The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proceeding with a $150 million lawsuit against Elon Musk over alleged securities fraud during his 2022 acquisition of Twitter, now known as X.

The agency claims that Musk failed to disclose his growing stake in the social media company by the regulatory deadline, ultimately enabling him to buy shares at undervalued prices before the market could react.

The delay reportedly saved him at least $150 million.

This case adds to a series of regulatory clashes between Musk and the SEC and comes amid ongoing scrutiny of his market conduct.

SEC targets missed 5% disclosure

According to the court filing published on Monday, the SEC is pressing forward with its case, which was originally filed in January 2025 under former chairman Gary Gensler.

The complaint centres on Musk’s delayed filing of a required disclosure when his ownership in Twitter surpassed 5%.

Under US securities law, such a threshold triggers a deadline to notify investors—typically within 10 days.

Musk’s stake crossed the 5% mark in early March 2022, requiring disclosure by March 24.

However, the SEC alleges that Musk did not submit the required Schedule 13D form until April 4, 2022.

The filing triggered a 27% surge in Twitter’s share price.

The agency says this late disclosure allowed Musk to continue purchasing stock at prices below the true market value, before the public was aware of his interest.

By the time the disclosure became public, Musk had already accumulated millions of shares.

The SEC estimates that the delay in disclosure helped Musk save at least $150 million, an amount they now seek to recover through legal action.

Twitter stock jumped 27% after filing

The SEC’s lawsuit highlights the impact of Musk’s late filing on Twitter’s stock price.

When Musk finally filed the Schedule 13D on April 4, 2022, Twitter’s stock surged 27%.

The Commission argues that the delay gave Musk an unfair advantage over other investors, who were unaware of the mounting stake being built in the background.

This is not the first time Musk has come under fire for allegedly violating market rules.

The SEC has investigated his social media activity and public statements before, particularly his 2018 tweet about taking Tesla private at $420 per share, which resulted in a separate settlement with the regulator.

In this latest case, the Commission is not just focusing on the missed disclosure deadline but also on the financial implications of that delay.

The regulator believes the undervalued purchases directly undermined market transparency and harmed investors who were unaware of Musk’s position until it was too late.

Musk skipped SEC testimony in 2023

The SEC’s latest court action builds on a prolonged legal back-and-forth between Musk and the regulator.

In 2023, the Commission filed another suit against Musk after he failed to appear for testimony regarding the Twitter acquisition.

He had previously agreed to sit down with SEC investigators but pulled out two days before the scheduled interview.

According to the SEC’s statement at the time, Musk raised what it described as “spurious objections” to justify his absence.

The Commission argued that the refusal to testify was a violation of his earlier agreement and hindered their investigation.

That case focused specifically on Musk’s unwillingness to cooperate rather than the financial details of the acquisition.

However, the two proceedings are closely linked, and the SEC has signalled its intention to continue pressing Musk for accountability over the entire acquisition process.

Legal battle over $150 million gain

Musk’s legal team, led by attorney Alex Spiro, has dismissed the SEC’s claims, describing the latest lawsuit as a “sham.”

They have maintained that Musk did nothing wrong in the Twitter acquisition, and continue to challenge the Commission’s jurisdiction and interpretation of disclosure rules.

Despite this, the SEC’s filings demonstrate a clear intention to proceed with the case, with the agency now pushing for penalties and possible disgorgement of the $150 million Musk allegedly saved.

No trial date has yet been announced, and the case remains in its pre-trial phase.

This lawsuit is part of a wider pattern of regulatory scrutiny surrounding Musk’s actions in public markets.

Whether the SEC will succeed in clawing back funds or imposing sanctions remains to be seen, but the proceedings mark another chapter in Musk’s fraught relationship with federal regulators.

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The Schwab US Dividend Equity (SCHD) ETF has remained in a tight range this year as investors rotated from growth stocks to value ones as risks rose. The SCHD ETF was trading at $28 on Monday, a few points above the year-to-date low of $26.6. This article explains the top three reasons to buy this blue-chip dividend ETF.

SCHD ETF stock has strong technicals

The first reason to buy the SCHD ETF is that it has strong technicals that point to more upside in the coming months. 

The daily chart below shows that the fund has formed two trendlines. Its lower line connects the lowest swings since April 2024. It has always bounced back whenever it dropped to that support level. 

The upper side connects the highest swing since May 2022. When these two lines are connected, they point to a rising broadening wedge, also known as a megaphone pattern. 

This pattern often leads to a strong bullish breakout over time. In this case, a bullish breakout to its all-time high of $29.18, would imply a 4.50% above the current level.

The SCHD ETF has also remained above the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages (EMA). That is a sign that bulls remain in control for now and that its bullish trend will continue to accelerate. A drop below the support at $27 will invalidate the bullish view.

Rotation from growth to value

The other main reason to buy the SCHD ETF is that there will be a rotation from growth to value this year, potentially because of the hefty tech valuations. SCHD has a cheap price-to-earnings ratio of 17, much lower than the S&P 500 index average estimate of 21. 

The fund is also much cheaper than the Invesco QQQ ETF average of 32. Therefore, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index will continue doing well over time, there is a likelihood that investors will move to the SCHD as they hunt for bargains. 

A likely reason for this is that there are fears that the artificial intelligence (AI) bubble is about to burst. This explains why most AI stocks, including NVIDIA have plunged in the past few months. In a note to Bloomberg, a top analyst at Boston Partners said:

“The questions about AI are coming at a time when there’s increased uncertainty overall, and at a time when they were priced for perfection, or close to it. That makes them an extremely obvious place for investors who are broadly nervous to take profits.”

Read more: SCHD ETF: brace for big changes on this blue-chip fund next week

Less exposure to tariffs

The other main reason why the SCHD ETF makes sense is that companies in the fund are mostly in the defensive industries. Financials account for 18% of all the companies in the SCHD ETF. The others are in the healthcare, consumer staples, industrials, and energy.

Most of these firms will not be affected by tariffs. For example, ConocoPhilips, the biggest SCHD stock will keep doing well as demand for energy will continue rising over time. The same is true with Chevron, the second-biggest company in the fund. 

Verizon, the third-biggest firm in the SCHD ETF will also not be affected since American customers will continue buying their mobile and cable. Other top companies in the fund are Coca-Cola, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Altria, AbbVie, PepsiCo, Amgen, and Merck & Co. Therefore, these stocks will likely continue thriving even when tariffs keep rising.

Additionally, the SCHD ETF has a long track record of dividend growth. Its 10-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is 11.30%, higher than the median estimate of 5.93%.

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The venture capital (VC) industry has started the year well, with OpenAI breaking a record this week when it raised $40 billion on Monday. Other companies like Elon Musk’s xAI and Anthropic have continued to do well. This article ranks the biggest VC-funded companies in 2025.

Biggest US VC-funded companies in 2025

SpaceX 

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the biggest VC-funded company in the world with an estimated valuation of over $423 billion after raising over $11.2 billion in funding. Some of iits investors are Fidelity Investments, Founders Fund, Google, and Andreessen Horowitz.

SpaceX has become the biggest provider of satellite internet in the globally. It has also become a giant government contractor that has secured goods worth billions of dollars in the past few years. 

Its main advantage is its first-mover advantage, especially in the satellite internet industry. While other companies like Eutelsat are aiming to gain market share in this industry, the reality is that SpaceX is much further ahead. The same is true in its launch business, where it is a respected company in terms of costs.

OpenAI 

OpenAI, the parent company of ChatGPT, is the second-biggest VC-funded company in the in United States. It broke a record on Monday when it raised $40 billion from investors like Softbank. The new fundraising brought its valuation over $300 million, in line with ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. 

OpenAI will receive $10 billion of this funding instantly, and the rest in the 12 months. The remainder is contingent on the company changing its business model from a non-profit to a profit-based firm.

Stripe 

Stripe is another top VC-funded company in the USA. It has raised over $8.4 billion, and its estimated valuation is about $91 billion. 

Stripe is a major player in the payment service, where it offers solutions to companies like OpenAI, Amazon, Anthropic, and Airbnb. It is a major competitor to other companies like PayPal, Adyen, GoCardless, and Square. 

Stripe’s real valuation will become known when it files for an initial public offering, a move that is expected to happen in the next few years. 

Databricks

Databricks is a top VC-funded company that has been in the business since 2013. The company offers a data warehousing solution used by companies like Santander, Siemens, Shell, Toyota, JetBlue, and Warner. Bros. Discovery.

Databricks has raised over $14.4 billion and is now valued at over $72 billion. Its top investors are VC firms like Thrive Capital, a16z, T. Rowe Price, Morgan Stanley, and Franklin Templeton. 

Anthropic

Anthropic is a top AI company valued at over $65 billion after raising over $11.5 billion. It has received most of these funds from Amazon, which provides it with its data center infrastructure. 

Anthropic has also raised funds from Google, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Menlo Ventures. The company has built Claude, a ChatGPT rival it hopes will be a better competitor to ChatGPT and other models. 

xAI

Elon Musk’s xAI has become one of the fastest-growing companies globally. Established in 2023, it has raised over $12 billion, giving it a valuation of over $50 billion. xAI has even used its financial might to acquire X, formerly known as Twitter, a deal that has created a company valued at $133 billion. As I wrote last week, I believe that xAI’s Grok, is the biggest threat to Google because of its better answers.

Other top VC-funded companies in the US

There are many other top VC-funded companies in the United States, including bug names like Figure A, Anduril Industries, Figma, Fanatics, Epic Games, Rippling, and Klarna.

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Celsius Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: CELH) rallied as much as 10% on Monday after a Truist analyst said the company’s focus on women as a target market could unlock significant upside in its share price.

In a research note, the investment firm upgraded CELH this morning to “buy”.

Its analyst Bill Chappell upwardly revised his price target on Celsius stock today to $45 that indicates potential upside of another 25% from current levels, which is exciting given it has already more than doubled since mid-February.

Chappell is bullish on CELH’s Alani acquisition

Truist continues to see significant further upside in Celsius shares particularly because the Nasdaq listed firm announced plans of acquiring Alani Nu brand for $1.65 billion last month.

Alani had been cutting into Celsius sales that have declined about 6% in recent months.

But that overhang will effectively be removed from CELH once it completes its cash and stock agreement with Alani, its analyst Bill Chappell told investors in a note today.

Together, Celsius and Alani currently own about 16% of the US energy drinks space.

However, their combined share sits at a much higher, close to 50%, in the women segment of that market.  

Note that Celsius stock does not currently pay a dividend, though.

Celsius to expand its footprint in women segment

Chappell expects the Alani acquisition to help Celsius dominate the women segment of the US energy drinks market.

This could prove lucrative for CELH as women are increasingly accounting for a bigger chunk of that category’s sales.

At writing, they drive less than 30% of the energy drink sales globally.

However, the Truist analyst is convinced that women will generate a well over 100% growth in that market in the future.

Meanwhile, rivals like Red Bull and Monster Beverage “have been built to focus on male consumers”, leaving this whole, fast-growing segment entirely for Celsius to own, Chappell added.

Should you buy Celsius stock today?

Celsius stock is now trading at a year-to-date high but Truist continues to recommend loading up on it for the strength of the company’s financials as well.

In February, the energy drinks giant reported 14 cents a share of earnings on a record revenue of about $332 million for its fiscal Q4.

Analysts, in comparison, were at 11 cents per share and $326 million, respectively.

At the time, Jarrod Langhans, CELH’s chief of finance told investors:

We’re pleased that our strategic initiatives are driving long-term share gains and strong retail sales growth.

We believe our capital allocation strategy is fully aligned with our vision to be a high-growth leader and deliver the greatest value to our consumers and shareholders.

The rest of the Wall Street also recommends buying Celsius stock with the mean target of $40 indicating about a 10% upside from here.

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Shell plc has successfully finalised the sale of its Singapore refinery and associated refining assets to a joint venture formed by Chandra Asri and Glencore, according to a Reuters report. 

This transaction marks a significant shift in ownership for the refinery and its assets.

Acquisition and transition of refinery ownership

In addition to the announcement by Shell, trade sources have revealed that the new owners of the refinery have already commenced operations, actively purchasing feedstock required for refining processes. 

This indicates a seamless transition of ownership and a commitment to maintaining the refinery’s operations under the new joint venture.

In 2022, Shell, the multinational oil and gas company, finalised the sale of its Bukom and Jurong Island facility in Singapore to a joint venture. 

The facility, which had been operational since 1961, was a significant asset in Shell’s portfolio. 

The majority stakeholder in the joint venture that acquired the facility was Chandra Asri, an Indonesian-based petrochemicals company. 

This acquisition significantly bolstered Chandra Asri’s position in the Southeast Asian petrochemicals market, making it one of the region’s largest players. 

The deal marked a strategic move for both Shell and Chandra Asri, with Shell divesting from the asset and Chandra Asri expanding its operational footprint and market share.

The financial specifics of the agreement between Shell and Chandra Asri-Glencore joint venture, which was originally expected to be finalised by the end of 2024, have not been made public.

Shell has announced that its employees at the site will transition to the new venture, Aster Chemicals and Energy Pte Ltd. 

This move ensures continuity of operations and expertise at the site, under the new ownership.

Strategic moves by Chandra Asri

Following the recent acquisition and change in ownership, office-based employees have been relocated to a new office space. 

Chandra Asri, taking over the responsibility of Aster’s petrochemicals feedstock procurement, has proactively secured multiple open-spec naphtha purchases.

These purchases, intended for arrival in Singapore, are scheduled to commence in March. 

This strategic move by Chandra Asri highlights their commitment to ensuring a consistent and reliable supply of feedstock for their petrochemical operations. 

The company’s decision to purchase open-spec naphtha allows for flexibility in sourcing and potentially offers cost advantages. 

By securing these purchases in advance, Chandra Asri demonstrates foresight and effective planning in managing their supply chain.

The Shell Jurong Island chemicals site, a major player in the petrochemical industry, significantly bolstered its naphtha imports in 2023 and 2024. 

According to shiptracking data provided by Kpler, the facility imported approximately 1.5 million tons of naphtha annually during those years. 

This is a significant increase in the site’s feedstock requirements, potentially driven by expanded production capacities, new downstream projects, or shifts in the regional supply-demand dynamics for petrochemicals.

Glencore’s crude procurement

In the meantime, Glencore, the Swiss commodity trading and mining company, has been actively securing crude oil supplies. 

The company has made multiple purchases of crude oil scheduled to arrive in Singapore during May and June. 

Sources familiar with the transactions have revealed to Reuters that the oil originates from various regions, including Canada and Kazakhstan, indicating Glencore’s diversified sourcing strategy.

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