Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Morgan Stanley (MS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler with analyst Jeffrey Harte saying the stock rallied after reporting a strong earnings beat and seeing management raise the bar on its financial targets. 2. Twitter (TWTR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS with analyst Eric Sheridan saying the company enters 2020 at a "bit of a crossroads." 3. eBay (EBAY) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo with analyst Brian Fitzgerald saying he sees an unattractive risk/reward for the shares relative to sector peers. Fitzgerald expects headwinds for the company's core Marketplace business to continue amid the rollout of the Internet sales tax in the U.S. and rising competition from online and multichannel retailers and emerging marketplaces. 4. Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley with analyst John Glass saying about 85% of its stores have mall exposure at a time when mall traffic, even at the best malls, continues to erode. 5. IBM (IBM) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley with analyst Katy Huberty saying the firm's recent Chief Information Officer and Value Added Reseller surveys point to further deceleration in 2020 IT spending and channel checks suggest companies continue to digest excess IT capacity purchased in 2018. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click 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

IBM (IBM) and HashiCorp(HCP) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which IBM will acquire HashiCorp for $35 per share in cash, representing an enterprise value of $6.4B. HashiCorp's suite of products provides enterprises with extensive Infrastructure Lifecycle Management and Security Lifecycle Management capabilities to enable organizations to automate their hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Today's announcement is a continuation of IBM's deep focus and investment in hybrid cloud and AI, the two most transformational technologies for clients today. Under the terms of the agreement, IBM will acquire HashiCorp for $35 per share in cash, or $6.4B enterprise value, net of cash. HashiCorp will be acquired with available cash on hand. The boards of directors of IBM and HashiCorp have both approved the transaction. The acquisition is subject to approval by HashiCorp shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The company's largest shareholders and investors, who collectively hold approximately 43% of the voting power of HashiCorp's outstanding common stock, entered into a voting agreement with IBM pursuant to which each has agreed to vote all of their common shares in favor of the transaction and against any alternative transactions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2024.

Notable companies reporting after the market close, with earnings consensus, include Meta Plataforms (META), consensus $4.32... IBM (IBM), consensus $1.60... ServiceNow (NOW), consensus $3.14... Lam Research (LRCX), consensus $7.30... Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), consensus $11.68... O'Reilly Automotive (ORLY), consensus $9.26... Ford Motor (F), consensus 42c... United Rentals (URI), consensus $8.32... Align Technology (ALGN), consensus $1.97... Molina Healthcare (MOH), consensus $5.59... Teradyne (TER), consensus 33c... Universa Health Services (UHS), consensus $3.16... Western Union (WU), consensus 41c.

Pre-earnings options volume in IBM is 1.3x normal with calls leading puts 9:4. Implied volatility suggests the market is anticipating a move near 5.0%, or $9.21, after results are released. Median move over the past eight quarters is 4.8%.

IBM (IBM) is nearing a deal to acquire HashiCorp (HCP) for about $35 per share, Ryan Gould and Brody Ford of Bloomberg report, citing people with knowledge of the matter. IBM and HashiCorp could announce the deal as soon as Wednesday, sources told Bloomberg. Shares of HashiCorp are up 9% to $31.81 following the report.

IBM (IBM) is scheduled to report results of its fiscal first quarter after the market close on April 24, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET. What to watch... To see the rest of the story go to thefly.com. See Story Here

BTIG downgraded HashiCorp (HCP) to Neutral from Buy without a price target. The analyst sees a balanced risk/reward after the stock's recent run following takeover speculation. The firm believes the potential takeover by IBM (IBM) has a "lot of merits." HashiCorp is a good strategic asset with strong product capabilities, and deal synergies with a large acquirer such as IBM would be substantial, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Given there is still some uncertainty on a deal being consummated and a typical closing process in the 6-9 month range, BTIG sees limited incremental upside to shares in the near term.