones rose 0.12%. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 0.11%, erasing previous gains.
STUDY SHOWS MASSIVE POTENTIAL
BridgeBio Pharma (BBIO) surpassed Wall Street’s expectations in a study of children with dwarfism, causing the company’s shares to surge in volume and ending the day up 51.98%.
The business tested the medicine infigratinib (don’t worry, I had to look it up as well) on children with the genetic disorder achondroplasia, which delays bone development. Eight out of ten children responded to the therapy at six months. Experts had predicted a 1.52-centimeter increase in the group’s annualized height velocity (how much they might be anticipated to grow in a year). Instead, the group’s annualized height velocity increased by 3.03 centimeters which in turn led the stock to surge.
How about safety? Significantly, the medicine had no safety concerns. None of the patients exhibited elevated blood phosphate levels, a significant safety indicator for this medication. Excessive phosphate levels could cause kidney issues.
ANTITRUST ACTION LAWSUIT
JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) started the week by stating that there is a “high likelihood” that the U.S. Department of Justice would launch an antitrust action this week to stop its $3.8 billion acquisition of low-cost competitor Spirit Airlines Inc.
Why is that? Because of the four largest airlines – American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines dominating 80% of the U.S. domestic market. JetBlue was already anticipating that the acquisition of Spirit would be subject to a rigorous antitrust examination.
Did JetBlue think ahead because of this? JetBlue said in a statement that it factored in the potential of a lawsuit when estimating that the transaction would be finalized in the first half of 2024. This is because the delayed deadline allows the corporations time to litigate against the government. Bloomberg News stated that the Transportation Department, which is also evaluating the merger, is anticipated to take similar action to halt the proposed transaction.