Harley-Davidson downgraded at Barclays on discounting concerns

Harley-Davidson Inc. was downgraded on Monday to underweight from equal weight at Barclays on concerns that discounting could impact bike inventories. The bank maintains its $45 price target. “In response to the favorable financing rates offered by the competition, Harley-Davidson has once again engaged in aggressive financing via Harley-Davison Financial Services,” the bank wrote in a note. “All this discounting conditions consumer purchase patterns and leads to higher used bike inventories once the discounting is removed.” Analysts are also concerned about heightened competition and a decline in domestic demand. Harley-Davidson shares are up 1.1% in premarket trading, but down 9.2% for the past year. THe S&P 500 Index is up 3.3% for the last 12 months.

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Newell Brands’ chief commercial officer to leave company

Newell Brands Inc. said Monday Chief Commercial Officer Joseph Arcuri will leave the company effective Aug. 31. Under the separation agreement, Arcuri will receive a $625,000 severance payment, and a pro-rated cash bonus payable at the same time bonuses are paid to active employees. Arcuri joined Newell in December 2014 at global president of the home solutions business. Prior to that, he had spent 28 years at Procter & Gamble Co. . Newell’s stock was still inactive in premarket trade. It closed Friday an 18-year high, after the consumer products company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. It has run up 19% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.3%.

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Verizon plans to acquire Fleetmatics in $2.4 billion deal

Verizon Communications Inc. on Monday said it’s entered an agreement to acquire Fleetmatics Group PLC in a deal valued at $2.4 billion. Fleetmatics is a mobile workforce solutions company offering businesses the software and means to track and analyze data from their vehicles and, or drivers. The deal, which Verizon expects to close in the fourth quarter, will see the mobile, cable and internet company pay $60 per share in cash, which represents a 40% premium to Friday’s closing price. Fleetmatics is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with its North American base in Massachusetts. Shares of Fleetmatics were up more than 38% following the news, and are down more than 15% in the year to date. Verizon shares were down less than 1% in light premarket trade, but are up nearly 20% in the year, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more the 6%.

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Coty raises annual dividend by 10%

Coty Inc. said Monday that it is raising its annual dividend by 10% to $0.275 cents per share from $0.25 cents per share on Class A and Class B common stock. The dividend is payable on August 19, 2016 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 11, 2016. Coty shares are inactive in premarket trading but up 4.8% for the year to date. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.3% for the year so far.

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Keryx Biopharmaceuticals says kidney disease drug won’t be available until the fourth quarter; stock halted

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals Inc. shares were halted in pre-market trade Monday and the company said its kidney disease drug Auryxia wouldn’t be available through about the fourth quarter, due to a production-related issue. The supply interruption, which the company said was “imminent,” was caused by an issue converting active pharmaceutical ingredient, which is used to make a drug, into a finished drug product, which has resulted in variable finished drug yields. Keryx said that the production issues have eliminated its reserve of the drug. Auryxia first received Food and Drug Administration approval in late 2014, and the drug’s net U.S. sales in the second-quarter were $8.3 million from about 13,000 prescriptions. Shares of the company rose 35.3% over the last three months, compared with a 5.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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SolarCity lowers 2016 guidance for megawatts installed

SolarCity Corp. said Monday that megawatts installed in the second quarter came to 201 MW, ahead of guidance of 185 MW. MW booked rose 40% from the year-earlier period to drive a “significant” improvement in sales cost per watt. “A range of sales process improvements and the introduction of a new loan offering began to help improve bookings in the second quarter, but residential bookings in the first half of the year were still lower than we anticipated overall,” the company said in a statement. As a result, the company is cutting its 2016 guidance for MW installed to 900 to 1,000 MW from earlier guidance of 1,000 to 1,100 MW installed. The company is expecting two product releases in the second half that are expected to boost MW installed in 2017. The company will report second-quarter earnings after the bell on Aug. 9. Shares were halted premarket for news. The company and Tesla Motors Corp. will host a conference call at 8.00 a.m. Eastern Monday to discuss Tesla’s plan to buy SolarCity. Tesla shares were slightly higher in premarket trade, while S&P 500 futures were up 2 points.

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Tesla and SolarCity to host conference call at 8.00 a.m. ET to discuss combination

Tesla Motors Corp. and SolcarCity Corp. will host a conference call at 8.00 a.m. Eastern Monday to discuss Tesla’s plan to acquire SolarCity. The companies will provide an investor presentation to the investor relations sections of their websites. Tesla first announced its plan to acquire SolarCity in June, and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk — who is the biggest shareholder of both companies — has said the deal would help transition the car maker into an energy company specializing in using batteries to generate and store power. SolarCity shares were halted premarket for news, while Tesla edged slightly lower. S&P 500 futures were slightly higher.

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Tesla, SolarCity could announce merger as soon as Monday: report

A merger between Tesla Motors Inc. and SolarCity Corp. could be announced as soon as Monday, Reuters reported, citing sources. The deal is expected to include an option that will leave the residential solar-power company open to seek other offers for a period of time after the agreement with Tesla is signed. Talk of a tie-up has been in the works for weeks, and Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk is heavily invested in SolarCity. Recently, Musk laid out his “Master Plan” for Tesla, in which he sees a future with electric trucks and buses, and autonomous electric car-sharing networks with renewable energy powered by SolarCity. Neither Tesla, nor SolarCity could immediately be reached for comment.

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