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Max Knoblauch

Warner Bros. shares jump as Paramount Skydance reportedly preps a $71 billion bid with Arab sovereign wealth funds

Shares of HBO and CNN parent Warner Bros. Discovery are climbing on Tuesday on a report that rival Paramount Skydance is prepping a $71 billion bid for the entertainment giant.

According to Variety, Paramount would front $50 billion for the deal, with $7 billion each coming from three Arab nations’ wealth funds (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE).

Variety reports that each fund would receive a minority stake in Warner Bros. as well as “an IP, a movie premiere, a movie shoot.” Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped 6% following Variety’s report, before paring its gains after Paramount called the news “categorically inaccurate.”

WBD is said to have already rejected three previous offers from Paramount. The company previously set a deadline of November 20 (this Thursday) to hear bids from interested parties — a group that reportedly also includes Comcast and Netflix.

The Saudi Arabian wealth fund, PIF, made headlines in September when it struck a $55 billion take-private deal for the gaming giant Electronic Arts — the largest leveraged buyout in corporate history.

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance Said to Prep $71 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Bid With Three Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance Said to Prep $71 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Bid With Three Arab Sovereign Wealth Funds

Variety reports that each fund would receive a minority stake in Warner Bros. as well as “an IP, a movie premiere, a movie shoot.” Warner Bros. Discovery shares jumped 6% following Variety’s report, before paring its gains after Paramount called the news “categorically inaccurate.”

WBD is said to have already rejected three previous offers from Paramount. The company previously set a deadline of November 20 (this Thursday) to hear bids from interested parties — a group that reportedly also includes Comcast and Netflix.

The Saudi Arabian wealth fund, PIF, made headlines in September when it struck a $55 billion take-private deal for the gaming giant Electronic Arts — the largest leveraged buyout in corporate history.

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Luke Kawa

Strategy jumps as MSCI allows digital asset treasury companies to stay in global indexes

In a massive reprieve for Strategy, index provider MSCI is letting digital asset companies stay in its benchmarks, sending shares sharply higher in after-hours trading.

The index provider had floated a proposal in which firms where crypto holdings are more than 50% of assets would be excluded from its global indexes, but has decided not to proceed with this for now.

“MSCI has determined at this time not to implement the proposal to exclude digital asset treasury companies (‘DATCOs’) from the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes (‘MSCI Indexes’) as part of the February 2026 Index Review,” per a statement.

Getting kicked out of key indexes would have caused funds to flow out of Strategy, the largest digital asset treasury company, and its peers.

“At this time,” of course, means the door is open to reconsidering this down the road, as MSCI plans on having a broader review and consultation on the treatment of DAT companies.

“Distinguishing between investment companies and other companies that hold non-operating assets, such as digital assets, as part of their core operations rather than for investment purposes requires further research and consultation with market participants,” according to MSCI.

markets
Matt Phillips

Rocket Lab surges to second straight record-high close

Retail favorite Rocket Lab closed at a new all-time high on Tuesday, continuing a remarkable run over the last month that has carried the launch services provider and aspiring Space X competitor up more than 70% over the last month (compared to its close of $49.06 on December 5).

Rocket Lab saw elevated options activity during its run-up today, with well over 3.5x the 90-day average in options volume changing hands over the course of the day.

Other space plays such as AST SpaceMobile and EchoStar surged today.

Despite being a money-losing company — it’s never turned an annual profit as a public company — Rocket Lab’s share price has soared nearly 1,500% over the last two years, generating tons of loyalty and enthusiasm among retail investors.

In fact, Goldman Sachs has made Rocket Lab the heaviest weighting in the latest iteration of its GS Memes basket of thematic stocks, just ahead of AST SpaceMobile, showing how enamored traders have become of such space stocks.

CHICAGO, IL - MARCH 05: Benny, the mascot for the Chicago Bulls entertains during a break between the Bulls and the Boston Celtics at the United Center on March 5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

The S&P 500 closes at a record high

The Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 outperformed, rising 0.9% and 1.4%, respectively.

Tasha Matsumoto8h
markets
Max Knoblauch

JetBlue takes off on bullish options activity

Low-cost airline JetBlue is up more than 8% on Tuesday, on pace for its biggest daily gain since August. If the price momentum holds, Tuesday will mark JetBlue’s sixth-best trading day of the past 52 weeks.

The carrier is being propelled by bullish options activity, with more than 53,000 call options changing hands as of 12:14 p.m. ET, nearly 4x the 20-day average for a full session.

JetBlue closed up 4.6% on Monday, as traders appeared to price in medium-term oil supply relief due to the possibility of Venezuela’s reserves getting more developed amid tensions with the US.

markets
J. Edward Moreno

Moderna rallies after BofA raises its price target to $24 from $21

Moderna rose on Tuesday after Bank of America analysts raised their price target for the ailing biotech behind the COVID-19 vaccine, painting a rosy picture of the products in its pipeline.

BofA kept Moderna’s “underperform” rating but raised its price target to $24 from $21, which now accounts for “refreshed revenue builds for lead assets.” Analysts said the company’s cost-cutting measures, paired with potential new revenue from its investigatory oncology vaccines, could bring it back to profitability in the coming years.

Moderna is best known for being tapped by the US government to quickly develop a vaccine for COVID-19 in 2020, a product that remains its single source of revenue. The company has yet to bring new products to market and is now faced with a second Trump administration hostile to that product.

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