Cytokinetics, Albertsons, Kroger, Boeing: Trending tickers

Shares of Cytokinetics (CYTK) are plummeting following a Wall Street Journal report that Novartis (NVS) is backing away from a potential deal to acquire the company.

Both Albertsons Companies (ACI) and Kroger (KR) are trading lower following a Bloomberg report that the Washington state attorney general will sue to block the deal between the two grocery giants.

Boeing (BA) shares are still suffering from the fallout after a door plug on one of its 737 Max 9 jets flew off mid-flight. This time, the slide is on new the Federal Aviation Administration is opening an investigation into Boeing's quality control process.

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.

Editor's note: This article was written by Stephanie Mikulich

Video Transcript

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JOSH LIPTON: Cytokinetics shares are sinking today. That's after reports that Novartis has now backed away from its effort to acquire the heart drug developer. The Swiss pharma giant was expected to close the deal soon after a months-long pursuit of Cytokinetics. And you see their shares down about 19% right now in today's trade.

So that is the news, Julie, Novartis backing away from its pursuit of this company, the heart drug developer. It's according to "The Journal." And the expectation was actually the deal was maybe even going to get done this week.

But now, again, according to "The Journal," Novartis is backing off. It was not clear immediately why they're backing off. But Cytokinetics, listen, they have been running this sale process, so perhaps maybe another suitor steps in or--

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah.

JOSH LIPTON: Who knows? Maybe Novartis actually re-emerges, not sure.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, there's an analyst over at Truist who says they expect the sale process to be ongoing here. And that the company is an attractive M&A target, but that it could take a while for the buyer to do due diligence in the company. Truist has an $86 price target on it, which is still a little bit above where it is right now. So we'll see if something else develops here.

There obviously has been a lot of activity within biotech here. In addition to the heart drug, the company also looks at muscle activators to treat various debilitating diseases that involve musculature or muscle performance. And so that's what Novartis or whoever could potentially be looking at in this case.

JOSH LIPTON: Yeah, it was interesting seeing, Truist there. They do still see as a target. They still like the name. But they did tell their clients, listen, we don't know when it's going to happen, so you kind of strap in for some volatility until then.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, and, by the way, Novartis US shares are little changed on this news. Moving on to another potential deal, Washington State's attorney general is planning to file a lawsuit halting grocery store giant Kroger's plan to acquire Albertsons. That's according to a report from Bloomberg.

An antitrust review of the deal by the FTC is ongoing. Ongoing and how? Like, how long is this one-- this one's been going on for quite a while.

JOSH LIPTON: October 2022.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, I mean the two have been trying to combine here and we're sort of waiting for some sort of verdict from the FTC, which has been looking into the deal for quite some time. These two would have, if they combine, would be about 5,000 stores across the country. And they've, of course, pushed back against the idea that this would be anti-competitive pointing out other competitors like a Walmart or an Amazon.

JOSH LIPTON: Yeah, I mean, they-- so these would be-- I mean, these are two big supermarket operators. So they clearly see the benefits of scale and leverage with vendors. They must see some complementary footprints. But you have seen this push back from lawmakers who have expressed doubts highlighting what they see as antitrust concerns.

Remember last fall, the California AG stepped in and said they had questions as well. There are bulls on Albertsons that do see catalysts ahead, reasons for optimism. But even they argue, listen, you know, shares are probably range-bound until this does get resolved.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, I mean, they're in limbo here and they've been in limbo for a long time now.

JOSH LIPTON: Yep.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah.

JOSH LIPTON: Finally, you got Boeing shares under pressure today. That's after the FAA announcing it is opening an investigation into Boeing's quality control practices. The investigation comes less than a week, of course, after Boeing's 737 MAX 9's door plug failed mid-flight leaving a gaping hole in the plane's side.

So another headache here for Boeing here, Julie. Now, you have this formal FAA investigation. It looks like they want to determine, they say, whether Boeing failed to ensure completed products conformed to its approved designs and were in a condition for safe operation in compliance with FAA regulations. So another challenge.

Of course, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun did address the company this week, acknowledged the mistakes, said workers have to elevate safety. But still lots of questions here, what was the root cause of this failure, what are the remedies going to be, and what's the timeline for when these aircraft could actually get back in the air? It doesn't sound like we have one and it doesn't seem like any time soon.

JULIE HYMAN: No, I mean this FAA probe is not a shock by any means. This was sort of an expected step that they would take. But it also means we don't know when these planes are getting back in the air, right?

We know they're at least grounded through the weekend. Many of the US carriers, including Alaska and United, have grounded them for now. So it just emphasizes the question mark that is now hanging over the company. And by the way, the company has endured a lot of question marks over the past several years about other aircraft that have been in limbo for some period of time.

JOSH LIPTON: Yup.