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A roundup of some of the North American equities making moves in both directions today

On the rise

Shares of Fitbit Inc. (FIT-N) were up over 30 per cent after a Reuters report that Google owner Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL-Q) has made an offer to acquire U.S. wearable device maker, as it eyes a slice of the crowded market for fitness trackers and smartwatches.

While Google has joined other major technology companies such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in developing smart phones, it has yet to develop any wearable offerings.

Shares of Alphabet were up 0.2 per cent.

Tiffany & Company (TIF-N) was up almost 32 per cent after LVMH, the owner of Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, said it has approached the luxury jewelry and specialty retailer about an unsolicited non-binding offer.

Confirming the move, Tiffany said the offer was worth US$120 per share, which would value Tiffany at nearly US$14.5-billion and represents a 22-per-cent premium over the stock’s closing price on Friday.

AT&T Inc. (T-N) rose 4.3 per cent after unveiling a three-year strategic plan that included adding two new board members, selling off up to US$10-billion worth of non-core businesses next year and paying off all its debt from the purchase of Time Warner, bowing to pressure from activist investor Elliott Management.

Elliott, which revealed a US$3.2-billion stake in the company in September, has been pressing the telecommunications giant to cut costs, make management changes and scale back expansion aspirations. The two sides have held discussions, Reuters reported earlier this month.

The company also said that it expects Randall Stephenson to remain chief executive through at least 2020.

The plan “benefited from our engagement with our owners, including Elliott Management,” Stephenson said in a statement.

Spotify Technology SA (SPOT-N) jumped 16.2 per cent on the heels of posting a surprise profit and beat Wall Street’s expectations for third-quarter revenue as the music streaming company added more subscribers to its premium service than expected.

The Swedish company, which has outstripped Apple Music in the race to dominate music streaming globally, said its number of premium subscribers had risen by 26 million in the past year to 113 million at the end of September.

That still leaves Spotify some way behind video streaming giant Netflix’s 158 million subscribers but was just above the 112.9 million expected by analysts, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

“The fact that it’s delivering growth against an increasingly competitive backdrop is particularly impressive - especially when that competition is Amazon and Apple,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett said.

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT-Q) increased 2.5 per cent after winning the U.S. Pentagon’s US$10-billion cloud-computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favorite Amazon.com Inc.

The contract, called the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud, or JEDI, is part of a broad modernization of the Pentagon’s information technology systems.

On the decline

Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR-T) dipped 3.7 per cent after it missed estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday as its biggest chain Tim Hortons reported a surprise fall in comparable sales, overshadowing strong performances at Burger King and Popeyes.

Chief executive officer Jose Cil said Tim Hortons faced a “challenging quarter,” leading to a fall of 1.4 per cent in comparable sales at the breakfast chain. Analysts were expecting a growth of 0.93 per cent, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Comparable sales rose 4.8 per cent at Burger King and 9.7 per cent at Popeyes in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, beating analyst estimates of 3.98 per cent and 4.72 per cent, respectively.

See also: Tim Hortons parent company CEO earns $250-million over nine years despite a Timbit of relative returns

CannTrust Holdings Inc. (TRST-T) slid 6.8 per cent after announcing John Kaden has resigned as a member of the cannabis company’s board of directors.

The company says Mr. Kaden stepped down to focus on his role as co-founder, managing partner, and chief investment officer of Navy Capital Green Management LLC.

CannTrust has been under fire since it disclosed in July that Health Canada had discovered illicit cultivation in unlicensed rooms at its Pelham, Ont., greenhouse.

See also: CannTrust’s stock falls after it announces new round of layoffs

With files from staff and wires

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Tickers mentioned in this story

Study and track financial data on any traded entity: click to open the full quote page. Data updated as of 28/03/24 4:00pm EDT.

SymbolName% changeLast
QSR-T
Restaurant Brands International Inc
+0.21%107.57
T-N
AT&T Inc
+0.28%17.6
SPOT-N
Spotify Technology S.A.
+1.42%263.9
MSFT-Q
Microsoft Corp
-0.17%420.72
GOOGL-Q
Alphabet Cl A
+0.04%150.93

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