Most investors seemed to enjoy Monday's move higher for the stock market, and Wall Street came in Tuesday morning with hopes that a late-summer rally could continue. Yet higher inflation than expected put cold water on thoughts that signs of weakening price pressures could take away one source of concern as the consumer economy moves into the key holiday season. Futures contracts on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.01%), S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.74%), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 2.38%) had all risen around three-quarters of a percent right before the inflation data came out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Immediately after the announcement, though, futures fell 1.5% to 2.5%.
One stock hitting the news Tuesday morning is Peloton Interactive (PTON 0.49%), as the hard-hit interactive fitness equipment maker saw another internal shakeup that shows just how seriously the company is taking the difficult conditions it faces. Meanwhile, though, one little-known stock saw its share price more than double in premarket trading following encouraging news on its latest clinical trial. Read on to find out more about Peloton as well as the latest from tiny biotech innovator Akero Therapeutics (AKRO +0.00%).
Peloton co-founders move on
Shares of Peloton Interactive moved higher by about 1% on Tuesday morning, following a 7% gain on Monday. After the end of the regular trading session yesterday, the company confirmed reports that had surfaced earlier in the session concerning the future direction of the business.
Peloton co-founders John Foley and Hisao Kushi submitted their resignations to the company, and Peloton announced that it had accepted those resignations. Foley served as CEO for a decade, having most recently become executive chair of the Peloton board of directors in February. Kushi, meanwhile, served as chief legal officer. Foley's departure took effect immediately, while Kushi will stay on through Oct. 3.
NASDAQ: PTON
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Foley explained in the press release that it was time for him to "start a new professional chapter" in a "new space," returning to his passion for building companies and creating great teams. Peloton credited Foley with having been the primary visionary that created connected fitness as we know it.
Former RH president and CFO Karen Boone will take over as board chair, and it will be interesting to see how she applies her retail experience to Peloton's consumer-facing fitness business. With considerable overlap between the luxury shoppers who visit the high-end home furnishings company's stores and those who can afford high-priced Peloton equipment, Boone will have ample opportunity to put her mark on the business.
Akero gets a clinical win
Shares of Akero Therapeutics soared 115% in premarket trading Tuesday. The clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company reported encouraging results in its latest clinical trial, improving the chances of eventually receiving approval for a useful treatment.
Akero released data from its phase 2b study of lead candidate efruxifermin (EFX) Tuesday morning. Addressing patients with pre-cirrhotic nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and stage 2 or 3 fibrosis, Akero's Harmony study showed that EFX met the study's primary endpoint of giving patients an improvement of at least one stage in liver fibrosis without their NASH condition worsening. Roughly double the percentage of study participants showed such improvement when receiving one of two different doses of EFX compared to those receiving a placebo.
NASDAQ: AKRO
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In addition, Akero saw even more success in patients' NASH conditions getting resolved favorably without worsening fibrosis. Far more patients achieved both endpoints than among the placebo group.
Akero believes that the odds are far better for EFX to show promise in a phase 3 trial and eventually become an approved therapy for those with the liver disease. With the stock at its best level since early 2021, shareholders are celebrating as well.
