A $3 Trillion Market Opportunity: My Top AI Stock to Buy in February  The Motley Fool

Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq futures slide as AI doubts swirl, precious metals whipsaw  Yahoo Finance

Stock Market Today: Dow Futures Fall; Disney, Palantir, Oracle, Tesla Are Early Market Movers (Live Coverage)  Investor's Business Daily

Investing.com -- Northfield Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:NFBK) stock surged 11.9% in premarket trading Monday after the company announced it will be acquired by Columbia Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLBK) in a deal valued at approximately $597 million. The merger agreement, unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors, will create the third largest regional bank headquartered in New Jersey, with pro forma total assets of $18 billion based on financial data as of December 31, 2025. Under the terms of the agreement, Northfield shareholders will receive either shares of Columbia’s newly formed holding company common stock or cash. The exchange ratio will be determined by an independent valuation, with shareholders receiving either 1.425 to 1.465 shares of the new holding company’s stock or $14.25 to $14.65 in cash per Northfield share, depending on the final valuation. Cash consideration is limited to 30% of outstanding Northfield shares. Simultaneously with the merger, Columbia announced plans for a "second-step" conversion, transitioning from its current mutual holding company structure to a fully public stock holding company organization. Columbia will offer shares at $10.00 each, with depositors having first priority subscription rights. "Northfield has built an excellent deposit franchise with a conservative credit culture, which makes it an ideal fit with Columbia and provides great opportunities for future growth," said Thomas J. Kemly, President and CEO of Columbia. Following the merger, Kemly will continue as President and CEO of the combined entity, while Northfield’s Chairman, President and CEO Steven M. Klein will become Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. The transaction, expected to close early in the third quarter of 2026, is subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder votes from both companies. Columbia anticipates the merger will be 50% accretive to its 2027 earnings per share. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. ProPicks AI evaluates NFBK alongside thousands of other companies every month using 100+ financial metrics. Using powerful AI to generate exciting stock ideas, it looks beyond popularity to assess fundamentals, momentum, and valuation. The AI has no bias—it simply identifies which stocks offer the best risk-reward based on current data with notable past winners that include Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%). Want to know if NFBK is currently featured in any ProPicks AI strategies, or if there are better opportunities in the same space?

Investing.com -- Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) stock falls 3% and Coterra Energy (NYSE:CTRA) stock drops 4.2% in premarket trading Monday after the companies announced an all-stock merger agreement that will create one of the leading shale operators in the U.S. Under the terms of the deal, Coterra shareholders will receive 0.70 shares of Devon common stock for each Coterra share, valuing the combined enterprise at approximately $58 billion. Devon shareholders will own approximately 54% of the merged company, while Coterra shareholders will hold the remaining 46%. The combined entity, which will retain the Devon Energy name and be headquartered in Houston with a significant presence in Oklahoma City, aims to leverage complementary assets and technical capabilities to create a premier shale operator with a focus on the Delaware Basin. The companies expect to realize $1 billion in annual pre-tax synergies by year-end 2027 through an optimized capital program, operating margin improvements, and streamlined corporate costs. The transaction is expected to be accretive to key per-share financial metrics including free cash flow. The merged company will have third-quarter 2025 production exceeding 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, including over 550,000 barrels of oil per day. Its Delaware Basin position will consist of nearly 750,000 net acres with production of 863,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, representing more than 50% of the combined company’s total production and cash flow. Clay Gaspar, Devon’s President and CEO, will continue in that role, while Coterra’s Chairman, CEO, and President Tom Jorden will become Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. The board will consist of 11 members, with six from Devon and five from Coterra. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder approval from both companies. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. The fastest way to find out is with our Fair Value calculator. We use a mix of 17 proven industry valuation models for maximum accuracy. Get the bottom line for DVN plus thousands of other stocks and find your next hidden gem with massive upside.

4 Software Stocks Set to Pull Off a Beat This Earnings Season  Zacks Investment Research

Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq futures sink as AI doubts swirl, precious metals whipsaw around  Yahoo Finance

Investing.com -- Aquestive Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AQST) stock rose 18% Monday despite the company announcing it received a complete response letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Anaphylm sublingual film, designed to treat Type I allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. The FDA’s concerns were limited to packaging and administration issues, specifically citing deficiencies in the human factors validation study. These included difficulties opening the pouch and incorrect film placement that could cause safety issues during anaphylaxis. The agency also requested a pharmacokinetics study to understand the impact of any modifications to packaging and labeling. Aquestive said it believes it can rapidly resolve these deficiencies by modifying the pouch opening, instructions for use, and labeling. The company plans to conduct a new human factors validation study with these modifications and expects to resubmit its application as early as the third quarter of 2026. "While it is unfortunate to have received a CRL, we believe that, with the clarity we now have from the FDA, we have made significant progress toward approval," said Daniel Barber, President and CEO of Aquestive. "We are encouraged that the issues in the letter are limited to human factors and a supportive PK study, once human factors are addressed." The company emphasized that the FDA did not question the comparability data submitted as part of the Anaphylm NDA, such as bracketing, repeat dose, and sustainability. There were also no chemistry, manufacturing, and controls issues noted in the CRL. Aquestive remains well-capitalized and anticipates ending 2026 with significant cash. The company also reiterated plans to submit applications in Canada and Europe by the end of 2026, noting that the European Medicines Agency has indicated no further clinical trials are needed prior to regulatory submission. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

By Pranav Kashyap and Twesha Dikshit Feb 2 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday, as a violent selloff in precious metals unsettled investors at the start of a week packed with corporate earnings and major economic data. Gold dropped as much as 6% and silver tumbled 10%, as commodity exchange CME Group boosted margin requirements for the precious metals following a historic plunge on Friday. The rout rippled across markets as leveraged investors were forced to unwind positions to meet margin calls. U.S.-listings of gold and silver miners dropped in premarket trading. Newmont fell 0.5%, while Harmony Gold and Sibanye Stillwater slid 1.2% and 0.7%, respectively. Hecla Mining and Endeavour Silver slipped 0.4% and 1.2%, respectively. The metals selloff deepened last week after U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair to replace Jerome Powell in May, a move that investors largely viewed as hawkish. "Markets are trading cautiously as investors navigate a dense macro calendar and recalibrate expectations around the pace of global monetary easing," said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. "This positioning-led adjustment has unfolded against a backdrop of thin liquidity and heightened sensitivity to macro headlines, amplifying intraday volatility." Shares of energy companies dropped as oil prices fell 5%, after Trump said Iran was "seriously talking" with Washington, signalling de-escalation and easing supply disruption concerns. Exxon Mobil and Chevron fell between 1.1% and 1.8%. [O/R] At 07:00 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 55 points, or 0.11%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 34.5 points, or 0.5%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 217.5 points, or 0.85%. The volatility VIX index climbed to 18.59, hovering near a two‑week high after last week’s choppy stretch, triggered by mixed mega‑cap earnings and heightened policy uncertainty stemming from Trump’s pick of Warsh. Despite bouts of selloff in January due to geopolitical tensions, all three indexes ended the month higher, with the S&P crossing 7,000 points for the first time. Tech mega-caps slipped in premarket trading, with Nvidia and Tesla down 1.3% and 2.1%, respectively, while Meta and Alphabet lost around 1%. Microsoft and Amazon lost about 0.7% each. Investors face another heavy week of tech earnings, with 128 of S&P 500 companies expected to report results, including Alphabet, Amazon and AMD. Market reaction to last week’s tech results underscored the narrowing tolerance for costly capital‑spending plans unless companies can show accelerating growth. Microsoft shares notched their worst week since March 2020 on Friday, after cloud revenue disappointed, heightening scrutiny over whether the industry’s multi-billion dollar AI investments will show meaningful returns. Disney shares gained 2.4% after posting first-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations. The U.S. entered what is expected to be a brief shutdown on Saturday after Congress failed to approve a deal to keep a wide swath of operations funded. Economic data this week will provide several checkpoints on the health of the U.S. economy. January manufacturing PMI data is due later on Monday, followed by S&P Global’s composite PMI on Wednesday. Labor‑market indicators take center stage later in the week with JOLTS, jobless claims and Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report. Among other stock moves, Humana shares fell 2.1% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to ’underweight’ from ’equal weight.’ Best Buy dropped 1.6% after a JPMorgan rating downgrade.

Investing.com -- Rolls-Royce has stopped its plans to place a nuclear reactor on the moon by 2029, the Telegraph reported. The company made this decision because it could not find enough potential partners for the lunar project. The aerospace and defense manufacturer had been working on a moon-based nuclear reactor initiative but has now paused these efforts, according to the report. This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. Which stock should you buy in your very next trade? AI computing powers are changing the stock market. Investing.com's ProPicks AI includes dozens of winning stock portfolios chosen by our advanced AI. Year to date, 2 out of 3 global portfolios are beating their benchmark indexes, with 88% in the green. Our flagship Tech Titans strategy doubled the S&P 500 within 18 months, including notable winners like Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%). Which stock will be the next to soar?