Toronto stocks retreated on Monday as anxieties surrounding global trade and the artificial intelligence sector weighed on tech shares, even as a high-stakes bidding war for Colombian energy assets sent Frontera Energy soaring.
Diesel futures rallied on Monday as a severe blizzard across the U.S. Northeast hampered logistics and boosted heating demand, while crude oil and gasoline markets remained largely flat ahead of key contract expirations.
A severe winter storm forced a suspension of vessel boardings across the U.S. Northeast on Monday, stalling critical fuel shipments to ports in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Maritime pilots in the region halted operations as heavy weather conditions made navigation unsafe, leaving several tankers carrying gasoline and distillates idling off the coast.
Specialty chemical manufacturer Stepan announced a sweeping operational restructuring dubbed "Project Catalyst" on Monday, involving facility closures and asset decommissioning aimed at securing $100 million in pre-tax savings over the next two years. The news triggered a 20% sell-off in the company's stock, marking its sharpest single-day decline in nearly six years as investors weighed heavy restructuring costs against softening demand.
U.S. corn export inspections surged to over 2 million metric tons for the week ended Feb. 19, significantly outpacing both previous-week and prior-year levels, according to data released Monday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Shares of Frontera Energy surged more than 20% on Monday after Parex Resources submitted a $500 million cash bid for its Colombian upstream operations. The proposal significantly outsteps a previous agreement with GeoPark, offering a $125 million premium and signaling a potential bidding war for the region's oil-and-gas assets.
ImmunityBio shares rallied on Monday after the immunotherapy firm reported fourth-quarter revenue that surpassed Wall Street estimates, driven by the rapid commercial adoption of its flagship drug, Anktiva.
Lundin Gold shares surged nearly 6% on Monday following the announcement of a $670 million silver stream-for-equity agreement with LunR Royalties. The deal allows the Canadian miner to monetize silver production at its flagship Fruta del Norte mine in Ecuador while taking a significant stake in a newly formed royalty vehicle.
Atomera shares plunged 12% after the technology licensing firm announced a registered direct offering of 5 million shares priced at a significant discount to its current market value.
Rick Svetkoff, the founder of Starfighters Space, has stepped down as chief executive, paving the way for Vice President of Development Tim Franta to take the helm. The leadership transition, which includes the departure of company secretary Brenda Svetkoff, triggered a 16% drop in the company's share price.
OpenAI is partnering with Accenture, McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, and Capgemini to drive corporate adoption of its new "Frontier" agentic AI platform. The collaboration aims to bridge the gap between high-level model intelligence and practical, large-scale implementation within global enterprises.
Stanley Martin Homes has reached a definitive agreement to acquire United Homes in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of $221 million. The deal, priced at $1.18 per share, is expected to close in the second quarter and signals a consolidation of the Southeast’s entry-level housing market amid persistent affordability challenges.
Abits Group shares tumbled Tuesday after the cryptocurrency firm announced a $2.1 million registered direct offering priced significantly below its market value. The deal, which includes shares and pre-funded warrants, sent the stock down 25% to $2.79 as investors reacted to the dilutive capital raise.
Akamai Technologies has teamed up with Nvidia to launch a cybersecurity solution tailored for critical infrastructure, aiming to protect vulnerable power grids and factories without disrupting legacy hardware. The partnership integrates Akamai’s software with Nvidia’s BlueField Data Processing Units (DPUs) to secure industrial control systems that are often too fragile for traditional security agents.
Biopharmaceutical giant AbbVie is investing $380 million to construct two advanced manufacturing facilities at its North Chicago headquarters, targeting the high-growth neuroscience and obesity markets. The project, scheduled to begin this spring, represents a key pillar of the company's recent multibillion-dollar commitment to U.S.-based production and research.
Fortress Biotech shares jumped Monday after the company announced an agreement to sell a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher for $205 million in gross proceeds. The deal, executed through its subsidiary Cyprium Therapeutics, provides a significant capital injection as the firm targets a shift to profitability this year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized a label expansion for Eli Lilly’s weight-loss blockbuster Zepbound, introducing a multi-dose pen that provides a full month of treatment in a single device. This update transitions the medication from its previous single-dose vial format, offering a more streamlined delivery method as the pharmaceutical giant scales to meet unprecedented global demand.
Stanley Martin Homes has reached an agreement to acquire United Homes in a transaction valued at $221 million, consolidating two major players in the Southeast’s entry-level housing market. The all-cash deal, priced at $1.18 per share, is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.
Verisk Analytics has entered into accelerated share-repurchase agreements to buy back $1.5 billion of its common stock, tapping HSBC Bank and Wells Fargo to execute the transaction. The move follows a significant increase in the company's buyback authorization and underscores a period of aggressive capital return for the Jersey City-based data firm.
ARCTEC Alaska, a joint venture involving the Canadian infrastructure giant Atco, has secured a $596 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to maintain the Alaska Radar System. The 10-year agreement, scheduled to begin in September, tasks the group with overseeing critical early-warning infrastructure essential to North American aerospace defense.
Shutterstock and Getty Images stock prices surged in premarket trading Monday after the U.S. Department of Justice cleared their proposed $3.7 billion merger. The federal agency concluded its review without imposing conditions, removing a primary regulatory barrier for the creation of a visual content powerhouse.
B2Gold Corp. announced a major leadership transition on Monday, naming longtime CFO Mike Cinnamond as the successor to founding Chief Executive Clive Johnson. Johnson, who has led the Canadian gold producer since its inception in 2007, will retire following the company’s annual general meeting on June 4, marking the end of an era that saw the firm grow into a global producer yielding approximately 1 million ounces of gold annually.
Gossamer Bio shares plummeted 82% in premarket trading after the company announced that its Phase 3 study of seralutinib for pulmonary arterial hypertension failed to meet its primary statistical threshold, despite showing some clinical benefits.
Rick Svetkoff, the founder of Starfighters Space, has resigned as chief executive of the supersonic launch provider, with Vice President of Development Tim Franta stepping in to lead the company. The leadership transition marks a significant shift for the Florida-based firm that has operated its unique fleet of modified aircraft since 1996.
Vanda Pharmaceuticals shares jumped 39% in premarket trading Monday after the FDA approved Bysanti for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder in adults. The regulatory milestone, which includes patent protection through 2044, sets the stage for a commercial launch scheduled for later this year.
HSBC Holdings is expected to report a significant jump in fourth-quarter net profit on Wednesday, fueled by aggressive restructuring efforts and a robust performance in its Asian wealth management division. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha anticipate net income will climb to $3.98 billion, a sharp recovery from the $197 million recorded during the same period last year.
Emera reported a sharp decline in fourth-quarter profit on Monday as unseasonably mild weather and softening energy demand pressured its utility operations across North America. Despite missing analyst expectations for the quarter, the Halifax-based company extended its long-term earnings growth targets through the end of the decade.
Foghorn Therapeutics has appointed Ryan Maynard, the former financial chief of Cara Therapeutics, as its new Chief Financial Officer. Maynard brings more than 25 years of executive experience across the biopharmaceutical and healthcare technology sectors to the clinical-stage firm as it scales its operations.
MoonLake Immunotherapeutics shares climbed Monday after the company reported successful Phase 2 trial results for sonelokimab, its experimental treatment for axial spondyloarthritis. The study met its primary endpoints, demonstrating significant clinical benefits for patients suffering from the chronic inflammatory condition and triggering a 6.5% jump in premarket trading.
Stepan, the specialty chemical manufacturer, is shuttering its Fieldsboro, New Jersey facility and scaling back operations at two other sites as part of a sweeping restructuring plan. Dubbed "Project Catalyst," the initiative aims to generate $100 million in pre-tax savings over the next two years to combat cooling demand for commodity surfactants.
