WebMD No Longer Has an Acute Case of the Mondays

We have a variation of "Merger Monday" this morning, as KKR announced plans to acquire WBMD in a deal valued at $2.8 billion. WBMD gapped above $66 on the news, and puts the rest of the healthcare new age IT plays on the radar even more for potential buyout targets. TDOC comes to mind, of course. But there are other related plays we have on watch in the diagnostics complex. 

As for the market at-large, a mixed open is keeping a lid on things in front of the busiest week for at least the rest of the summer. Indeed, between major earnings, the FOMC, GDP, and other data points we have our hands full with news flow to absorb. 

Inside Market Chess Subscription Services, Baidu is a name we have been long for a week or two now. We sold part of our long into this morning's strength with earnings later this week. BIDU is essentially China's version of GOOG and is a heavyweight market cap name. For reference, GOOGL reports earnings tonight and could impact BIDU either way, too, out of sympathy. 

As the monthly chart for BIDU shows, below, the massive triangle consolidation breakout potential after a multi-year slumber remains very much in play. The issue now is simply navigating earnings season.