Citi analyst Scott Gruber believes Halliburton's (HAL) operational update and earnings conference call shift indicates a high probability that the acquisition of Baker Hughes (BHI) is off. Should the deal break, Baker is likely to have over $5B of cash by Q3, Gruber tells investors in a research note. The cash could be used to upgrade its frac segment, attract new talent and execute a large buyback, the analyst contends. He thinks Baker will not be "broken" if Halliburton walks away. He keeps a Buy rating on the shares with a $53 from $57. The stock closed yesterday down $1.38 to $45.05.

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).

Reports Q1 revenue $5.8B, consensus $5.67B. "Halliburton delivered solid first quarter results that again demonstrated the power of our strategy and the strength of our execution. Activity in North America recovered from fourth-quarter lows, and our international business delivered its 11th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth," commented Jeff Miller, Chairman, President and CEO. "Our customers' multi-year activity plans across markets and asset types confirms my confidence in the strength and duration of this upcycle. Halliburton demonstrated its commitment to shareholder returns in the first quarter and repurchased $250 million of common stock - a solid start to the year and a good benchmark for our expectations going forward," concluded Miller.