Today's noteworthy upgrades include: AeroVironment (AVAV) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray...Analog Devices (ADI) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Evercore ISI...AstraZeneca (AZN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank...BHP Billiton (BHP) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies...BioMed Realty (BMR) upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc...Cynosure (CYNO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel...DCT Industrial (DCT) upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc...DENTSPLY (XRAY) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley...Exelon (EXC) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at SunTrust...Ingredion (INGR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi...Nokia (NOK) upgraded to Conviction Buy from Buy at Goldman...Oppenheimer Holdings (OPY) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie...Sibanye Gold (SBGL) upgraded to Overweight from Underweight at JPMorgan...Taubman Centers (TCO) upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc...USA Technologies (USAT) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Barrington...Vertex (VRTX) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays...Wisconsin Energy (WEC) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Argus...Xilinx (XLNX) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Anglo American (NGLOY) doesn't view BHP's (BHP) proposed $39B takeover bid as attractive, Reuters' Clara Denina, Amy-Jo Crowley and Anousha Sakoui report, citing two sources. According to one source, the offer does not address the complexities of demerging the Anglo American Platinum and Kumba Iron Ore businesses in South Africa. Anglo's board is expected to give a formal response in the coming days. Reference Link

Consensus $4.56. Backs FY24 revenue view up low double-digit to low teens percentage, consensus $50.95B. Sees FY24 core tax rate 18%-22%.

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

BofA raised the firm's price target on Texas Instruments (TXN) to $190 from $175 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. TI's small Q1 beat and inline but sequentially rising Q2 sales guidance, "while modest, potentially marks a recovery inflection in industrial chip demand," with positive read-across for U.S. peers such as Analog Devices (ADI), Microchip (MCHP), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) and On Semiconductor (ON), the analyst tells investors. However, despite an expected recovery, TI's sustained high capex intensity could keep reported calendar year 2024-26 pro-forma EPS below $6 per share, the analyst added.

Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. HIGHER AFTER EARNINGSAudioEye (AEYE) up... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

Bearish flow noted in AstraZeneca with 3,362 puts trading, or 1.7x expected. Most active are 4/26 weekly 70 puts and May-24 70 calls, with total volume in those strikes near 3,600 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 1.72, while ATM IV is up nearly 2 points on the day. Earnings are expected on April 25th.

Unusual total active option classes on open include: ImmunityBio (IBRX), Halliburton (HAL), Redfin (RDFN), Nokia (NOK), Matterport (MTTR), General Motors (GM), UPS (UPS), Philip Morris (PM), PepsiCo (PEP), and General Electric (GE).

Latest data shows the largest indicative borrow rate increases among liquid option names include: Luminar Technologies (LAZR) 21.68% +6.44, Mesoblast (MESO) 145.03% +2.00, iShares S&P National AMT Free Municipal Bond Fund (MUB) 19.65% +1.21, Stellantis NV (STLA) 1.41% +0.98, Veritone (VERI) 40.08% +0.46, ALTC Acquistion Corp (ALCC) 6.05% +0.44, US Global Jets ETF (JETS) 7.23% +0.36, Nokia (NOK) 3.33% +0.27, Annovis Bio Inc (ANVS) 91.57% +0.16, and Coca Cola (KO) 0.41% +0.16.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals and TreeFrog Therapeutics announced that Vertex has obtained an exclusive license to TreeFrog's proprietary cell manufacturing technology, C-Stem, to optimize production of Vertex's cell therapies for type 1 diabetes, or T1D. TreeFrog and Vertex will collaborate to scale-up TreeFrog's process to produce and amplify cells for Vertex's T1D therapies. TreeFrog's proprietary technology platform, C-Stem, is designed to mimic the natural microenvironment, allowing cells to grow exponentially in 3D. The technology will enhance Vertex's ability to generate large amounts of fully differentiated cells for its portfolio of T1D cell therapies.