UnitedHealth, Campbell Soup, JPMorgan: Stocks That Defined the Week
March 06 2020 - 5:54PM
Dow Jones News
By Francesca Fontana
UnitedHealth Group Inc.
Joe Biden won big on Super Tuesday, and so did health-care
stocks. UnitedHealth and other health insurers soared Wednesday
after the former vice president's better-than-expected performance
in Tuesday's primaries. The recent momentum behind Sen. Bernie
Sanders has weighed on the group, as his proposed single-payer
health-care plan would entail major changes for the industry.
UnitedHealth shares added 11% Wednesday, while Anthem Inc. gained
16% and Humana Inc. rose 14%.
Twitter Inc.
A showdown is looming between Twitter Chief Executive Jack
Dorsey and Paul Singer's Elliott Management Corp. Mr. Singer's
activist hedge fund has nominated four directors to Twitter's board
and taken a roughly $1 billion stake, The Wall Street Journal
reported Monday. Elliot wants Twitter to find a full-time CEO,
which would likely mean replacing Mr. Dorsey. Last year, Mr. Dorsey
tweeted his plans to live in Africa for part of 2020, surprising
Twitter executives and angering investors. He seemingly backed off
those plans while speaking at a Morgan Stanley event on Thursday.
Mr. Dorsey was pushed out in 2008 during his first stint as CEO and
was reappointed in 2015. Twitter shares gained 7.9% Monday.
Apple Inc.
Think Apple slowed down one of your older iPhones? The company
could owe you $25. Apple has agreed to pay as much as $500 million
to some iPhone owners to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming the
company slowed down the performance of its older smartphones to
drive customers to buy new ones. The company's payout will total
anywhere from $310 million to $500 million under the proposed
settlement, but the per-iPhone payout could change from $25,
depending on the number of eligible devices. Apple said in 2017
that a software update introduced at the start of that year reduced
the performance of older models. Apple shares gained 9.3%
Monday.
Campbell Soup Co.
Canned soup demand is rising in response to the coronavirus
epidemic. Campbell said Wednesday that its sales are getting a
boost from retailers stocking up on the beleaguered food maker's
namesake product and other canned foods, including less-popular
items such as SpaghettiOs and Swanson canned chicken. Grocers and
other retailers have said that some consumers are buying up staple
foods and cleaning supplies out of concern the virus's spread will
leave them stuck at home. Some stores in densely populated cities
have run out of long-lasting foods such as Jif peanut butter and
Kraft macaroni and cheese. Campbell shares rose 10% Wednesday.
United Airlines Holdings Inc.
United Airlines is cutting flights and parking planes as the new
coronavirus spreads. The carrier said Wednesday it plans to store
some wide-body jets and is offering staff unpaid leaves of absence
in April. United will cut domestic capacity by 10% in April from
its previous plan and international flying by 20%, and these cuts
could extend into May. The Chicago-based carrier has the biggest
exposure to international markets among U.S. carriers and has
already suspended most of its flights to China, South Korea and
Italy, as have most of its U.S. peers. United shares fell 13%
Thursday.
Gap Inc.
There is no longer a leadership gap at the Gap. The struggling
apparel giant said late Thursday that it promoted Sonia Syngal, the
head of its Old Navy brand, to be its chief executive, while board
member Bobby Martin will take over as executive chairman. Gap
abandoned plans to break off Old Navy into a separate public
company earlier this year, saying the split would have been too
expensive and complex to pull off. Ms. Syngal, who will take over
the role on March 23, boosted Old Navy's store footprint in North
America and developed its e-commerce capabilities, the company
said. Gap shares fell 1.3% Friday.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive James Dimon underwent emergency
heart surgery Thursday, his second big health scare in recent
years. The procedure was successful, and the acute aortic
dissection Mr. Dimon suffered was caught early, the bank said in a
memo to employees. JPMorgan Co-Presidents Daniel Pinto and Gordon
Smith are leading the bank while Mr. Dimon recuperates. His sudden
illness is likely to revive speculation about when Mr. Dimon will
step down from the bank he has led since 2004. Earlier this year,
he said he expected to retire in five years -- the same answer he
has given for at least six years. JPMorgan shares fell 5.2%
Friday.
Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 06, 2020 18:39 ET (23:39 GMT)
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