US stocks fell again on Thursday, weighed down by concerns about the regional banking space. The S&P 500 fell 0.7%, posting losses for the fourth straight day.
Renewed problems in the banking sector included a massive drop in stocks from the first horizon (New York Stock Exchange: FHN), which lost about a third of its value after the merger deal with TD Bank (TD).
Meanwhile, earnings news also remained a major catalyst. Paramount Global Inc. (Para) (Para) slumped after disappointing results and a decline in its dividend. Meanwhile, the release of financial numbers has caused a surge in Itron (ITRI) and Shopify (SHOP).
Jenner standout
Shopify (SHOP) rose 24% after releasing its quarterly report, buoyed by surprise earnings and faster-than-expected revenue growth.
The e-commerce platform reported a $0.01 gain in the non-GAAP first quarter, which surprised analysts who had expected a loss overall. Revenue jumped 26% to $1.51 billion. Meanwhile, SHOP announced that it will sell its Shopify Logistics business to Flexport.
SHOP rose $11.03 to close at $57.30, touching a 52-week high of $59.82 along the way. Overall, shares are up 61% in 2023.
Standout Retreat
Paramount Global (Para) (Para) has suffered a sell-off following the release of its first-quarter earnings report and the entertainment giant’s announcement that it will cut its dividend. PARA fell 28% on the news.
The company missed expectations regarding its earnings and revenue numbers. This included a 1% tranche on the top line, with this totaling to $7.27 billion.
At the same time, PARA cut its quarterly dividend to $0.05 per share. Previously, the company had a dividend rate of $0.24 per share.
PARA ended Thursday’s trading at $16.40, down $6.49 from the day. With the slide, the stock reversed the gains posted earlier in the year. Shares are now down 4% for 2023, dropping to their lowest level since late December.
New high note
Better-than-expected quarterly results sparked buying in Itron (ITRI), sending the stock to a 52-week high. Shares of the energy and water resource management services provider jumped 21%.
ITRI easily beat previous expectations with its first quarter earnings. Meanwhile, revenue rose 4% to $494.6 million, with EBITDA more than doubling from a year ago.
Buoyed by the earnings news, ITRI finished at $65.60, up $11.58 on the day. During the session, shares touched a 52-week high of $65.80.
Noticeable new low
First Horizon (FHN) crashed after the regional bank’s deal to merge with TD Bank Group (TD) collapsed. The news sent shares down more than 33%, pushing the stock to a new 52-week low.
The companies reported that concerns about regulatory approvals soured the deal. The termination deal requires TD to pay $200 million in cash to FHN, as well as pay a fee of $25 million.
“TD has informed First Horizon that TD does not have a timetable for obtaining regulatory approvals for reasons unrelated to First Horizon,” the companies said in a joint statement. “Because there was uncertainty about when and if these regulatory approvals could be obtained, the parties mutually agreed to terminate the merger agreement.”
News of the broken merger deal sent FHN to a 52-week low of $8.99. Shares rebounded a bit from there, finally closing at $10.06, down $4.99 from the previous day’s close.
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