Trending tickers: Meta, Brand Engagement, Dr Martens and Ocado

Meta (META)

Shares in the Facebook parent company were lower in pre-market trading after it announced on Tuesday that it had acquired Manus, a Singapore-based developer of general-purpose AI agents, as the US technology group continues to step up its investments in AI.

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658.69

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At close: December 29 at 4:00:01 PM EST Advanced Chart

Manus, which was founded in China before relocating to Singapore, launched its first general AI agent earlier this year. The product is designed to carry out complex tasks including market research, coding and data analysis.

The company has said it achieved an annualised average revenue of more than $100m just eight months after launch, with its revenue run rate exceeding $125m.

Meta said the acquisition was intended to accelerate AI innovation for businesses and to integrate advanced automation capabilities into its consumer and enterprise offerings, including its Meta AI assistant.

Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: UK stocks tick up and Europe mixed as global markets head for best year since 2019

“Manus is already serving the daily needs of millions of users and businesses worldwide ... We plan to scale this service to many more businesses,” Meta said.

The companies added that Manus would continue to operate its subscription service without disruption.

Financial terms were not disclosed. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that the deal was valued at more than $2bn, citing people familiar with the matter.

Brand Engagement Network (BNAI)

Shares in Brand Engagement Network retreated in pre-market trading on Tuesday after surging 108.75% in the previous session, making it the number one ticker on Yahoo Finance this morning.

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2.5050

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At close: December 29 at 4:00:02 PM EST Advanced Chart

The shares traded more than 5% lower at $2.37 before the open, having reached an intraday high of $2.91 and a low of $1.77 in the prior session. The stock has traded between $11.80 and $1.18 over the past 52 weeks.

The surge in share price followed the company’s announcement of a vendor services project agreement with a major global advertising agency. Under the deal, Brand Engagement Network will develop a custom AI engagement solution for a top-10 pharmaceutical company’s prescription drug, with $250,000 in revenue expected to be recognised in the fourth quarter of 2025. The agency and pharmaceutical client identities remain confidential.

Dr Martens (DOCS.L)

Footwear retailer Dr Martens has revealed it is considering expanding its ReWair resale platform outside the US as it looks to capitalise on the boom in the second-hand economy.

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The UK-headquartered group, whose yellow-stitched boots have been a retro mainstay for decades, launched its ReWair offering in America in March 2024 as part of its aim to be more sustainable.

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The branded resale platform has been such a success, with more than 10,000 pre-loved pairs sold in the US since launch, the group is now mooting bringing the platform to other countries around the world.

Chief executive Ije Nwokorie told the Press Association the group was looking at how it could “build that offering out”.

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He said it had not made a decision on which countries would be next or when, but said “if it’s successful in one place” it was natural to look at expansion.

It comes amid a boom in demand for second-hand products in the UK and worldwide.

Ocado (OCDO.L)

Ocado has revealed plans for a renewed push to sell its technology worldwide after exclusive deals with most of its global retail customers have come to an end.

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The London-listed group, which sells automation technology allowing retailers to pick and dispatch online food orders from giant robotic warehouses, said in July it was set to roll off mutual exclusivity contracts by the end of the year in most of the markets where its tech is live, including in the US with American retail giant Kroger.

It said this “enables Ocado to bring its proven and much evolved technology offering back to market”, with aims to kick off commercial activity to sell the tech to new retail partners in a number of the world’s biggest grocery markets.

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Tim Steiner, chief executive of Ocado Group, said: “As we continue to support all of our partners to improve and grow their online businesses, we will also now bring the full range of Ocado’s AI-powered and robotic solutions back to multiple markets.

“In the five years since our first international customer fulfilment centres went live, we have substantially evolved our market-leading solutions and broadened our offering to meet retailers wherever they are on their online journey.

“As we enter 2026, Ocado is well positioned to help more retailers capture market share in the world’s fastest-growing grocery channel.”

Shares in Ocado fell 2% in morning trading on Tuesday.

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