Stock Market Today, Jan. 7: Mobileye Global Jumps After Announcing $900 Million Mentee Robotics Acquisition

Mobileye Global (NASDAQ:MBLY), which develops advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving technologies, closed Wednesday’s session at $12.24, up 0.49%. The action followed premarket news of Mobileye’s $900 million acquisition of Mentee Robotics.

Trading volume reached 50.8 million shares, approximately 800% above its three-month average of 5.8 million. Mobileye IPO'd in 2022 and has fallen 58% since going public.

How the markets moved today

The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) slipped 0.34% to 6,922, while the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX:^IXIC) inched up 0.16% to 23,584. Within the auto parts industry, rivals Aptiv fell 0.56% and BorgWarner declined 0.94%.

What this means for investors

It has been a big week for Mobileye. Two days removed from receiving two rating upgrades from Wall Street investment firms -- and one day after the company landed a major deal with a U.S. carmaker for its ADAS -- Mobileye acquired humanoid robotics upstart Mentee Robotics for $900 million. Mobileye initially rallied 15% this morning before giving up most of these gains as the market digested the news.

While Mentee's robotics may not align perfectly with Mobileye's current ADAS-focused operations, I believe there could be a few synergies that give the deal some potential. The AI perception and decision-making technology used in Mobileye's existing operations pair well with Mentee's humanoid robots and their capacity for observational learning. I'm admittedly fascinated by this deal, but investors should be warned that this bet could take multiple years to pay off for Mobileye and further makes Tesla a direct competitor.

Josh Kohn-Lindquist has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Aptiv. The Motley Fool recommends BorgWarner and Mobileye Global and recommends the following options: short February 2026 $9 puts on Mobileye Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.