Catch up on the weekend’s top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly:
1. Virgin Galactic (SPCE) announced that VSS Unity “successfully” reached space, completing the company’s fourth rocket-powered spaceflight. This flight was the 22nd test flight of VSS Unity and the first test flight with a full crew in the cabin, including the company’s founder, Sir Richard Branson. The crew fulfilled a number of test objectives related to the cabin and customer experience, including evaluating the commercial customer cabin, the views of Earth from space, the conditions for conducting research and the effectiveness of the five-day pre-flight training program at Spaceport America. VSS Unity achieved a speed of Mach 3 after being released from the mothership, VMS Eve. The vehicle reached space, at an altitude of 53.5 miles, before gliding smoothly to a runway landing at Spaceport America.
2. Microsoft (MSFT) has agreed to acquire RiskIQ, a security software maker, as the tech giant tries to expand its products and better protect customers amid a rising tide of global cyberattacks, Bloomberg’s Katie Roof and Dina Bass reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal will be announced as soon as the next few days, the people said. Microsoft will pay more than $500 million in cash for the company, one of the sources said.
3. A wave of regulatory measures has created the type of uncertainty that draws bargain hunters, Reshma Kapadia wrote in this week’s edition of Barron’s. Technology giants like Alibaba Group (BABA), whose shares are down 11% this year, are popping up on value managers’ radars. But caution is warranted, especially for investors in U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies, the author noted, adding that regulatory pressures could continue. Alibaba and other internet companies, including JD.com (JD), are cheap enough to attract value investors. But volatility is likely, with investors recalibrating growth expectations as Beijing rolls out new rules, and reviews past deals, the publication said.
4. “Black Widow” set a new benchmark for the pandemic era in opening to $80M at the U.S. box office. Disney (DIS) said that the Marvel Studios’ movie debuted to an estimated total of more than $215M globally this weekend, including $80M in domestic box office, $78M in international box office, and over $60M in Disney+ Premier Access consumer spend globally. The movie is the largest domestic box office opening since the COVID-19 pandemic began and the largest domestic opening weekend since “Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker” in December 2019. The combined theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access opening makes “Black Widow” the only film to surpass $100M in domestic consumer spend on opening weekend since the start of the pandemic. It is the highest domestic opening weekend for a Marvel Cinematic Universe origin story after “Black Panther” and “Captain Marvel.”
5. Citigroup (C), Malibu Boats (MBUU), and AstraZeneca (AZN) saw a positive mention in this week’s edition of Barron’s.