Sweetgreen Falls, Amazon Downgraded, Capital One Nears Discover Deal

On this episode of Stock Movers:

- Sweetgreen (SG) shares fell on news the salad restaurant chain's COO would leave the company. Bank of America also cut its price target from $36 to $31.

- Amazon (AMZN) was downgraded by Raymond James on anticipation that earnings will come under pressure from its increasing investments and the steep US tariff increases on imports from China. Amazon shares are down more than 30% off a February peak, participating in the broad-based market slump that has largely come on tariff uncertainty. The stock fell 3.4% on Monday, on track for both its fifth straight negative session and its lowest close since August. While Raymond James still has the equivalent of a buy rating, downgrades of Amazon are rare, and 95% of the analysts tracked by Bloomberg recommend buying the stock.

- Shares in Discover Financial (DFS) and shares in Capital One (COF) both rose following word that Capital One received approval from US regulators to buy Discover. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, regulators responsible for approving the deal, announced their decisions in separate statements Friday. In giving its nod, the Fed said it evaluated “the financial and managerial resources of the companies, the convenience and needs of the communities to be served by the combined organization, and the competitive and financial stability impacts of the proposal.” The transaction — valued at $35 billion when it was announced — was awaiting a last remaining hurdle: The question of whether the US Department of Justice would sue to block the acquisition. Staff had been divided about whether the DOJ should challenge the tie-up, with some concerned the deal could harm competition, Bloomberg reported earlier this year. But antitrust division chief Gail Slater determined there wasn’t enough evidence to challenge the deal.

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