DoorDash, Facebook, Walt Disney: Stocks That Defined the Week
December 11 2020 - 8:15PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
DoorDash Inc.
The initial public offering market is still on fire even as the
weather cools. Food-delivery company DoorDash shares surged 86% in
their first day of trading Wednesday, kicking off an
uncharacteristically busy month as the IPO market shatters records.
The next day, shares of the home-rental startup Airbnb more than
doubled in their market debut, reflecting a soaring market for new
stock listings and the company's ability to navigate the
coronavirus-induced downturn in travel this year.
Exxon Mobil Corp.
A new activist investor with a sustainability bent wants Exxon
Mobil to act faster to remake itself. The Wall Street Journal
reported on Dec. 6 that Engine No. 1 LLC was preparing to send a
letter to the beleaguered energy giant's board, urging the company
to focus more on investments in clean energy while cutting costs
elsewhere to preserve its dividend. The letter identifies four
people the firm plans to nominate to Exxon's 10-person board. Exxon
has been seen as somewhat of a holdout as rivals have begun
investing in renewable energy in recent years. Exxon shares dropped
1.9% Monday.
Pfizer Inc.
It looks like Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine will be the first to
reach Americans. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday
it was finalizing the work needed to clear the vaccine developed by
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE, after the injection was
endorsed by an expert panel. Its emergency-use authorization is
expected to become final Friday or over the weekend. Health and
Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that people could be
getting the vaccine early next week. Due to limited supplies, the
first doses are expected to go to health workers treating Covid-19
patients and nursing-home residents. Pfizer shares fell 1.5%
Friday.
FireEye Inc.
FireEye protects customers from cyberattacks, but this time it
was the victim. The cybersecurity firm said Tuesday that it was
breached by nation-state hackers. The highly sophisticated attack
compromised the software tools used to test the defenses of
thousands of customers. In past years, FireEye helped businesses
respond to some of the most serious hacks on record, such as the
2014 hack of Sony Pictures by North Korea. The company has been
seen as an industry pioneer in detecting and responding to
cyberattacks carried out by foreign governments, and has often
publicly linked prolific hacking groups to specific foreign
intelligence services. Shares fell 13% Wednesday.
MetLife Inc.
MetLife is saying goodbye to its home-insurance unit. Swiss
insurer Zurich Insurance Group AG will acquire the company's U.S.
property-and-casualty insurance business for $3.94 billion, the
companies said Friday. It is the latest in a string of deals in the
sector during the coronavirus pandemic, as insurers around the
world reconsider their operations and grapple with the impact of
low interest rates on their investment portfolios. The move comes
as MetLife focuses on expanding offerings in its big business of
selling benefits programs to companies, including life and dental
insurance and a growing number of other choices. It recently agreed
to purchase a vision insurer, on the heels of a deal involving pet
insurance. MetLife shares lost 0.8% Friday.
Facebook Inc.
The U.S. wants Facebook to break up. The Federal Trade
Commission and 48 states and territories hit the social-media giant
with antitrust lawsuits on Wednesday, accusing the company of
buying and freezing out small startups to choke competition. The
FTC's antitrust case seeks to force Facebook to unwind its
acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, and the 48 attorneys
general allege that a lack of competition has harmed consumers by
weakening privacy protections. The lawsuits reflect the U.S.
concern over Big Tech dominance and comes weeks after the Justice
Department brought a case alleging Google was illegally maintaining
a monopoly in its search business. Facebook shares fell 1.9%
Wednesday.
Walt Disney Co.
Talk about a growth spurt. The entertainment giant expects that
the world-wide subscriber count for Disney+ could triple to 260
million by 2024. Right now, its year-old flagship streaming service
has 86.8 million subscribers globally, having surpassed the
company's goal of reaching 60 million to 90 million subscribers by
2024. The revised guidance puts Disney+ in the league of chief
competitor Netflix Inc., which has nearly 200 million subscribers
but isn't recording the same rapid growth. Disney Chief Executive
Bob Chapek said Thursday the company plans to add more than 100 new
titles to the service per year, drawing on franchises such as Star
Wars and Marvel Studios to lure viewers. Disney shares gained 14%
Friday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 11, 2020 21:00 ET (02:00 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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