Several companies made headlines in extended trading. Chubb, a property and casualty insurer, saw a nearly 6% increase in its stock price after Berkshire Hathaway revealed it had purchased nearly 26 million shares of the Zurich-based company for a stake worth $6.7 billion. Chubb became Berkshire’s ninth largest holding by the end of March. AST SpaceMobile also experienced a significant increase in its shares, jumping 33% after announcing a commercial agreement with AT&T to bring its space-based broadband network directly to cell phones. Cisco Systems saw its shares jump nearly 5% after reporting better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings.
B. Riley Financial, a middle-market investment bank based in Los Angeles, saw a 2% decrease in its stock price after reporting a loss of $1.71 per share in the first quarter, compared to a net income of 51 cents in the same period the previous year. The company had received a Nasdaq delinquency notice in March and had halved its quarterly dividend in February. Hawkins, a Minnesota-based chemical maker, saw a 6% drop in its stock price after reporting a 2% decrease in fiscal fourth quarter sales compared to the previous year. Management expressed caution about its industrial business in the next 12 months due to economic and competitive pressures impacting demand.
Palo Alto Networks, a cybersecurity company, experienced a 1% increase in its stock price after announcing its acquisition of cloud security software assets from IBM. This move is part of a broader partnership between the companies and will give Palo Alto access to more consultants and a larger customer base. IBM’s shares remained relatively unchanged. Overall, the companies making headlines in extended trading had mixed results, with some seeing significant stock price increases while others faced declines or challenges in their financial performance.
Investors will be closely monitoring these companies in the coming months to see how they navigate their respective challenges and opportunities. The partnership between AST SpaceMobile and AT&T could have significant implications for the future of broadband connectivity, while the acquisitions and financial performance of companies like Chubb, Cisco Systems, and B. Riley Financial will be closely scrutinized. The cybersecurity sector, represented by Palo Alto Networks, is also evolving rapidly, and its acquisition of assets from IBM may signal further consolidation in the industry. Overall, these companies are emblematic of the dynamic and ever-changing nature of the business world, where success and challenges go hand in hand.
