Month: September 2015

Instagram announced an expansion to its advertising platform Wednesday, which allows businesses of all sizes and in more than 30 new countries to run ads. The ad platform, which draws from Facebook Inc.’s ads infrastructure, allows the companies to target specific audiences based on interests. It will also allow users to buy products through Instagram. The new ad format includes video ads of up to 30 seconds, landscape photo and videos and tools to drive performance across Facebook and Instagram. The new countries include Italy, Spain, Mexico, India and South Korea and the ad capability will be “launching in markets around the world” on Sept. 30

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Barnes & Noble Inc. said Wednesday it had a net loss of $34.9 million, or 68 cents a share, in its first fiscal quarter, after a loss of $28.4 million, or 56 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales fell to $1.22 billion from $1.24 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 20 cents and sales of $1.22 billion. The company completed its spinoff of its education business on Aug. 2. “As we look to the second quarter and beyond, we are focused on opportunities to increase comparable store sales and reduce expenses,” Chief Financial Officer Allen Lindstrom said in a statement. The Company plans to further reduce NOOK expenses through synergies with the Retail business and we expect to see those benefits during the balance of the fiscal year.”

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U.S. stocks opened with solid gains Wednesday, extending the previous session’s bounce on growing expectations for further economic stimulus from China and in the wake of Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s indication he will move to cut corporate taxes. Japan’s Nikkei index rose 7.7% for its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than seven years, while the Shanghai Composite rose 2.3%. The S&P 500 was up 14 points, or 0.7%, in early trade at 1,983, while the Dow industrials advanced 138 points, or 0.8%, to 16,631. The Nasdaq Composite rose 43 points, or 0.9, to 4,855.

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The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to its highest level since Aug. 5 Wednesday after Chinese policy makers said they would adopt more fiscal stimulus measures, causing investors to move out of Treasury bonds and into risky assets like stocks. The yield was last up 5.8 basis points to 2.251%. The yield on the two-year note rose two basis points to 0.761%. Meanwhile, U.S. S&P 500 futures were up 1.1% to 1,988.

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Barnes & Noble Education Inc. said Wednesday it had a net loss of $26.9 million, or 65 cents a share, in its first fiscal quarter, after a proforma loss $26.2 million, or 71 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. The company reported the numbers on a carve-out basis, as it was on spun out of Barnes & Noble Inc. on Aug. 2, after the quarter had ended. It said revenue rose to $239 million from $225.7 million. The FactSet consensus was for a loss per share of 64 cents and revenue of $237 million. Same-store sales rose 1.8% in the period, driven by general merchandise sales, which rose 7.3%. “We continue to win new contracts, opening 21 new stores with estimated annual sales of $45.0 million,” Chief Executive Max Roberts said in a statement. Looking ahead, the company is expecting full-year same-store sales to grow 1%, and expects capex of about $55 million. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 2.3% in the month, while the S&P 500 is down 0.1%.

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Altria Group Inc.’s stock tacked on 0.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the cigarette seller affirmed its full-year adjusted earnings-per-share outlook. The company said it still expects EPS, excluding non-recurring items, such as litigation charges and losses on the early extinguishment of debt, of $2.76 to $2.81. That compares with the FactSet consensus of $2.81. Altria will present at the Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference in Boston on Wednesday. The stock has climbed 10% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 5.3%.

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Defense company Lockheed Martin Corp. said Wednesday it will cut about 500 jobs in its IT services division, following a strategic review of the business. The cuts will include voluntary and involuntary layoffs, and come in response to shifting government priorities and changes in the industry. “We made these difficult decisions as part of our efforts to remain competitive in an extremely challenging environment where industry dynamics have shifted, customer budgets are constrained and competition has continued to escalate,” Sondra Barbour, executive vice president of the division, said in a statement. Shares were slightly higher in premarket trade, but are up 7.5% in the year so far, while the s&P 500 has lost 4.4%.

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Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s stock plunged 79% in premarket trade Wednesday, in the wake of disappointing late-stage trial results of its treatment for urinary tract infections. The stock is on track to open at the lowest level since May 2014, as a number of Wall Street analysts followed the trial news with downgraded and price target cuts. Late Tuesday, Tetraphase said a phase 3 clinical trial of eravacycline failed to achieve its primary endpoint. “We plan to further analyze the data and provide an update after we have discussed the data and our plans for a path forward with the regulatory agencies,” said Chief Executive Guy Macdonald. No less than four of the 11 analysts covering Tetraphase, and tracked by FactSet, have downgraded the stock following the trial news. Tetraphase’s stock is trading at $9.28 ahead of the open, which is 82% below its July 16 record close of $51.89. The stock went public on March 20, 2013 at an initial-public-offering price of $7.

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Amazon.com Inc.’s August same-store sales rose 24.7% from the year-earlier, after rising 30.1% in July thanks to its Prime Day shopping holiday, according to ChannelAdvisor, a consulting firm that tracks e-commerce sites for brands and manufacturers. EBay Inc.’s August same-store sales came in at 3.4% after 5.8% in July, and well below the 15% growth predicted by comScore, ChannelAdvisor wrote in a monthly blog post. Other marketplaces saw same-store sales rise 20%, which was higher than the 16.1% growth seen in July, the firm said. Google Shopping had same-store sales growth of 26.7%, a step up from July’s 13.2%. Comparison shopping engines grew same-store sales by 8.6%, up from 4.3% in July. “CSEs accelerated due to the strong showing in Google Shopping,” said the blog.

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Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. said Wednesday it is lowering its outlook for the third quarter and embarking on a cost-cutting program as it struggles with weak demand. The company said it now expects third-quarter sales of about $340 million, down from a prior range of $355 million to $375 million. The current FactSet consensus is for third-quarter sales of $365 million. The company is expecting its gross margin to be within its previous range of 34% to 35%. Fairchild said it is planning to cut annual operating costs by $30 million to $34 million in a program that will be implemented by the middle of the fourth quarter. The company is expecting to book a charge of about $13 million for severance in the third quarter. “Given the incrementally weaker demand environment, we are taking decisive steps to reduce operating expenses to our target model of 25 percent of sales at the current revenue level,” Chief Executive Mark Thompson said in a statement. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down about 17% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has lost 4.4%.

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