First Republic, Credit Suisse, UBS, New York Community, Bed Bath, and More Movers
U.S. depositary receipts of Swiss bank Credit Suisse (ticker: CS ) plunged about 52% to about 96 cents after larger rival UBS ( UBS ) agreed to buy Credit Suisse in a deal worth about $3.2 billion. The merger of Switzerland’s two biggest banks – developed over the weekend by Swiss authorities – comes against a backdrop of industry turmoil. UBS-listed shares in the US rose 5.1 percent.
First Republic Bank (FRC) fell 26.9%. The regional lender was downgraded deeper into junk territory by S&P Global. Last Wednesday, S&P Global cut the bank’s credit rating to speculative territory. The stock has fallen as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and two other US banks has sparked concerns about the health of the US banking system. JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) and other big banks stepped in last week to back First Republic Bank at a valuation of $30 billion.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, according to The Wall Street Journal on Monday, has been talking to other banks about raising additional capital for First Republic.
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Flagstar Bank, a subsidiary of New York Community Bancorp (NYCB), agreed Sunday to buy much of what was once Signature Bank. Starting Monday, Signature Bank’s 40 branches will operate under Flagstar Bank. Signature Bank collapsed just over a week ago, days after Silicon Valley Bank met the same fate. Shares in New York Community Bancorp were also upgraded to Outperform from Neutral by analysts at Wedbush. The shares rose 34.7 percent.
PacWest Bancorp ( PACW ) rose 10.7%, leading shares of regional banks higher after last week’s volatile trading.
Bed Bath & Beyond ( BBBY ) sank 19.6%, continuing its slide on Friday as the retailer revealed plans for a reverse stock split.
American depositary receipts of PDD Holdings, or Pinduoduo
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( PDD ), fell 13% after the Chinese e-commerce company posted fourth-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ expectations.
Shares of Franchise Group ( FRG ), which owns Vitamin Shoppe, American Freight and Pet Supplies Plus, rose 12.1% after it “received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal” to be acquired for $30 per share in cash.
Enphase Energy ( ENPH ), a maker of batteries used in solar power systems, rose 5.2% after the stock was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James.
Foot Locker ( FL ) shares fell 5%. The footwear retailer’s profit forecast for the year was lower than expected, but management expects strong long-term growth as new chief executive Mary Dillon moves to reset the business.
Dell Technologies ( DELL ) shares rose 3% after analysts at Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of the stock with a buy recommendation. Both Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and
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HP Inc. (HPQ) opened at Neutral, with shares rising 2.6% and 1.6%, respectively.
Amazon.com ( AMZN ) shares fell 2.1% after the online retailer and tech giant said it plans to cut another 9,000 jobs, following an earlier round of 18,000 layoffs announced in January.
Write to Joe Woelfel at joseph.woelfel@barrons.com
