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Luke Kawa

ServiceNow tumbles on report that it’s nearing a deal to buy cybersecurity startup Armis for up to $7 billion

ServiceNow is deep in the red in premarket trading Monday after Bloomberg reported that the software company is in “advanced talks” to buy cybersecurity firm Armis for up to $7 billion, citing people familiar with the situation.

In early November, a pre-IPO funding round valued Armis at $6.1 billion. The firm touts United Airlines, Mondelez, “3 of 5 largest retailers in the US, 3 out of 5 largest banks and many more” as customers, and said in August that it had surpassed $300 million in annual recurring revenue.

A stake in Armis is a hot commodity. CEO Yevgeny Dibrov told Bloomberg in September that it was weighing six to seven offers from investors — one of whom was reported to be private equity firm Thoma Bravo — that were looking to take a position in the firm.

“ServiceNows possible acquisition of Armis, as reported by Bloomberg News, would help its IT asset management practice, which complements its much larger IT service management business,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Anurag Rana and Andrew Girard wrote. “Though ServiceNow isnt a pure-play cybersecurity vendor, Armis could help provide bundled services amid rising threats, especially with increased use of LLMs. However, they also noted that “the reported deal price of $7 billion to gain $300 million in annualized recurring revenue seems expensive.”

Along with this news, KeyBanc analyst Jackson Ader also downgraded shares of ServiceNow to underweight from sector weight, with a price target of $775, warning that the software company is facing stiff competition from Microsoft’s Agent 365.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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