37 minutes ago
Office Depot/OfficeMax parent company slips after launch as activist leaves board
ODP Corporation, the parent company of Office Depot and OfficeMax, fell 5% post-market after an agreement with hedge fund HG Vora expired in January 2021 and Marcus Dunlop, an HG partner, left ODP's board effective December 31 Left in 2023.
HG Vora, which owns 3 million ODP shares, representing about 8%, continues to “support the board's ongoing efforts to implement its long-term strategy and shareholder-focused capital allocation plan,” Dunlop said.
On Dec. 18, HG Vora announced an 18.5 percent stake in Penn Entertainment, said it had been in discussions with management and the board to increase shareholder value and had asked for representation on the board, according to reports a 13D filing with the SEC.
– Scott Schnipper
50 minutes ago
AI is different from previous internet and VR bubbles, says Bank of America
The increasing rise of artificial intelligence applications pushed technology stocks higher in 2024.
However, according to Bank of America's Robert Cheng, some investors questioned the viability of the AI trend, comparing it to previous short-lived themes such as the Internet bubble of the 1999s or the VR bubble of the 2020s.
However, the analyst disagrees with these concerns.
“We believe AI is different because the key players are global CSPs [cloud service providers] and enterprises, as opposed to primarily startups focused on the consumer market during the internet and VR bubbles,” he wrote. “CSPs/enterprises are making AI-related investments to improve/create business models and increase revenue/efficiency.”
—Lisa Kailai Han
An hour ago
Bloomin' Brands rises 4% after appointing two directors
Bloomin' Brands, owner of Outback Steakhouse, rose 4% after it added two directors to its board as part of a deal with activist investor Starboard Value, which owns about 10% of the company's shares.
Both Dave George, former chief operating officer of Darden Restaurants, and Jon Sagal, partner at Starboard, will join the board.
Bloomin' also announced that it would be forming an operations committee on its board to be tasked with identifying potential areas for improvement.
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Bloomin' Brands is rising after the company names two new board members
An hour ago