Frontier Communications’ stock tumbles toward 4 1/2-year low as downgrades follow disappointing results

Shares of Frontier Communications Corp. tumbled 9.4% toward a 4 1/2-year closing low, as the communication services company’s disappointing third-quarter results led to multiple analyst downgrades and stock price target cuts. Late Tuesday, Frontier reported a swing to a wider-than-expected loss and revenue that missed expectations, as the number of customers declined and churn increased. Analyst Jennifer Fritzsche at Wells Fargo cut her rating to market perform, after being at outperform since she started covering the stock in January 2014, and slashed her stock valuation range to $4.00 to $4.25 from $8.50 to $9.00. “While we are typically reluctant to change ratings during earnings periods, we just do not have line of sight into when revenue stability in the acquired markets will be achieved,” Fritzsche wrote in a note to clients. “We see limited near-term catalysts to drive the shares higher.” Deutsche Bank analyst Matthew Niknam downgraded Frontier to hold, less than nine months since upgrading it to buy, and cut his stock price target to $4 from $5, as the company’s efforts to stem revenue losses through cost cuts remain challenged. “It all comes back to revenue growth, or lack thereof,” Niknam wrote. The stock

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From:: Stock Market News

Microsoft unveils SlackHQ rival called Teams

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new chat-based system for Windows 10 called “Teams” on Wednesday that competes with SlackHQ. The product is integrated with Office 365 services and the Office suite. A person can, feasibly, chat with colleagues while simultaneously presenting a project or working with Office documents directly from the platform. Similarly to Slack, Microsoft will enable both group discussions and direct messages. Slack barked back at the announcement on Wednesday in a press release that appeared as a letter to Microsoft, saying that while it is “genuinely excited to have some competition,” it is “harder than it looks.” Shares of Microsoft fell 0.1% to $59.75 on Wednesday. They’ve risen 5% in the past three months and 12% in the past year, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

Mortgage Application Activity Slips, Refis Most

Applications for residential loans slowed during the most-recent week, with applications for mortgage refinances receding more than purchases.

A seasonally adjusted 1 percent decline from the previous week was recorded for the Market Composite Index for the week ended Oct. 28.

Without any seasonal adjustments, the index — a measure of mortgage loan application volume — retreated by 2 percent versus a week earlier.


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From:: Financing

Oil futures drop after EIA reports a whopping 14.4 million-barrel climb in U.S. crude supply

Oil futures dropped Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies rose by 14.4 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 28. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a 1.9 million-barrel climb, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a rise of 9.3 million barrels, according to sources. Gasoline supplies, meanwhile, fell by 2.2 million barrels and distillate stockpiles declined 1.8 million barrels, according to the EIA. December crude lost $1.59, or 3.4%, to $45.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices set for their lowest finish since late September. Prices traded at $45.80 before the data.

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From:: Stock Market News

Square shares rise after upgrade to outperform at Credit Suisse

Shares of Square Inc. climbed 5% Wednesday after the stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse following an earnings beat. The analysts said the company’s third-quarter results, in which Square beat earnings and revenue expectations, show that Square is a scalable company that can comfortably reach a target price of $15. Square is ahead of the competition on small business payment systems, particularly because of its moves in payment electronification and simplification, the analysts said. They expect the company could see high 20% to mid 30% volume growth in the near or mid-term. Shares of Square have gained 15% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s loss of 2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

SoFi and Fannie Mae announce cash-out refi for student loans

The student loan debt problem is a growing burden that impacts a wide range of households, more than estimated 8.5 million to be specific. SoFi and Fannie Mae want to fix this. The two companies announced a new loan option on Wednesday that allows homeowners to refinance their mortgage at a lower rate and pay down the balance of an existing student loan. Click the headline to read more. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

GameStop’s stock plunges after profit, sales warning

Shares of GameStop Corp. plunged 13% to a four-year low in active morning trade Wednesday, after the video game seller warned that fiscal third-quarter results would fall short of expectations, citing disappointing sales of new titles. The company said it now expects same-store sales for the quarter ended in October to be down 6.0% to 7.0% from a year ago, compared with the FactSet consensus of a 0.5% increase. GameStop expects revenue of $2.0 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.1 billion, and earnings per share of 45 cents to 49 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 57 cents. For fiscal 2016, the company now expects EPS of $3.65 to $3.80 and a same-store sales decline of 6.5% to 9.5%, compared with FactSet’s EPS consensus of $4.01 same-store sales estimate of a decline of 3.2%. “Our expectation was that the new titles released in October would provide a catalyst for new software sales, but despite gaining market share, the titles underperformed our forecasted sales,” said Chief Executive Paul Raines. “While the Technology Brands and Collectibles segments continue to grow rapidly, they will not offset the decline in gaming this quarter.” The stock has tumbled 27% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Netflix is the most-loved brand among Americans, Brits and Brazilians

Netflix Inc. is the most-loved brand across the U.S., U.K. and Brazil, according to The Love Index 2016, compiled by Accenture Interactive and the company’s design unit, Fjord. Apple Inc. , Microsoft Corp. and Netflix are the most-loved brands in the U.S., according to the research. And consumer interactions with Netflix, FitBitInc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Apple and Facebook Inc. are setting benchmarks for brand experiences across other products and services in the U.S. Accenture Interactive and Fjord polled 26,000 people about 70 brands for the Love Index.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks open marginally lower as Clinton lead narrows

U.S. stocks opened marginally lower on Wednesday, after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index logged a sixth straight drop in the prior sessions, as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s lead over Republican Donald Trump continued to narrow, according to the latest polling data. The S&P 500 shed 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,106. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 55 points, or 0.3%, to17,986. The Nasdaq was off 8 points, or 0.1%, to 5,146.

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From:: Stock Market News