S&P 500, Nasdaq Inch Higher as Market in Holding Pattern Ahead of Nvidia Earnings

Super Micro Falls as Short Seller Issues Report

37 minutes ago

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) shares slipped Tuesday after short seller Hindenburg Research disclosed a short position in the artificial intelligence (AI) technology firm.

Hindenburg’s report accused Super Micro Computer of “accounting manipulation, sibling self-dealing and sanctions evasion.” The shares, which dropped substantially in premarket trading, were recently down nearly 3%.

 The report, the claims of which Investopedia hasn’t independently verified, describes a three-month investigation by Hindenburg into Super Micro that included interviews with former senior employees. It alleges major accounting lapses, including undisclosed related-party transactions and failure to comply with export controls. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Super Micro Computer, which makes server technology and hardware used in data centers, has been a major beneficiary of the AI boom. As an Nvidia (NVDA) partner, Super Micro has shared in some of the gains made by the market’s AI darling, and its hardware is found in some Nvidia data center technology—including that used by Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI.

Shares of Super Micro have nearly doubled in 2024, although its price is down more than 50% from its March peak. The company earlier this month reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates and announced a 10-for-1 stock split.

–Andrew Kessel

Paramount Slides as Bronfman Pulls Bid

2 hr 14 min ago

Paramount Global (PARA) was among the big decliners in the S&P 500 Tuesday following news that Edgar Bronfman Jr. has withdrawn from bidding for Shari Redstone’s media empire, setting the stage for the entertainment giant to be sold to David Ellison’s Skydance Media.

The special committee handling the twists and turns of the months-long bidding process for Paramount said that it is closing the door on the company’s “go-shop” period and plans to move forward with the Skydance Media deal. The committee said that it had “contacted more than 50 third parties” to see if they were interested in bidding for Paramount.

Paramount shares were down more than 6% in afternoon trading. The stock has lost nearly 40% of its value since the start of the year.

–Nisha Gopalan

Hims & Hers Shares Sink Amid Lilly Competition

3 hr 51 min ago

Shares of Hims & Hers Health (HIMS) sank in intraday trading Tuesday on new competition for lower-priced weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly (LLY).

Lilly announced that it would be selling the two lowest doses of its popular injectable obesity drug Zepbound in single-use vials that patients would measure themselves.1

Lilly said those would be priced at half the cost of the pre-filled vials currently prescribed. In addition, the medicine would be sent through the company’s LillyDirect self-pay channel, helping those not eligible for Zepbound’s savings program or without insurance coverage to afford it.

That was bad news for Hims & Hers Health, which offers direct-to-consumer copycat versions of prescription drugs at reduced prices. In May, it began selling an injectable with the same key ingredient that’s in Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) popular weight-loss treatments Wegovy and Ozempic.

Hims & Hers also said in its recent earnings call that it planned to have one similar to Zepbound “in the near future.”

Hims & Hers shares were down 7% in recent trading, at their lowest level since May.

–Bill McColl

Eli Lilly Near Record High After Zepbound News

5 hr 23 min ago

Eli Lilly (LLY) reached a key supply milestone Tuesday, announcing the launch of single-dose vials of Zepbound, one of the company’s popular weight-loss drugs.

The vials will be at least half the price of other versions of Zepbound and Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s other weight-loss drug, along with competitors such as Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Ozempic and Wegovy. In its standard version, the drugs come in an injection pen that take longer to make because they contain both the medicine and the syringe, while customers will be able to use the easier-to-make vials with any syringe to inject themselves.

The drugs will be available through Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect, the company’s attempt to the bypass the need for traditional pharmacies by filling prescriptions for its medications online.

Eli Lilly shares were up 1.5% in recent trading near a record high. The stock has gained 67% so far this year.

–Aaron McDade

Major Index Futures Move Lower Tuesday

6 hr 53 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%.

S&P 500 futures were down also down 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were off 0.2%.