Today's noteworthy downgrades include: Allegiant Travel (ALGT) downgraded to Market Perform at Raymond James... BHP Billiton (BHP) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC... Cabot Microelectronics (CCMP) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Needham... Disney (DIS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG... DuPont (DD) downgraded at BofA/Merrill... Eastman Chemical (EMN) downgraded to Underperform from Outperform at CLSA... FXCM (FXCM) downgraded to Underperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette... First BanCorp (FBP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Guggenheim... First Republic Bank (FRC) downgraded to Market Perform at Raymond James... Freescale (FSL) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Drexel Hamilton... GOL Linhas (GOL) downgraded to Market Perform at Raymond James... Garmin (GRMN) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer... Hibbett Sports (HIBB) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Sterne Agee... LATAM Airlines (LFL) downgraded to Underperform at Raymond James... Melco Crown (MPEL) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley... Netflix (NFLX) downgraded at Evercore ISI... Rio Tinto (RIO) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at HSBC... SFX Entertainment (SFXE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Maxim... WESCO (WCC) downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna... Wynn Macau (WYNMF) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley... Wynn Resorts (WYNN) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley... iDreamSky (DSKY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel.

BHP Group (BHP) is weighing a possible acquisition of Anglo American (NGLOY), Bloomberg's Crystal Tse, Dinesh Nair, and Thomas Biesheuvel report, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The company has recently been evaluating the possibility of an offer for Anglo American, the authors note. Reference Link

Comcast (CMCSA) is scheduled to announce quarterly results on April 25, while Paramount (PARA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

B. Riley analyst Anna Glaessgen raised the firm's price target on Hibbett to $87.50 from $70 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares after JD Sports Fashion announced an agreement to acquire the company for $87.50 per share in cash.

Travel + Leisure Co. (TNL) and Allegiant (ALGT) "announced a multi-year marketing agreement, allowing both companies to grow their customer engagement through cross-company promotion. The two travel companies will share promotional offerings to each other's customers, providing offers to a broad spectrum of travelers. Allegiant, with more than 15 million Allways Rewards members, and Travel + Leisure Co., with more than 800,000 vacation ownership members and 3.5 million vacation exchange members, will each benefit from a highly engaged base of travelers."

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.  1... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Midland Exploration announced the execution of an amended option agreement on April 22, 2024 with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada and the addition of the Wookie project to the option agreement signed with RTEC in June 2023. The Wookie project is located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay area. The amended option agreement now consists of eleven projects totalling 2,208 claims covering a surface of about 1,139 square kilometres. These projects include Galinee, Corvette, Mythril East, Chisaayuu, Moria, Shire, Komo, Warp, Sulu, Picard and Wookie. Highlights: Addition of the Wookie project to the option agreement with RTEC; Additional $1,5M of expenditures for the initial 50% and $4,0M for 70% interest, with additional $100,000 cash payment upon execution and another $250,000 over a 4-year period. Under the amended Option Agreement, RTEC may acquire an initial 50% interest in the Properties over a period of five years, subject to the following conditions: Additional cash payment of $100,000 within 45 days of the amendment execution and additional cash payment of $250,000 over a 4-year period. Additional exploration expenditures of $1,500,000 for a new total of $16,000,000, including a firm commitment to spend not less than $2,000,000 in the first 18 months following the lifting of the wildfire restrictions in Quebec last August 2023. After acquiring an initial 50% interest, RTEC will have the option to increase its interest in the Properties to 70% over a period of five years following the exercise of the First Option, subject to the following conditions: Additional exploration expenditures of $4,000,000 for a new total of $54,000,000. The Properties are wholly-owned by Midland and all located within he Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, Quebec. RTEC will act as project operator under the Option Agreement during the First Option period and the Second Option period. The signing of the amended option agreement follows a new evaluation of the lithium potential of the Wookie project and its favorable geological context. The Wookie project is located within the La Grande geological subprovince of the lithium-rich Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, which hosts most of the lithium deposits, including deposits such as Corvette, James Bay Lithium, Whabouchi, and Adina. among others. The Wookie project consists of 188 claims and is located about 40 kilometres north-northwest of the James Bay Lithium deposit. The Wookie project is underlain by a lower Amphibolite facies metamorphosed bedrock, recognized to be the most favorable metamorphic facies for lithium pegmatites worldwide. Furthermore, most of the lithium deposits in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay area are found in pegmatites emplaced within mafic volcanic or intrusive rocks units. The Wookie project covers more than twenty square kilometers of mafic volcanic rocks that have not been extensively explored for lithium. Finally, several historical Quebec government rock samples of pegmatites collected close to the project have returned anomalous tantalum, cesium and rubidium values. While these samples were not analyzed for lithium, this element suite is strongly suggestive of favorable LCT pegmatites. The favorable environment is strengthened by the discovery of a spodumene pegmatite that returned up to 3.9% Li2O by Quebec Precious Metals Corporation near the Wookie project

Hibbett (HIBB) announced a definitive agreement in which JD Sports Fashion will acquire all outstanding shares of Hibbett for $87.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $1.1B. The board of directors of Hibbett has unanimously approved the definitive merger agreement and the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to receipt of Hibbett stockholder approval, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary conditions to closing. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Hibbett has agreed to suspend the payment of dividends on its common stock, as well as the purchase of shares under its existing stock repurchase program, through the closing of the transaction. Following the closing of the transaction, Hibbett will join the JD Sports family of athletic footwear and fashion retail brands and will cease to be a publicly traded company. Following the closing of the transaction, Mike Longo will continue to serve as president and CEO and Jared Briskin will take on the role of COO of Hibbett. Hibbett will maintain its corporate headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama.

JPMorgan lowered the firm's price target on BHP Group to 2,650 GBp from 2,700 GBp and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares.