TLDR
- Dominion Energy surged over 12% in premarket after reports NextEra Energy is in talks to acquire it in a deal valued at around $66 billion.
- LiveRamp jumped 26% after Publicis Groupe agreed to buy it for $2.5 billion, or $38.50 per share — a nearly 30% premium.
- Bitcoin Depot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, sending its stock down 63%, with its ATM network now offline.
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.42% and Bitcoin dropped 2.05% to $76,778, as markets faced early pressure.
- Victory Capital and Regeneron were among the biggest decliners, falling 39.3% and 12.2% respectively in early trading.
Monday’s premarket session saw big moves in both directions across several stocks, driven by major corporate deals, a bankruptcy filing, and broader market weakness.
Dominion Energy was one of the top performers. The utility company’s shares rose more than 12% after a report that NextEra Energy is in discussions to acquire it. The deal, if completed, would be an all-stock transaction valuing Dominion at around $66 billion, with a total enterprise value of roughly $116 billion when debt is included.
The proposed acquisition would be the largest utility deal on record. It would give NextEra a stronger foothold in the PJM power market, which includes Northern Virginia — an area seeing rapid growth in data centers tied to AI development. No final deal has been signed, and talks could still fall through.
LiveRamp was another big gainer. Its shares rose 26% after Publicis Groupe announced it would buy the company for $2.5 billion in cash. Publicis agreed to pay $38.50 per share — a premium of about 29.8% over LiveRamp’s closing price from the prior Thursday. Publicis said the deal would strengthen its data and AI capabilities, and the company also raised its 2027 and 2028 financial targets after the announcement.
Bankruptcy Hits Bitcoin Depot
Bitcoin Depot had the sharpest drop of the day. Its stock fell 63% after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company said it plans to wind down its operations and sell its assets.
Bitcoin Depot’s CEO Alex Holmes cited stricter fraud prevention requirements, rising compliance costs, litigation, and regulatory pressure as the main reasons the business model became unsustainable. The company’s Bitcoin ATM network has been taken offline. Canadian operations are also expected to enter restructuring.
Broader Market Pressure
Beyond individual stocks, the broader market was under pressure. S&P 500 futures were down 0.42%, and Dow futures fell 0.66%.
Bitcoin dropped 2.05% to $76,778. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.609%, while gold futures were down slightly and oil futures edged higher.
In the previous session, the S&P 500 fell 1.24% and the Dow dropped 1.07%. Asian markets were also lower, with Japan’s Nikkei down nearly 1%.
On the losing side, Victory Capital fell 39.3% and Regeneron dropped 12.2% in early trading. Natera also saw a notable decline, falling over 5%.
Other early gainers included Bio-Rad Laboratories, MYR Group, and ServiceNow, all posting gains of at least 5%.
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