Ford convertibles top par; JetBlue gains continue; iQIYI rebounds; Illumina down outright

By Abigail W. Adams

Portland, Me., March 30 – It was an active day in the convertibles secondary space with end of quarter activity and topical news driving trading volume.

With the convertibles primary market dormant and expected to remain that way for the holiday-shortened week, several recent deals were improving.

Ford Motor Co.’s 0% convertible notes due 2026 were in focus with the notes popping above par in the high-volume activity.

JetBlue Airways Corp.’s 0.5% convertible notes due 2026 continued their upward momentum with the notes posting gains alongside stock as demand for air travel resumes.

iQIYI Inc.’s convertible notes continued to rebound as the company’s equity recovered from the liquidation of Archegos Capital Management LLC’s position in the company last Friday.

Illumina Inc.’s 0% convertible notes due 2023 also saw heavy volume heading into the close as stock tanked in the final hour of Tuesday’s session due to news the Federal Trade Commission was attempting to block Illumina’s acquisition of Grail Inc.

Ford tops par

Ford’s 0% convertible notes due 2026 remained active in the secondary space with the notes topping par after languishing on a 99-handle the previous week.

The 0% notes were changing hands at 100.75 versus a stock price of $12.27 early in the session.

They continued to gain as the session progressed and were changing hands just north of 101 in the late afternoon.

There was about $17 million in reported volume during Tuesday’s session.

Ford’s stock traded to a high of $12.48 and a low of $12.11 before closing the day at $12.46, an increase of 2.64%.

The notes have been on a 99-handle since last Monday.

JetBlue gains

JetBlue Airways’ 0.5% convertible notes due 2026 were also posting gains on an outright basis as stock surged.

The 0.5% notes were changing hands at 107.375 versus a stock price of $19.85 early in the session.

They continued to gain alongside stock as the session progressed.

The notes traded as high as 109.5 in the late afternoon.

It was the highest outright level for the notes since they made their aftermarket debut on March 23.

There was about $24 million in reported volume during Tuesday’s session.

JetBlue’s stock traded to a low of $19.64 and a high of $20.69 before closing the day at $20.57, an increase of 5%.

Airline stocks were on the rise on Tuesday due to an anticipated uptick in demand for air travel as the economy reopens.

iQIYI rebounds

iQIYI’s convertible notes continued to rebound as the company’s equity stabilized following the liquidation of Archegos Capital Management’s position in the company.

The 2% convertible notes due 2025 rose more than 2 points outright.

They were changing hands at 94.75 in the late afternoon.

iQIYI’s 4% convertible notes due 2026 were up more than 3 points outright to trade up to a 106-handle.

The Beijing-based online media company’s ADSs traded to a low of $16.70 and a high of $18.10 before closing the day at $17.21, an increase of 3.99%.

iQIYI’s equity shaved off almost 20% over the past two sessions with the company a part of the liquidation of Archegos Capital Management’s portfolio.

The 2% convertible notes were trading at 110 and the 4% convertible notes at 115 prior to the large block sale of the company’s equity that were pushed through the market last Friday.

Illumina down outright

Illumina’s 0% convertible notes due 2023 saw heavy volume heading into Tuesday’s close with the notes down outright as stock sank after news broke the FTC was challenging the company’s acquisition of Grail.

The 0% convertible notes dropped 7 points outright with stock down 7% in the final hour of Tuesday’s session.

The notes were changing hands at 117.5 heading into the close.

Illumina’s stock was largely flat for the majority of Tuesday’s session. However, stock tanked at 3 p.m. ET after news broke the FTC filed an antitrust lawsuit against Illumina.

Stock traded to a low of $364.24 before closing the day at $368.96, a decrease of 6.59%.

The FTC is attempting to block Illumina’s acquisition of cancer diagnostic company Grail, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Illumina’s announcement in September 2020 that it was acquiring Grail, a company it founded and previously spun off, was met with skepticism at the time and resulted in a sell-off in Illumina’s stock.

Mentioned in this article:

Ford Motor Co. NYSE: F

Illumina Inc. Nasdaq: ILMN

iQIYI Inc. Nasdaq: IQ

JetBlue Airways Corp. Nasdaq: JBLU

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