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Shares of Apple Inc. were downgraded to equal weight from overweight at Barclays Tuesday morning and their 12-month price target reduced to $117 from $119. Analyst Mark Moskowitz joined a choir of analysts this week saying they don’t expect much from Apple this calendar year, as the company continues to be weighed down by sluggish industrywide smartphone sales. The company’s “sticky ecosystem,” large cash holdings and 10th anniversary iPhone expected this September, however, are positives that may continue to support investors for the long term, said Moskowitz. Shares of Apple fell 0.5% to $119.41 in premarket trade. They’ve risen 2% in the past three months and 18% in the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , by comparison, is up 8.5% in three months and 23% on the year. The average rating on Apple’s stock is the equivalent to overweight, while the average price target is $130, according to a FactSet survey of roughly 40 analysts.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Multi Packaging Solutions International Ltd. shot up 24% toward a 13-month high in premarket trade Tuesday, after the provider of packaging services agreed to be acquired by WestRock Co. in a deal valued at $2.28 billion, including $873 million in debt. Under terms of the deal, WestRock will pay $18 for each Multi Packaging share outstanding. That represents a 25% premium to Monday’s closing price, and implies a market value of $1.39 billion for Multi Packaging. The announcement comes a day after WestRock said it expected to make $1 billion from the sale of assets to Silgan Holdings Inc. . The deal is expected to close during the quarter ending in June 2017. Multi Packaging’s stock has lost 10% over the past 12 months through Monday, while WestRock shares have run up 56% and the S&P 500 has climbed 19%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Software company AppDynamics upped the terms of its initial public offering Tuesday, increasing its price range to $12 to $14 from $10 to $12. The company still plans to sell 12 million shares. With the increased range, the company is still in danger of receiving a lower market capitalization than its latest private valuation of $1.9 billion. AppDynamics is also planning a concurrent private placement in which existing shareholders can buy up to $32.5 million shares of common stock. The stock has been approved to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “APPD.”

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From:: Stock Market News

3M Co. said Tuesday it had net income of $1.155 billion, or $1.88 a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $1.038 billion, or $1.66 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales edged up to $7.329 billion from $7.298 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.87 and sales of $7.338 billion. The maker of post-it notes and industrial goods said it still expects 2017 earnings to rage from $8.45 to $8.80 a share. The current FactSet consensus is for 2017 EPS of $8.64. Shares were flat in premarket trade, but have gained 28% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 19%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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From:: Stock Market News

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s stock shed 1.4% in premarket trade, after the aerospace and defense contractor beat fourth-quarter profit and sales expectations but provided a downbeat profit outlook. Earnings rose to $988 million, or $3.35 a share, from $933 million, or $3.01 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $3.25, above the FactSet consensus of $3.05. Revenue grew to $13.75 billion from $11.52 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $13.03 billion, as better-than-expected aeronautics and space systems sales helped offset a slight miss in missiles and fire control sales. For 2017, Lockheed expects EPS of $12.25 to $12.55, below the FactSet consensus of $12.88. Revenue is projected to be in the range of $49.4 billion to $50.6 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $49.5 billion. Separately, the company said it expects to report a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting at its Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., which was acquired in November 2015. The stock has rallied 21% over the past 12 months through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 19%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Kimberly-Clark Corp. reported fourth-quarter net income of $505 million, or $1.40 per share, up from $333 million, or 91 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS of $1.45 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.42. Sales for the quarter totaled $4.54 billion, unchanged from last year and below the $4.55 billion FactSet consensus. The company has raised the quarterly dividend by 5.4% to 97 cents per share from 92 cents per share. The dividend will be payable on April 4, 2017 for all shareholders of record as of March 10, 2017. Sales in 2017 are expected to be similar to 2016, which were $18.2 billion. The FactSet consensus is $18.5 billion. And the company sees 2017 EPS of $6.20 to $6.35. The FactSet consensus is $6.27. Kimberly-Clark shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and down 7.7% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 18.8% for the past year.

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From:: Stock Market News

Verizon Communication Inc. shares fell 2.7% in premarket trade on Tuesday after the mobile phone and cable TV provider reported fourth-quarter profit that was below Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter was $4.6 billion, or $1.10 per share, compared with $5.5 billion, or $1.32 per share, during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 86 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 89 cents. Revenue in the quarter hit $32.3 billion, compared with $34.3 billion during the same quarter the previous year. FactSet had forecast revenue of $32.1 billion. Verizon said it added 591,000 wireless customers during the quarter and tacked on 21,000 Fios video additions as well. The company expects full-year 2017 consolidated revenues to be “fairly consistent” with 2016 and 2017 consolidated adjusted earnings per share to be similar to revenue trends. Revenue for the full year 2016 was $126.0 billion and per-share earnings were $3.22 for the year. Verizon shares have gained more than 11% in the trailing 12-months, while the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 19%.

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The Turkish lira slumped against the dollar Tuesday after the country’s central bank left a benchmark rate at 8%. A hike that would have supported the battered lira had been widely expected. The dollar was buying 3.7890 lira, a gain of roughly 1% from late Monday. The central bank has disappointed economists before. At its December meeting, the bank left interest rates unchanged, while an increase had been anticipated.

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From:: Stock Market News

The pound was sent on a rollercoaster ride in Tuesday morning trade after the U.K.’s Supreme Court ruled that the government can’t trigger the Article 50 that starts the Brexit process without approval from parliament. The court also said Prime Minister Theresa May won’t have to ask the devolved governments — Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales — before kicking off the exit negotiations. Sterling initially rose to $1.2534 after the decision was announced, but quickly turned lower to trade at $1.2475. The pound exchanged hands at $1.2536 late Monday in New York. “We have seen the initial move for sterling mainly towards the upside, but as the dust settled, we have seen the sterling giving up all those gains,” said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at ThinkForex, in a note. “This is mainly because the market believes that Brexit will move forward now. Moreover GBP was pricing in regionalized government being consulted and the Supreme Court has said that they do not need to be involved in,” he added.

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From:: Stock Market News