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Rivian, Nio climb amid increased investment from Swiss bank and growing robotaxi hype

EV makers Rivian and Nio are climbing Friday amid news that Swiss bank Vontobel significantly boosted its stake in them this quarter. The stocks’ sails also appear to be catching wind from growing robotaxi hype.

Vontobel disclosed that it scooped up 608,000 shares of Nio in the quarter ending in June, more than doubling its position. The bank’s Rivian position nearly tripled in the same period to about 450,000 shares. In its Friday earnings call, Volkswagen announced it had spent more than $1 billion buying additional Rivian shares in Q2.

Rivian and Nio could also be enjoying a boost from growing hype around robotaxis, following Business Insider’s report that Tesla could launch its service in San Francisco as early as Friday.

Rivian and Nio were each up more than 3% in midday trading.

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Budget airline stocks dip as Spirit pilots ratify contract that’ll help the carrier stay afloat

Low-cost airlines JetBlue and Frontier are trading lower on Thursday following the news that Spirit Airlines pilots ratified modifications to their labor contract that will lower costs for the carrier, which filed for bankruptcy in August.

According to the Air Line Pilots Association, Spirit pilots approved a deal that included “temporary reductions to pay rates and retirement contributions.” Beginning January 1, hourly pay will be reduced 8% and retirement contributions will drop by half, from 16% to 8%.

“Spirit pilots made a difficult choice that provides the Company with what it needs from labor to secure financing and complete its restructuring,” said Captain Ryan P. Muller, chairman of the Spirit Airlines Master Executive Council.

Wall Street sees JetBlue and Frontier as the biggest beneficiaries to Spirit’s woes, and both carriers have attempted to purchase Spirit in recent years.

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Planet Labs rips on strong earnings report

Satellite services company Planet Labs was on track for a new record closing high after rising more than 35% in early afternoon trading on Thursday.

The roughly $5 billion company posted better-than-expected quarterly results and guided toward higher-than-expected sales for the current quarter after the close of trading Wednesday.

“AI continues to be a major tailwind as the company is seeing significant demand through enhanced capabilities for its advanced satellite data solutions,” wrote Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives, adding, “We continue to believe the PL is well-positioned at the intersection of Space and AI.” He has an “outperform” — basically a “buy” — rating and a price target of $20 on the stock.

Other satellite services AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab also enjoyed a bump on Thursday, seemingly riding the momentum of Planet Labs’ numbers.

“AI continues to be a major tailwind as the company is seeing significant demand through enhanced capabilities for its advanced satellite data solutions,” wrote Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives, adding, “We continue to believe the PL is well-positioned at the intersection of Space and AI.” He has an “outperform” — basically a “buy” — rating and a price target of $20 on the stock.

Other satellite services AST SpaceMobile and Rocket Lab also enjoyed a bump on Thursday, seemingly riding the momentum of Planet Labs’ numbers.

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