- Renewed COVID concerns continue to weigh on the market at midday Monday.
- Besides the usual suspects in the travel and entertainment sectors, these worries have impacted companies in a host of indirect ways. Take Nike (NYSE:NKE), which faces a possible supply-chain threat as a result of the lingering pandemic.
- M&A and earnings have served as other major themes so far during Monday's action. SPX FLOW (NYSE:FLOW) jumped on word of a takeover bid from Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR). Meanwhile, the release of quarterly results prompted a sharp drop in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO).
- Meanwhile, recent IPO Blend Labs (NYSE:BLND) dropped more than 12% during Monday's session, briefly dipping below its offering price. On the other side of the ledger, NRx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:NRXP) was one of the day's biggest gainers thanks to word of strong clinical data.
- NKE slipped with the rest of the market during intraday trading on Monday. The 1.1% slide came as two critical suppliers in Vietnam were forced to halt production as a result of increased COVID cases.
- Ingersoll Rand confirmed that it has made an offer to acquire SPX FLOW for $85 per share in cash. In May, SPX FLOW rejected a previous bid of $81.50 per share, IR reported. On word of the takeover move, FLOW jumped more than 25% in intraday action, rising to $77.79.
- Tractor Supply reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts' expectations. This came as the company's revenues rose a larger-than-expected 13% to reach $3.6B. The firm also raised its full-year forecast.
- Despite the news, TSCO dropped more than 6% in Monday's intraday action. The stock had seen a significant run-up earlier in the year, with shares up nearly 35% year-to-date headed into the earnings announcement.
- Blend Labs also tanked, reversing a move in which it climbed about 16% in its public debut last Friday. BLND was trading at $17.96 shortly before 12:30 p.m. ET on Monday -- below last week's $18-a-share IPO price and some 14% under the $20.90 that the stock finished at Friday on its first trading day.
- Conversely, NRx Pharma rallied after it announced clinical trial data that suggested that its Zyesami product helped prevent "Cytokine Storm" in COVID patients. Boosted by the news, NRXP skyrocketed more than 41% by Monday's midday trading.
- For more on the general action on Wall Street Monday, turn to SA's in-depth stock commentary.