Good Morning. This is the Investor Lookout with the daily digest.

Here’s what we got today:

• 💻 Crowdstrike Recovers From Worldwide Outage, Hits 97% Retention Rate

• 🥼 Roche Acquires Poseida in $1.5B Cell Therapy Deal

Crowdstrike Recovers From Worldwide Outage, Hits 97% Retention Rate

CrowdStrike's profits are protected after its latest earnings report. The cybersecurity leader posted Q3 results that beat expectations, with earnings jumping 13% to $0.93 per share and revenue rising 29% to $1.01 billion. Analysts predicted earnings of $0.81 per share on $983 million in revenue. Concerns about delays in signing contracts and discounts sought by customers amid July's outage were dismissed as CEO George Kurtz reported 97% gross retention in the third quarter, down less than 0.5 percentage points. 

• Annual recurring revenue increased by 27% to $4.02 billion, compared to $4.01 billion predicted by analysts

• CrowdStrike ($CRWD) shares fell more than 2% in after-hours trading

Roche Acquires Poseida in $1.5B Cell Therapy Deal

Roche's pipeline just got a $1.5 billion cellular boost. The Swiss pharmaceutical company will acquire Poseida Therapeutics ($PSTX) in a deal worth $9 per share plus up to $4 in contingent rights, totaling around $1.5 billion in value. The acquisition adds allogeneic CAR-T cell therapies to Roche's ($ROG) arsenal, which use genetically modified immune cells to attack cancer cells or to treat autoimmune diseases. CEO Thomas Shinecker is on a shopping spree to offset falling oncology sales, having acquired Carmot in a $2.7 billion deal in December 2023.

• On Tuesday, Roche announced that drug candidate tiragolumab failed to improve survival in some instances of lung cancer

• The deal is expected to close in Q1 2025

Markets

Some Fed policymakers open to lowering the overnight repo rate. Federal Reserve officials are considering reducing the overnight reverse repurchase agreement rate to match the bottom of the policy rate, currently at 4.5%. [Read]

US monthly house prices rise strongly in September. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, single-family home prices increased 0.7% month-over-month and 4.4% annually. Average 30-year fixed mortgage rates remain elevated near 7%. [Read]

Investors' euro zone inflation expectations fall below 2% for first time since 2022. A key market gauge of long-term euro zone inflation expectations dropped below 2% for the first time since 2022. [Read]

Business

Dell Stock Slides After Revenue Falls Short of Estimates. Dell ($DELL) posted third-quarter revenue that fell short of analysts' expectations, sending the shares lower after trading hours on Tuesday. [Read]  

Amgen's weight-loss drug fails to impress in study; shares plunge. Amgen ($AMGN) shares fell 4.8%, erasing $7 billion in market value, after its experimental obesity drug MariTide showed up to 20% weight loss in trials, missing investor expectations. [Read] 

Walmart to roll back some diversity policies amid pressure from conservatives. The world's largest retailer plans to scale back most of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in response to conservative pressure. [Read]

Investing Is NOT Gambling. "Successful investing professionals are disciplined and consistent and they think a great deal about what they do and how they do it" — Benjamin Graham

DISCLAIMER: None of this is financial advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.