Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, Twitter: Stocks That Defined the Week
October 16 2020 - 7:50PM
Dow Jones News
By Derek Hall
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
America's biggest banks are proving that Wall Street can make
money even in the middle of a pandemic. JPMorgan said Tuesday that
third-quarter profit rose 4% from a year ago. Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. said third-quarter profit nearly doubled, and Morgan Stanley
on Thursday said quarterly profit rose 25% from a year ago. Many
executives were quick to warn, however, that the economy isn't out
of the woods just yet. JPMorgan shares fell 1.6% Tuesday.
Starbucks Corp.
A new commitment to diversity is brewing at the world's biggest
coffee chain. Starbucks on Wednesday set fresh goals to employ more
people of color by 2025. The Seattle-based company said it would
tie executive compensation to the new diversity metrics and mandate
antibias training for executives. The move comes as the Trump
administration threatens to end federal contracts with companies
that defy an executive order limiting racial-sensitivity training.
The Labor Department also is investigating companies that have set
specific numerical goals in their diversity efforts. Starbucks, a
federal contractor, said the executive order would not affect its
targets and training. Starbucks shares fell 0.9% Wednesday.
Pilgrim's Pride Corp.
The Justice Department plucked the first feather in its ongoing
probe of the U.S. chicken industry. Pilgrim's Pride, the
second-largest U.S. chicken processor by sales, said Wednesday that
it had agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors to resolve
price-fixing charges. The company will pay a fine of $110.5
million, and a guilty plea will make it the first company to admit
in court to what prosecutors allege was a seven-year effort across
much of the U.S. chicken industry to inflate prices and suppress
competition. It's the latest victory for the Justice Department in
its continuing antitrust scrutiny of major food suppliers.
Pilgrim's Pride shares rose 5.7% Wednesday.
Johnson & Johnson
The race toward a coronavirus cure hit a new hurdle this past
week after a second vaccine trial was paused due to a safety
concern. A study volunteer's unexplained illness prompted Johnson
& Johnson on Monday to pause further dosing in all clinical
trials of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine. An independent
committee is reviewing the subject's illness, and J&J said it
hopes to know within days whether it can resume testing. Drugmakers
have developed their Covid-19 shots remarkably quickly, and
J&J's vaccine is one of the most advanced in development. Eli
Lilly & Co. on Tuesday also said it would pause its antibody
drug trial due to a safety concern. Johnson & Johnson shares
fell 2.3% Tuesday.
Apple Inc.
Apple is ready for 5G even though many customers aren't. The
tech giant unveiled four iPhone 12 models during an event held by
webcast Tuesday that are all capable of connecting to much faster
5G cellular networks, touting improved downloads and uploads,
higher-quality video streaming, better gaming and less network
congestion. The event brought new attention to a technology that
has so far failed to excite consumers. Investors are betting faster
connection of 5G will spur new demand for the smartphone and
attract customers who have held off on upgrading. Apple shares fell
2.7% Tuesday.
Twitter Inc.
Twitter didn't get many likes this past week. The social-media
company faced backlash on Wednesday after it blocked a pair of New
York Post articles about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
Republican lawmakers were quick to chastise the decision, and the
Senate Judiciary Committee said Thursday that it plans to issue a
subpoena to Chief Executive Jack Dorsey. Later that day, the
social-media company suffered more than two hours of widespread
disrupted services with some users unable to send tweets or see
them. Twitter shares fell 2.2% Wednesday.
BlackRock Inc.
The world's largest money manager just got even bigger.
BlackRock said Tuesday that quarterly profit rose 22% and assets
surged to a record $7.8 billion, increasing its dominance in the
industry and forcing weaker rivals to play defense. The company
also announced a new investment in the electric-vehicle sector, the
latest investor bet on new technology upending the auto industry.
Electric-vehicle startup Arrival Ltd. said it has raised $118
million from funds managed by BlackRock. This latest investment
comes after the New York-based asset manager topped up its holding
in July of Rivian Automotive LLC, an electric pickup-truck startup
backed in part by Ford. BlackRock shares rose 3.9% Tuesday.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 16, 2020 19:35 ET (23:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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