ATVI - Hot Stocks: CBRL and SCHL rises on analyst upgrade; ATVI up as regulator eases enquiry scope; SCHL slides on guidance cut

2023-03-24 11:49:22 ET

• The decline in Deutsche Bank shares in Europe on Friday caused stocks to plummet as it renewed investor concerns about the banking industry.
• Citing individual stocks First Horizon National ( NYSE: FHN ) and Cracker Barrel Old Country Store ( NASDAQ: CBRL ) pushed higher on an analyst upgrade, while Scholastic ( NASDAQ: SCHL ) slumped on lowering FY2023 outlook.
• Elsewhere, Activision Blizzard ( NASDAQ: ATVI ) shares gained after UK regulator eases inquiry scope on Microsoft merger.
• Gainers
• First Horizon National ( FHN ) jumped about 3% in intraday trading after Wells Fargo analyst Jared Shaw upgraded the firm to Overweight from Equal Weight as he believed TD Bank would eventually complete its proposed acquisition of FHN at the original agreed-upon price of $25 per share. "We believe downside risk is limited to $15, while original deal completion provides 60% upside," he wrote.
• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store ( CBRL ) shares up ~1% after Argus Analyst Kristina Ruggeri upgraded the stock to a Buy rating from Hold as its new menu seems promising. Argus assigned a price target of $126.
• Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) shares surged nearly 5% after the U.K.'s antitrust regulator said to narrow the scope of concerns with regards to pending acquisition by Microsoft .
• "The [Competition and Markets Authority] has provisionally concluded that the anticipated acquisition by Microsoft Corporation of Activision Blizzard, Inc. will not result in a substantial lessening of competition in relation to console gaming in the UK," the agency wrote in a statement.
• Decliners
• Scholastic ( SCHL ) shares plunged more than 24% after the company cut its profitability outlook and halved its full-year sales projection followed by decline in Q3 sales .
• The company now expects full-year adjusted EBITDA of $175M-$185M, down from $195M-$205M, and it sees revenues growing at a rate of 4% vs. a previous range of 8-10%.
• To keep track of Wall Street's best- and worst-performing stocks throughout the session, head over to Seeking Alpha's On The Move section .

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