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American Renal Associates Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it priced its initial public offering of 7.5 million shares at $22.00 a share, at the higher end of the expected pricing range of $20 to $23. The provider of dialysis services also granted the underwriters the option of purchasing an additional 1.13 million shares at the IPO price. American Renal is expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday under the ticker ARA. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Goldman Sachs & Co. are serving as lead joint book-running managers.

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From:: Stock Market News

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Wednesday it has cut down the number of its board members to 12 from 15 directors in an effort to “maximize” the board’s “effectiveness in supporting the company’s strategy,” the retailer said in statement. The company also said it added Marissa Mayer, president and CEO of Yahoo Inc., and Kevin Systrom, CEO and co-founder of Instagram, to its board in order to focus on technology. Four board members will retire. The changes take effect after the company’s annual meeting on June 3. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 0.1% in late trading Wednesday after ending the regular trading day down 0.8%.

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Las Vegas Sands Corp. shares fell in the extended session Wednesday after the casino operator’s quarterly earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates. Las Vegas Sands shares declined 4.2% to $49.83 after hours. The company reported adjusted earnings of 45 cents a share on revenue of $2.89 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast 63 cents a share on revenue of $2.88 billion.

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From:: Stock Market News

Yum Brands Inc. shares rallied in Wednesday’s extended session after the fast-food company posted better-than-expected earnings, largely on the back of strong sales at its China division. Yum reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $391 million, or 93 cents a share, from $362 million, or 83 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the parent company of KFC and Taco Bell would have earned 95 cents a share. Revenue was mostly flat at $2.62 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected the Louisville, Ky., company to earn 83 cents on revenue of $2.66 billion. Its China division, which it plans to spin off by the end of the year, reported same-store sales of 6% while global same-store sales increased 2%. Yum raised its core operating profit growth outlook for 2016 to 12% versus 10% previously. Shares of Yum gained 3.7% in after-hours trading.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF’s intraday swing lower produced a bearish “key reversal day” chart pattern, which warns that the rally may be over. The gold miners ETF (GDX) rose as much as 2.4% intraday to a 19-month high of $23.82, before reversing to close down 1.8% at $22.84, below the previous session’s intraday low of $22.92. Many technicians believe this marks the end of the previous uptrend. A close above the pattern’s high–$23.82–would be needed to negate the bearish reversal signal. The GDX has soared 78% over the past three months, far outpacing the 13% gain in the SPDR Gold ETF .

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From:: Stock Market News

Hedge funds suffered investment capital outflows of $15.1 billion in the first quarter, the largest quarterly outflow since the second quarter of 2009, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. It also marks the first back-to-back quarters of outflows since 2009. Equity hedge funds had $5.7 billion in outflows, HFR said. Total hedge fund assets fell to $2.86 trillion at the end of March, with equity hedge funds assets slipping to $806.5 billion. It’s no wonder investors left, because despite a strong March, hedge funds lost money during the quarter while the stock market rose. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index shed 0.67% during the quarter, despite a 2% jump in March, HFR said. The HFRI Equity Hedge Fund Index shot up 3.4% in March, but still ended the quarter with a 1.7% drop. In comparison, the S&P 500 index posted a 0.8% gain during the quarter, after surging 6.6% in March.

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Oil futures rallied Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude prices marking their highest settlement of the year. Prices got a boost after U.S. government data showed a sixth-weekly decline in domestic oil production. On its expiration day, May WTI crude rose $1.55, or 3.8%, to settle at $42.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June WTI crude , which is now the front-month contract, added $1.71, or 4%, to $44.18 a barrel.

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