Today's Most Active Stocks Are Pioneer Natural, Micron, First Republic, Tesla, Capital One, And More

In the U.S. stock market on Monday, stock futures were lower as investors took stocks into account an unexpected slowdown in hiring in the job market and eyed inflation data and the beginning of the earnings season for corporations later this week.

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Monday was a big day for these stocks as they were poised to move: 

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It was reported today by Trade Algo that Exxon Mobil (XOM) had held preliminary discussions with Pioneer Natural Resources (ticker: PXD) in regard to an acquisition of the shale driller. Pioneer Natural Resources' stock was up 7.3% following the reports from Trade Algo. It has been reported by Trade Algo that informal discussions have been taking place between the two companies about a potential deal. There was a 0.7% decline in Exxon's stock price.

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On Friday, Tupperware Brands (TUP) announced a going-concern warning that caused its shares to fall 11.2%. The company said that it had sought financial advisors to assist in securing additional financing as well as was seeking potential investors or financing partners to assist in the acquisition process.

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It is expected that Samsung Electronics, which owns Micron Technology, will make an "significant" cut to its production of memory chips as part of an effort to reduce costs. This follows an announcement from Samsung Electronics that it intends to reduce its production of memory chips in its early stages. According to the analyst, the news of Samsung cutting its prices is very promising for the DRAM industry, especially when combined with Micron's and Hynix's decisions to cut their production and capex expenses, which should assist in ensuring an early recovery from DRAM in 2H23. Micron's price target remains $75 as the analyst reiterates his Buy rating.

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As part of its premarket trading, First Republic Bank's preferred stock was down 3.6% after the struggling regional lender announced that cash dividends would not be paid on its preferred stocks any longer. During the month of March, First Republic suspended its dividend on its common stock as a measure of prudent oversight. The bank stated in a regulatory filing that the action was taken in order to ensure prudent oversight.

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It was reported that Tesla (TSLA) intends to construct a new factory in Shanghai to boost production of its Megapack battery technology. Elon Musk, CEO of the electric vehicle maker, said that the company plans to build its next Megafactory to be able to produce 10,000 Megapacks each year as part of its next "Megafactory". As a result of the new Shanghai plant, Tesla's Megapack production facility in California will be supplemented by this new plant. Its shares were down 2% in premarket trading.

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A credit-card partnership between Walmart (WMT) and Capital One Financial COF –0.18% (COF) has been halted in an effort to end it. The shares of Capital One slipped 3.9% in premarket trading as Walmart filed a lawsuit alleging that Capital One failed to fulfill certain service obligations. According to a statement issued by a Capital One spokesman, the bank intends to vigorously protect its contractual rights in court.

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It was reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) may report a revenue quarter-over-quarter decline of 15.5%, which is the first year-over-year decline in over four years, as it reported a sales jump of 3.6% in the first quarter. The chip maker had reported a revenue jump of 3.6% in the first quarter but said that revenue had fallen 15% year-over-year in the month of March.

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The stock has climbed 1.2% to $63.75, a mark that marks a positive turnaround for NetApp (NTAP), the company that provides cloud-based data-services. The price target remains at $75.

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We are expecting Tilray Brands Inc. (TLRY) and PriceSmart Inc. (PSMT) both to release their earnings reports after the stock market closes on Monday.

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In addition to the the big banks, we should expect some of the smaller U.S. banks to make their quarterly earnings announcements on Friday, including JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), and BlackRock (BLK). Delta Air Lines (DAL) will report earnings on Thursday.