Market Fluctuations: Pfizer and Super Micro in Focus

The stock markets are experiencing a downward trend at midday: The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite each lost about 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 0.5% and the Russell 2000 Index by 0.7%. Significant movements were observed in five S&P 500 stocks, with Pfizer standing out in particular. The company's shares rose by 2.4% after CNBC reported that activist investor Starboard Value had taken a stake of around one billion dollars to initiate a turnaround. According to sources, Starboard has contacted former Pfizer CEO Ian Read and ex-CFO Frank D’Amelio, who have shown interest in supporting this endeavor. Pfizer benefited from its rapidly deployed vaccine during the Covid-19 pandemic but is now struggling with waning demand. The company plans to cut its costs by about 1.5 billion dollars by the end of 2027 but remains down by 1.1% year-to-date. Apple experienced a 1% decline at midday after Jefferies upgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold” with a price target of $212.92. In the long term, the analyst has a favorable view of Apple Intelligence but cautions that expectations for the iPhone 16 and 17 are premature, as AI-enabled smartphone technology might still be years away. Apple plans to release iOS 18.1 and Apple Intelligence on October 28. Super Micro, on the other hand, saw a meteoric rise of 15%, making it the biggest gainer in the S&P 500, thanks to the announcement of deliveries for liquid-cooled solutions. The company recently delivered over 100,000 liquid-cooled GPUs for large AI factories, which quadruple computing power and significantly reduce the space required in data centers. Super Micro is showing a more positive outlook after a stock slump in August, triggered by delays in submitting their annual report and allegations from Hindenburg Research concerning alleged accounting irregularities.