- Takeover deals (real and imagined) and COVID headlines stirred trading in Thursday's pre-market session. Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) was among the most prominent names seeing a noteworthy move, with the stock giving up its recent gains after Samsung shot down rumors that the two companies were working on a merger deal.
- Elsewhere, a renewed bidding war gave a boost to R.R. Donnelley (NYSE:RRD).
- Turning to the day's COVID news, JetBlue (NASDAQ:JBLU) announced a wave of flight cancelations over the next two weeks, as the Omicron variant has cut into its staffing levels. Meanwhile, pandemic shutdowns in China have impacted Micron (NASDAQ:MU).
Decliners
- Biogen (BIIB) dropped about 6% in pre-market action, giving back a large chunk of the gains it posted the day before. The morning slide came after Samsung Biologics (OTC:SSNLF) denied a report that the companies had entered merger talks.
- BIIB rallied more than 9% on Wednesday following a report in The Korea Economic Daily indicating that Samsung was in talks to buy the biotech.
- JetBlue (JBLU) edged lower in pre-market action after announcing that it would cancel almost 1,300 flights through Jan. 13. The company blamed Omicron infections cutting into its staffing levels.
- Pandemic-related news also weighed on Micron (MU). The stock dropped nearly 2% in pre-market trading after the company said COVID shutdowns in China would create supply delays for its DRAM memory chips.
Gainer
- The complicated bidding war for R.R. Donnelley (RRD) heated up again on Thursday. An unnamed "strategic buyer" has submitted an unsolicited non-binding offer for the commercial printing company.
- The bid is priced at $11 per share -- above the $10.85 per share included in an offer RRD has already accepted from Chatham Asset Management. Chatham's proposal had beat out a competing offer from Atlas Holdings.
- Boosted by the latest offer, RRD climbed about 4% in pre-market action, rising to $11.10 at around 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Looking to keep up with Wall Street's top winners and losers throughout the session? Click over to SA's On The Move section.