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Today we are watching…
1. Xerox (#xerox)
In the view of Carl Icahn’s Xerox, a fallen tech giant destined for the trash can, a merger with equally embattled printer company Hewlett-Packard (HP) is a matter of life and death. HP doesn’t need Xerox as much as Xerox needs it, and so it’s rejected two buyout offers. Push has come to shove, though, and now Xerox wants to take it by force in a hostile takeover! It’ll offer an above-market price for HP shares in the hope of gaining control over the company. How can HP defend itself? By bribing Xerox managers to drop it, by issuing new stock to current shareholders to weaken the value of Xerox’s stake, by impairing the assets that Xerox finds attractive, or by “playing Pac-Mac” with Xerox, scaring it off with attempts to buy a controlling share in it. Fetch the popcorn, someone!
2. Lululemon Athletica (#lulu)
A well-respected analyst on Wall Street thinks Lululemon Athletica is the next Nike. John Kernan of Cowen says the small athleisure brand has the same runway of opportunities ahead of it as Nike once did, to invest profits back into its business. That’s a big claim, but who’s buying it? Most investors in 2019. Lululemon is up 85% this year already, and has been issued an upgraded price target to $250 for good measure! As cliché as it sounds, only a value-driven conquest by Lululemon can help it get an advantage, become ingrained in society, and ultimately live up to the hype. Nike believes we should all “just do it!” What does Lululemon Athletica believe again?