Wire
Top Midday Stories: Micron Shares Soar After Estimate-Topping Earnings Results; Bio-Techne to be Acquired by Merck for $11.3 Billion
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were up in late-morning trading Thursday, while the Nasdaq Composite was down, as investors weighed Micron Technology's (MU) latest earnings results as well as new data from the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measurement.The personal consumption expenditures index increased by 0.4% in May, below the 0.5% gain expected and matching April's level, lifting the year-over-year rate to 4.1% from 3.8%, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Thursday. The core PCE index, which excludes food and gas prices, increased by 0.3%, matching expectations and April's level.In company news, Micron Technology (MU) reported fiscal Q3 adjusted earnings late Wednesday of $25.11 per diluted share, up from $1.91 a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus analyst estimate of $20.86. Fiscal Q3 revenue was $41.46 billion, up from $9.30 billion a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus of $35.91 billion. For fiscal Q4, the company expects adjusted EPS of $31, plus or minus $1, on revenue of $50 billion, plus or minus $1 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet expect $25.72 and $43.58 billion, respectively. Micron shares were up 12.8% around midday.Bio-Techne (TECH) has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Merck KGaA for $73 a share, representing an enterprise value of $11.3 billion, the companies said Thursday. The proposed transaction has received board approval from Merck, and it's expected to close by late 2026 or early 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, the companies said. Bio-Techne shares were up 19.8%.Apple (AAPL) raised its prices for a number of its MacBooks and iPads as it passes on higher costs for memory and storage to customers, according to media reports Thursday. The tech giant raised the prices on the MacBook Neo, MacBook Air 512GB and MacBook Pro 1T to $699, $1,299, and $1,999 from $599, $1,099 and $1,699, respectively, the reports said. Apple raised the prices on iPad Air 128GB and iPad Pro Wifi 256GB to $749 and $1,199 from $599 and $999, respectively, according to the reports. Apple shares were down 5.2%.All 32 large banks subject to the Fed's annual stress test have sufficient capital to absorb losses totaling nearly $708 billion and continue lending to businesses and households under hypothetical stressful conditions, the central bank said late Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) all boosted their dividends shortly after the results were announced. JPMorgan plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $1.65 per share from $1.50 for Q3, and it also authorized a new $50 billion share buyback program, effective July 1. Goldman plans to increase its common dividend to $5 per share from $4.50, beginning July 1. Morgan Stanley plans to raise its quarterly dividend to $1.15 per share from $1.00, expected to be declared in Q3. The bank also reauthorized up to $20 billion of a multi-year common equity share buyback program without an expiry date.Separately, JPMorgan said Thursday that Doug Petno and Troy Rohrbaugh have been named co-presidents of the company, effective immediately. Petno will also now be sole CEO of the company's Commercial & Investment Bank, while Rohrbaugh will be the CEO of Consumer and Community Banking, or CCB. Current CCB CEO Marianne Lake has decided to retire, the company said. Shares of JPMorgan, Goldman and Morgan Stanley were up 2.2%, 1.5% and 2.3%, respectively.Price: $1182.13, Change: $+134.21, Percent Change: +12.81%
$AAPL$GS$JPM$MS$MU$TECH
