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Sinclair Stocks Soars after announcing strategic review
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After insider buying binge, broadcaster Sinclair soars on plans for a strategic review

The company said it would review its operations, potentially leading to mergers or divestitures, sending shares higher.

Sinclair Inc. shares surged after the third-largest US local broadcaster — and owner of the Tennis Channel — announced a strategic review of key business divisions.

In a statement, the company said it “will evaluate all value-enhancing opportunities, including acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and business combinations, with potential partners in the broadcast and the broader media and technology ecosystem.”

The stock was up 15% in early trading.

The company also announced that it would simultaneously consider a spin-off or other options for its Ventures unit, which owns real estate, private equity, and technology assets.

A few months back, we spotlighted a stock-buying binge by Sinclair’s chairman and CEO, David D. Smith, as a potential sign that perhaps some sort of dealmaking could be on the horizon.

The Trump administration — and it’s worth noting that Sinclair stations have a long track record of running pro-Trump content — has signaled that it wants to loosen regulations that have constrained dealmaking in the media business.

The market seemed to like the idea that Sinclair is getting serious about making a major change to its business. And for good reason: the stock price is down 40% over the past five years, while rival broadcaster Nexstar Media has doubled.

But an announcement is not the same thing as a deal. Further, making a public announcement that you’ll evaluate any and all ideas for turning around a core part of your business isn’t your move if the phone is ringing off the hook with buyers clamoring to pay top dollar for your assets. (The company’s most recent earnings report was not received well. The stock had its worst day in more than three years as a result, falling nearly 13%.)

“There is no assurance that the strategic review will result in any transaction or other strategic change, and Sinclair does not intend to disclose developments unless and until the Board approves a specific course of action or the Company otherwise determines that further disclosure is appropriate or required by law,” Sinclair acknowledged in its statement.

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Luke Kawa

Opendoor surges on bullish options bets as traders look to potential real estate tokenization

Opendoor Technologies is surging on Friday amid bullish options bets and social media posts referencing unconfirmed rumors about the company.

The stock moved higher in the premarket session after the soft inflation report boosted stocks and briefly pushed long-term bond yields lower (positive for a real estate company). But the real gains came after the opening bell rang and options demand picked up.

As of 12:11 p.m. ET, roughly 664,000 call options have changed hands versus a 10-day average of about 364,000 for a full session.

What seems to be galvanizing members of the “$OPEN Army” is the potential for the company to pursue the tokenization of real-world assets, with Robinhood often bandied about as a potential partner in this endeavor.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)

Opendoor bulls have often pointed to signs that Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev appears to be fond of the company, from what appeared on-screen during a demo of a social trading feature at HOOD’s conference in Las Vegas in September to offering support to Opendoor CEO Kaz Nejatian in setting up an opportunity for retail shareholders to ask questions during the online real estate company’s next earnings call.

Opendoor is currently in a quiet period ahead of earnings, which restricts what type of announcements a company can make.

The call options seeing the most demand expire this Friday with strike prices of $8, $8.50, and $9.

Intel Earnings Researchers

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Luke Kawa

Beyond Meat gains amid slightly better-than-expected Q3 sales, positive commentary on legal issues

Shares of Beyond Meat built on their premarket gains after the plant-based meat seller reported preliminary Q3 sales a bit ahead of Wall Street’s expectations, before paring this advance after the market opened.

For the three months ended September 27, management said net revenue would be approximately $70 million. That’s in line with their guidance range of $68 million to $73 million, but Wall Street was expecting sales to skew toward the lower end of that range, at $68.7 million.

However, its anticipated gross margin of 10% to 11% is lower than analysts had been expecting (13.8%). That’s still the case even adjusting for expenses related to its downsizing of operations in China, which would have left margins around 12% to 13%, per Beyond.

Perhaps more importantly, the company provided positive commentary regarding arbitration discussions with a former co-manufacturer that appear to bring it closer to a resolution while limiting potential damages:

“As previously disclosed, in March 2024, a former co-manufacturer brought an action against the Company in a confidential arbitration proceeding claiming that the Company inappropriately terminated its agreement with the co-manufacturer and claimed damages of at least $73.0 million. On September 15, 2025, the arbitrator issued an interim award (the ‘Interim Award’) and found that the Company had a valid basis to terminate the agreement with the Manufacturer. The details of the Interim Award are confidential, and a final arbitration award has not been issued. Additional proceedings will be held to determine the award of attorneys’ fees, prejudgment interest and costs, if any, before a final arbitration award will be issued. On September 25, 2025, the Manufacturer filed a request with the arbitrator to re-open the arbitration hearing. On September 29, 2025, the Company opposed this request. On October 20, 2025, the arbitrator denied the Manufacturer’s request.”

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