We’re back from a three-day weekend, and the markets are slightly up ahead of the open. There’s a lot of geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, after North Korea’s failed attempted missile launch on Sunday. Thereafter, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence warned North Korea. However, the markets seem nonreactive to this during the early morning trade. Now, although the markets don’t seem like it’s getting a whole lot of action during the premarket, there are some small-cap stocks that are moving ahead of the open. Here are some morning market movers we’re watching today:
Morning Market Movers
Moneygram International Inc (NASDQ: MGI) shares were up over 8%, after the company announced that Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba, raised its offer to $18. Ant Financial raised its offer by 36%, from $13.25 previously. Consequently, this exceeded Euronet Worldwide’s offer of $15.20 per share. MGI’s board unanimously voted to approve to offer. Here’s a look at MGI’s performance on the daily chart:
Source: TradingView
Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp (NASDAQ: TNXP) shares were up slightly ahead of the bell, on light volume. TNXP reported a net loss of $7.5M during the fourth quarter, and it had a net loss per share of $2.08. Now, after adjustments for non-recurring costs, the net loss narrowed to $1.77 per share. For the fiscal year, Tonic Pharmaceuticals reported a net loss of $38.8M, or a net loss of $15.41 per shares. Here’s a look at TNXP’s performance on the daily chart.
Source: TradingView
Himax Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: HIMX) shares were up nearly 3% ahead of the opening bell, after the company was initiated by Macquarie. Macquarie analyst Lynn Luo initiated Himax with an Outperform rating, today. Luo placed a $40 price target, while the company closed below $9 on Thursday. Now, the Macquarie analyst noted that HIMX is currently well-positioned in the 3-D sensing space, and it has the capability in total solutions and components. Take a look at HIMX’s performance on the daily chart here:
Source: TradingView
Shares of HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc. NASDAQ: (HTGM) were up over 25% during the premarket, after HTG Molecular Diagnotics and Daiichi Sankyo completed their Master Services agreement. Additionally, HTG Molecular Diagnostics and Centre Leon Berard entered into a molecular profiling research agreement. Centre Leon Bard is a provider of frameworks for molecular profiling studies that are primarily aimed to advance precision medicine. Here’s a look at HTGM, as of the close last Thursday.
Source: TradingView
Laureate Education, Inc (NASDAQ: LAUR) announced its proposal to offer up to $800M worth of principal amount of senior notes, which are expected to be due in 2025, in a private offering. Now, the company plans to use these net proceeds, in addition to a portion of the net proceeds from its IPO and net proceeds from its announced $1.925B senior secured notes, to repay, redeem or repurchase some of its 9.250% senior notes due in 2019, repay its loans under its senior secured credit facilities and/or repay seller notes.
Source: TradingView
The Empire State Manufacturing Survey data was released, and the General Business Conditions Index – Level was 5.2, while the consensus was looking for 15.0. The Housing Market Index is expected to be released at 10:00 AM ET, and the consensus estimate is 70. Moreover, the Treasury International Capital is expected to be released at 4:00 PM ET, the previous foreign demand for long-term U.S. securities was only $6.3B.
