Intuitive Machines (LUNR) shares unravel as status of lunar lander remains unclear - update. (00:28) U.S. judge may block Paramount-Skydance (PARAA) (PARA) deal after shareholder suit alleges fiduciary breach. (01:21) HP Enterprise (HPE) provides weak outlook, reveals 'workforce reduction' program. (02:47)Episode transcripts seekingalpha.com/wsb.Show links: Biggest stock movers: AVGO, LUNR, and moreSpaceX's Starship explodes after launch again, debris disrupts Florida flightsFading worries over DOGE and Elon Musk, Wedbush goes all-in on TeslaTrump establishes Strategic Bitcoin ReserveCryptocurrency may likely remain under pressure over near term - JPMSign up for our daily newsletter here and for full access to analyst ratings, stock quant scores, dividend grades, subscribe to Seeking Alpha Premium at seekingalpha.com/subscriptions.
Chapter 1: What are the challenges Intuitive Machines is facing with their lunar lander?
Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast, where we cover the top news for investors every morning. Good morning. Today is Friday, March 7th. I'm Julie Morgan. Another moon mission, another landing issue. Intuitive Machines is feeling the pressure. A judge agrees to fast-track a lawsuit challenging Paramount's $8 billion Skydance deal. And HPE disappoints.
Intuitive Machines lost ground amid very volatile trading. The company believes the second lunar lander, Athena, may not be upright, repeating a similar issue from last year when the first probe landed lopsided on the moon. Intuitive Machines' Athena probe targeted a lunar landing at around 12.30 p.m. ET on Thursday, carrying NASA technology demonstrations and science investigations.
The aircraft does have a signal and the company's CEO said they believe the lander is in the vicinity of the intended landing site. This setback has dampened optimism about intuitive machine space exploration capabilities, fueling uncertainty about its valuation and future prospects. Shares closed 20% lower on Thursday and continues to slide in pre-market trading with a loss of 34%. A U.S.
Chapter 2: Why is the Paramount-Skydance deal being challenged in court?
judge in Delaware is willing to consider allegations brought against Paramount Global in a lawsuit. The lawsuit says the $8 billion sale to David Ellison's Skydance Media should be blocked from closing because it shortchanges public shareholders.
Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a court filing that an investor group called Project Rise Partners submitted a proposal in January valued at $13.5 billion to buy Paramount, but that was rejected by a Paramount special committee. In response, pension funds for New York City employees that own Paramount stock filed a lawsuit alleging the company's special committee
Chapter 3: What are the consequences of the court's decision regarding the Skydance deal?
On Thursday, Chancellor Kathleen McCormick agreed to expedite the pension fund's lawsuit, but declined to issue a temporary restraining order to block the deal because it did not appear the deal was about to close. The closing of the Skydance deal is subject to the FCC's approval, and according to McCormick's ruling, the earliest the deal can close is March 20th.
The merger has an April 7th end date, although it can be extended twice by 90 days if the FCC does not give clearance for the merger to close. Paramount said in its latest earnings report that it expects the deal with Skydance to close in the first half of 2025. Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise sank after the company reported its first quarter fiscal 2025 financial results and guidance.
Chapter 4: How is HP Enterprise's financial outlook affecting its stock performance?
The outlook fell well below market expectations and HPE also revealed a cost reduction program that includes a workforce reduction by as many as 3,000. For the quarter ended January 31st of 2025, HPE reported adjusted earnings per share of 49 cents versus the consensus estimate of 50 cents. Revenue for the quarter totaled $7.9 billion, which was more than the estimate of $7.81 billion.
For the entirety of fiscal 2025, the company said it expects adjusted EPS to have a midpoint of $1.80 versus the consensus of $2.12. HPE revealed that its board of directors approved a cost reduction program that plans to deliver $350 million in gross savings by fiscal year 2027 through reductions in the company's workforce.
HPE also provided an update regarding its proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. In late January, the Department of Justice filed a complaint seeking to block the proposed merger. The DOJ argues that a merger between HPE and Juniper would minimize competition in the enterprise wireless market. The court set a trial commencement date of July 9th 2025.
HPE has already received approval for the acquisition by the EU, United Kingdom, India, South Korea and Australia. Now let's see what's trending on Seeking Alpha. SpaceX's Starship explodes after launch again and debris disrupts Florida flights. Wedbush is going all in on Tesla. President Trump establishes the strategic Bitcoin reserve.
And JP Morgan says cryptocurrency may likely remain under pressure over near term. On our Catalyst Watch for the Day, another light one, Will Scott Holdings will host an Investor Day event. And Just Eat Takeaway and Zscaler will participate in a virtual technology travel and gambling forum. Now let's check out the markets today ahead of the opening bell.
Dow S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the green. Crude oil is up 1.5% at $67 a barrel. Bitcoin is down 2.3% at $89,000. In the world markets, the FTSE 100 is down 0.6% and the DAX is down 1.9%. The gap is on our list of the biggest movers of the day pre-market.
Gap is up 18% as the retailer surpassed Q4 estimates, fueled by better-than-expected comparable sales in three of its four brands and its strongest gross margin in two decades. We have quite a bit on today's economic calendar. At 8.30am, the employment situation. At 10.15am, the Fed's John Williams will participate in a panel discussion of the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum report.
The Fed's Michelle Bowman will participate in that same discussion. And at 12.30pm, Jerome Powell will speak on the economic outlook at that same event. At 12.20 p.m., the Fed's Adriana Kugler speaks on the rebalancing of labor markets across the world before the Bank of Portugal's conference on monetary policy transmission and the labor market. And just 40 minutes later at 1 p.m.
at that same event, Adriana Kugler will participate in a monetary policy panel. And finally at 3 p.m., U.S. Consumer Credit. That's it for today's Wall Street Breakfast. Thanks for listening. To take full advantage of Seeking Alpha with coverage on significant stocks and ETFs, become a premium subscriber. Check out seekingalpha.com slash subscriptions. I'm your host, Julie Morgan.
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