Alphabet, Match Group, CVS: Stocks That Defined The Week
September 06 2019 - 5:52PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
Nvidia Corp.
Chip makers are holding out hope for a trade deal. Semiconductor
stock Nvidia was among the day's top gainers Thursday after the
U.S. and China said they would hold talks in Washington in October.
The impending talks have rekindled hopes for progress after the two
countries recently escalated tensions with fresh tariffs. Nvidia
shares gained 6.5% Thursday, while peers Micron Technology Inc. and
Qualcomm Inc. gained 4.7% and 2.5%, respectively.
Alphabet Inc.
Alphabet-owned YouTube agreed to pay a $170 million fine to U.S.
authorities investigating alleged abuses of children's privacy on
the widely viewed video platform. The Federal Trade Commission and
the New York state attorney general announced the penalty Wednesday
after a yearlong investigation. The probe was a response to
complaints from consumer groups that YouTube illegally collected
data on children to sell ads for products such as Barbie dolls and
Play-Doh. The FTC said YouTube tracked internet activity for
children under age 13, with the goal of keeping viewership high.
Alphabet shares added 1.1% Wednesday.
Tapestry Inc.
Tapestry has a new leader. The handbag company that combined the
Coach and Kate Spade brands ousted Victor Luis, who has been chief
executive for five years, on Wednesday and said he would be
succeeded by board Chairman Jide Zeitlin. Since Coach acquired Kate
Spade & Co. and changed its name to Tapestry in 2017, the Kate
Spade brand has struggled. Mr. Zeitlin, who will remain board
chairman, said he wasn't planning any management changes at Kate
Spade or elsewhere in the company. Mr. Zeitlin is a former Goldman
Sachs executive who has been on the board since 2006. Tapestry
shares gained 5.1% Wednesday.
CVS Health Corp.
Almost a year after the deal closed, the CVS-Aetna merger is
finally official. A federal judge approved a Justice Department
settlement late Wednesday that allowed CVS to acquire Aetna for
nearly $70 billion. While the deal closed last November, U.S.
District Judge Richard Leon has spent months questioning whether
the settlement did enough to protect competition and consumers. On
Wednesday, he said the health-care markets at issue in the case
"are not only very competitive today, but are likely to remain so
post-merger." CVS Health shares gained 1.8% Thursday.
Match Group Inc.
Investors are swiping left on Match Group. The stock fell 4.6%
Thursday after Facebook Inc. announced it is launching a dating
feature in the U.S., a competitor to Match's dating websites and
apps. Facebook users over the age of 18 can opt in to Facebook
Dating and create dating profiles that helps them find people with
common interests, events and groups. The dating profiles will be
separate from the users' main profile. The Facebook feature is
already available in 19 other countries, including Argentina,
Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore and Thailand.
Kroger Co.
The largest U.S. supermarket chain is jumping on the meatless
train. Kroger shares gained 0.7% after the company said Thursday it
will roll out plant-based burger patties, grinds and other
products. The announcement comes amid rising consumer interest in
new meat replacements that have been added to menus at big
fast-food chains and other restaurants. Kroger -- which also sells
Beyond Meat Inc.'s meat-replacement products -- will put its own
plant-based deli slices, sausages and other products on shelves at
1,800 of its 2,800 stores this fall. The company said those
products will be priced below the offerings from Beyond Meat but
wouldn't say by how much.
Fannie Mae
The Trump administration said late Thursday that it would
support privatizing mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac, and said it wanted to curtail the firms' roles in housing
finance. Left unresolved were several key questions, such as what
to do with the government's large stakes in the firms, how to build
up their capital so they can operate as private companies again and
how to shrink Fannie and Freddie's footprint in housing. The two
companies guarantee about half of the U.S. mortgage market. The
process could take years. The lack of specifics and the murky
timeline sent shares of Fannie Mae down 8.8% Friday, while Freddie
Mac fell 8.2%.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 06, 2019 17:37 ET (21:37 GMT)
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