Nasdaq Stocks

DuPont (DD) announced the commencement of its planned split-off exchange offer for its Nutrition & Biosciences (N&B) business.

The exchange offer provides DuPont common shareholders with an option to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of N&B, which will be later converted into shares of International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF). The company stated that the exchange offer would expire on January 29, 2021.

The offer forms a part of DuPont’s “Reverse Morris Trust” arrangement with International Flavors & Fragrances, which was announced a year ago. Under the arrangement, DuPont had agreed to split-off its N&B business and then combine it with IFF.

DuPont said, “Following the exchange offer, N&B will merge with a subsidiary of IFF and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of IFF, and shares of N&B common stock will be converted into shares of IFF common stock. In the merger the N&B shares will convert into IFF shares on a 1.0:1.0 basis, so participants in the exchange offer will instead receive shares of IFF common stock in the merger.”

Last month, Delaware’s Supreme Court upheld a March 2020 judgement of the dismissal of a lawsuit against DuPont wherein the company was accused of massively downplaying the cost of environmental liabilities imposed on spin-off company Chemours. (See DD stock analysis on TipRanks)

Following the ruling, Deutsche Bank analyst David Begleiter raised the stock’s price target to $90 (26.6% upside potential) from $65 and reiterated a Buy rating. Begleiter believes that the ruling will lead to a new cost arrangement between the two companies, which will lessen investors’ concern over DuPont’s PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) exposure.

Like Begleiter, the rest of the Street also has a bullish outlook on the stock. The Strong Buy analyst consensus is based on 6 unanimous Buys. Meanwhile, the average analyst price target stands at $74, and implies 4.1% upside potential at current levels. Shares were up 10.8% in 2020.

Related News:
Gold Resource In Leadership Reshuffle After NMU Spinoff; Shares Drop 5%
Ford Calls Off Joint Venture With Mahindra; Street Says Hold
Southwest Airlines Signs Agreement with Sabre; Street Sees 14% Upside

Tesla on Saturday announced that it delivered 499,550 electric vehicles in 2020, up from 367,500 units it had shipped in 2019. Deliveries for 2020 surpassed analysts’ expectations of 481,261 units, but fell fractionally short of CEO Elon Musk’s 500,000 target.

Tesla’s (TSLA) Model Y crossover SUV and Model 3 Sedan made up 88.6% of the total 2020 deliveries while the older Model S and X accounted for the rest. During the year, Tesla shipped 442,511 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles while it delivered 57,039 units of Model S and X.

The company said, “Our delivery count should be viewed as slightly conservative, as we only count a car as delivered if it is transferred to the customer and all paperwork is correct. Final numbers could vary by up to 0.5% or more.” (See TSLA stock analysis on TipRanks)

In 4Q, the company shipped 180,570 electric vehicles, which came in 61.2% higher than the 112,000 units it had delivered in the year-ago quarter. Of the total, 161,650 were for the Model 3 and Model Y, reflecting year-over-year growth of 74.7%. However, shipments for Model S and X declined 2.7% to 18,920 units year-on-year. Its total production during the quarter increased by 71.4% year-over-year to 179,757 vehicles.

Additionally, the company announced that Model Y production has started in Shanghai and the deliveries could begin shortly.

Ahead of its quarterly production and shipment numbers, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives had reiterated his Hold rating as well as the price target of $715 (1.3% upside potential). In a note to investors, Ives wrote, “Based on our initial analysis of demand and the delivery trajectory globally for Tesla in 4Q, it appears Musk & Co. will likely handily exceed Street and internal expectations.”

The stock scores an analyst consensus of a Hold based on 11 Holds, 7 Buys and 7 Sells. With shares soaring over 743% in 2020, the average price target of $457.83 implies downside potential of about 35.1% to current levels.

Related News:
Tesla Inks 5-Year Deal To Buy Lithium From China’s Sichuan Yahua – Report
Ford Calls Off Joint Venture With Mahindra; Street Says Hold
Southwest Airlines Signs Agreement with Sabre; Street Sees 14% Upside

Sage Therapeutics received $1.525 billion from Biogen under the earlier announced collaboration and license agreement to jointly develop treatments for depression and other neurological disorders. 

Per the deal, Sage Therapeutics (SAGE) has received an upfront payment of $875 million from Biogen. Further, Biogen has made an equity investment of about $650 million in Sage and purchased about 6.24 million newly issued Sage shares at $104.14 per share.

On Nov. 27, Biogen’s (BIIB) CEO Michel Vounatsos said, “We are excited about the potential to bring together Biogen’s leading capabilities in neuroscience with Sage’s deep expertise in psychiatry.” He added, “Major depressive disorder affects approximately 17 million people in the U.S. alone, and is a common co-morbidity of multiple neurological disorders in Biogen’s core therapeutic areas.”

Sage’s COO Mike Cloonan said, “Through this collaboration, Sage and Biogen have the potential to build something greater together than either could have done alone. We will leverage each other’s existing expertise while continuing to build new capabilities in our efforts to create paradigm shifts in the treatment of depression, PPD [Postpartum Depression] and essential tremor -- disorders that have gone too long with few treatment innovations.” (See SAGE stock analysis on TipRanks)

On Dec. 17, Mizuho Securities analyst Vamil Divan reiterated a Buy rating and a price target of $81 (6.4% downside potential) on the stock. After a conversation with the newly-appointed CEO Barry Greene and CFO Kimi Iguchi, Divan said, “We expect to hear more from Barry Greene and the team in January as they lay out their plan for 2021 and their vision for the company for the next 3-5 years. Much of the long-term plan of course will be determined by key data readouts in 2021.”

From the rest of the Street, the stock scores a cautiously optimistic analyst consensus of a Moderate Buy based on 11 Buys and 6 Holds. The average analyst price target stands at $87.07, which implies that the shares are almost fully priced at current levels. Shares have gained 19.8% in 2020.

Related News:
RedHill Releases ‘Positive’ Results From Early Covid-19 Trial With Opaganib; Shares Drop 5.6%
U.K. Health Service Extends Window For Second Dose of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine
Incyte Partners With Cellenkos For Blood Cancer Therapy; Street Sees 13% Upside

Mogo on Dec. 31 announced an at-the-market [ATM] offering agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., Raymond James and Eight Capital as agents, thereby establishing an ATM program. Shares of the financial technology company lost 7.1% at the close on Thursday.

ATM offerings refer to constant offerings, providing issuers with a cheap and flexible means to raise modest amounts of capital with nominal market influence and limited management participation.

Mogo’s (MOGO) ATM program is being conducted under a prospectus supplement to the company’s base shelf prospectus dated Dec. 5, 2019,

The company may sell common shares of up to $50 million through the agents during the 12-month remaining term of the base shelf prospectus.

The common shares sold under the program would be issued from treasury to the public at the prevailing market price at the time of sale, when sold through the Nasdaq Capital Market. Additionally, the net proceeds of any sales of common shares under the program would be used for operational expenditures, to maintain the company’s working capital balances and for general corporate purposes.

Mogo is not obligated to make any sales of common shares under the agreement.

In reaction to future member growth and monetization potential amidst the pandemic, H.C. Wainwright analyst Scott Buck initiated coverage on the stock with a Buy rating recently with a $4 price target (6.1% upside potential).

Buck expects the "valuation gap" to narrow on the back of future member growth and monetization. (See MOGO stock analysis on TipRanks)

From the rest of the Street, the stock scores an analyst consensus of a Strong Buy based on 3 unanimous Buys. The average analyst price target of $3.56 implies downside potential of 5.6% to current levels.

Related News:
Southwest Airlines Signs Agreement with Sabre; Street Sees 14% Upside
Daimler To Pay $30M Penalty for Delayed Truck Recalls
Alden Global Bids To Take Control Of Tribune Publishing; Shares Jump 7%

Vertex Energy on Dec. 31 announced the receipt of formal notification from Nasdaq regarding the grant of an additional 180-day compliance period to regain compliance with the minimum $1 bid price per share requirement. Shares gained 12.4% in after-hours trading on Thursday.

Shares of the environmental services company last closed at $1 on Mar. 5, 2020.

Vertex Energy (VTNR) would regain compliance with the Rule if at any time, until Jun. 28, 2021, the bid price of its common stock closes at or above $1 per share for a minimum of 10 consecutive trading days.

In reaction to the company’s growth trajectory despite headwinds and strong 3Q20 results, H.C. Wainwright analyst Amit Dayal reiterated a Buy rating on the VTNR stock. Dayal had set a price target of $4 (462% upside potential).

Vertex had a stronger than expected recovery in its business in 3Q20 and came in ahead of Dayal’s projections across all key line items, supported by 36% sequential improvement in used motor oil collections as new customers were added and vehicle miles travelled increased in the quarter.

The recovery in economic activity and steps taken to diversify into new revenue streams, including auto coolants and used oil filters, have positioned the company very well for 2021, with the outlook for volume and spreads into 1Q21 becoming increasingly favorable, according to Dayal. (See VTNR stock analysis on TipRanks)

Dayal projected 2020 topline revenues of $136.8 million and expected them to rise to $348.3 million in 2030, at a 10-year CAGR of 9.8%. He projected the company’s adjusted EBITDA to increase from $14.9 million in 2021 to $41.1 million in 2030, growing at a nine-year CAGR of 12%.

Related News:
RedHill Releases ‘Positive’ Results From Early Covid-19 Trial With Opaganib; Shares Drop 5.6%
Lemonade Hits 1M Active Customers Milestone; Shares Fall 6% On Short-Seller Report
Myovant Pops 20% On Pfizer Drug Collaboration; Goldman Sticks To Buy