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The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Timothy Massad, told attendees at a conference in New York on Wednesday that the regulator is very concerned about the potential for disruptive events in the U.S. Treasury market and is already taking steps to address the growth of automated trading and increasing cybersecurity risks. Massad said the CFTC has finalized rules to implement its new authority under Dodd-Frank to prevent new forms of illegal behavior, such as spoofing and has brought enforcement actions on that front. New proposals include requirements for pre-trade risk controls and other measures to reduce risks of automated trading. The CFTC also wants to increase transparency regarding market maker incentive programs and self-trading to make sure it isn’t illegal wash trading.

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From:: Stock Market News

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.’s stock tumbled 7.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, putting it in danger of the biggest-ever one-day percentage decline in its near 10-year history, after the fast casual restaurant chain reported disappointing third-quarter results late Tuesday. The biggest one-day percentage decline to date was the 7.4% drop on April 22 after first-quarter results. J.P. Morgan analyst John Ivankoe recommended investors use any weakness in the stock as an opportunity to buy, citing a strong long-term outlooks for profit and same-store sales growth. He reiterated his overweight rating and $750 stock price target. Sterne Agee CRT analyst Lynne Collier maintained her buy rating and $766 stock price target, citing her long-term view that Chipotle will remain a “market share winner” among its peers despite the recent slowdown. Meanwhile, analyst Nick Setyan at Wedbush Securities cut his stock price target to $700 from $740, and kept his rating at neutral, citing concerns over a slowdown in transaction growth for the fourth quarter.

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From:: Stock Market News

Whirlpool Corp. has named Marc Bitzer as president and chief operating officer responsible for all global operations and added him to the board of directors, effective immediately. He joined Whirlpool Europe in 1999 and was named vice chairman of the North American and European businesses in Nov. 2014. Whirpool vice chairman Michael Todman will also begin his planned retirement at the end of 2015 after 22 years with the company. He has served as vice chairman since Nov. 2014.

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Kimberly-Clark Corp. said it had net income of $517 million, or $1.41 a share, in the third quarter, down from $562 million, or $1.50 a share, for the same period in 2014. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.51, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.49. Sales came to $4.7 billion, down 7% from a year ago but in line with the FactSet consensus. The company said the strong U.S. dollar reduced sales by 12%. The personal care segment, which includes Huggies diapers and Depend absorbent undergarments reported sales of $2.4 billion, down 5% from a year ago, though sales in North America increased 5%. And third-quarter sales in the tissue segment, which includes Kleenex and Viva, were down 10% to $1.5 billion. Kimberly-Clark stock is up 4.2% for the past three months, compared to a 4.2% decrease of the S&P.

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From:: Stock Market News

Twitter Inc.’s stock dropped 3.9% in active premarket trade Wednesday, after the social media company was downgraded to the equivalent of a sell rating at Morgan Stanley, which cited limited user growth and engagement and concerns over advertiser demand. Analyst Brian Nowak cut his rating to underweight from equal weight, and slashed his stock price target to $24, which is 22% below Tuesday’s closing price, from $36. Nowak said he doesn’t see how Twitter can be expected to double its revenue base through 2017, as consensus analyst estimates suggest, even though monthly active user growth is materially decelerating. Among other concerns, Nowak said he estimates that the company’s current ad load is 10 times higher than Facebook Inc. when adjusted for time spent. “This creates a potential ad ceiling, as continued increases in ads/user has the potential to reduce click-through rates, lower advertiser [return on investment], and stifle user growth or, perhaps cause [monthly active users] to fall,” Nowak wrote in a note to clients. “Engagement trends are moving against [Twitter’s] advertising opportunity too, as average time spent per mobile user is falling…and at an accelerating rate.” The stock has dropped 16% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has slipped 4.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Yahoo Inc. fell 2% in premarket trade Wednesday following a number of price-target cuts after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings. Jefferies axed its target on the stock to $49 from $61, though it reiterated a buy rating. Credit Suisse cut its target to $53 from $59 on a neutral rating, while Raymond James lowered its target to $42 from $45 on an outperform rating and J.P. Morgan sliced its target by two dollars to $42 on an overweight rating. Wells Fargo actually raised its valuation range on the stock to between $36 and $37, from a range of $31 to $32, citing a higher probability Yahoo will secure a tax-efficient divestiture of its Alibaba Group Holding stake, but said it holds “little hope” Yahoo will see “any material improvement to operations” in the near term. Most of the analysts, however, were optimistic on Yahoo’s new search partnership with Google Inc. , and Wells Fargo said it expects this is spawn more distribution partnerships. Yahoo’s shares were on track to open down around $32.34 on Wednesday. They have fallen more than 17% over the last three months, underperforming the S&P 500’s 4% decline

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares in KLA-Tencor Corp. jumped 16% in premarket action Wednesday following news that Lam Research Corp. plans to acquire the company in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $10.6 billion. The deal is billed as creating a “premier” provider of semiconductor equipment. KLA-Tencor shareholders will be entitled to elect to receive the “equivalent of $32.00 in cash and 0.5 of a share of Lam Research common stock, in all-cash, all-stock, or mixed consideration, subject to proration as more fully described in the merger agreement,” Lam said Wednesday in a news release. The deal values KLA-Tencor at $67.02 a share, representing a 24% premium to where the company’s stock closed Tuesday.

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Biogen Inc. said Wednesday that a late-stage trial of a drug to treat of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis was unsuccessful. The trial of Natalizumab found that the drug was “well-tolerated” by patients but did not meet its primary and secondary endpoints. “While we’re disappointed with these results, we believe this research will provide the MS community important insights into this more advanced patient population,” said Alfred Sandrock, group senior vice president and chief medical officer at Biogen, in the press release. Shares of Biogen rose 10% Wednesday after the company beat third-quarter earnings expectations

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From:: Stock Market News

Kimberly-Clark Corp. said it had third-quarter net income of $529 million, or adjusted earnings per share of $1.51, down from $582 million for the same period in 2014, or adjusted earnings per share $1.50. Earnings per share consensus was $1.49, according to analysts polled by FactSet. Sales for the quarter were $4.7 billion, down 7% from one year ago. Net sales consensus was $4.7 billion, according to FactSet. The company said the impact of the U.S. dollar reduced sales by 12%. The personal care segment, which includes Huggies diapers and Depend absorbent undergarments reported sales of $2.4 billion, down 5% from one year ago, though sales in North America increased 5%. And third-quarter sales in the tissue segment, which includes Kleenex and Viva, were down 10% to $1.5 billion. Kimberly-Clark stock is up 4.2% for the past three months, compared to a 4.2% decrease of the S&P.

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From:: Stock Market News

Biogen Inc. beat third-quarter earnings expectations Wednesday and raised its full-year guidance, announced an 11% reduction in workforce. Biogen reported net income of $965 million, or $4.16 per share, up from $856 million, or $3.63 per share, in the year-earlier period. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.48, above the Factset consensus of $3.79. Biogen reported revenue of $2.78 billion, above $2.51 billion in the year-earlier period and above the Factset consensus of $2.65 billion. The company announced an 11% cut in it workforce, which will also end some pipeline program and is expected to reduce the annual run rate of operating expenses by about $250 million. Biogen said it will invest that money into commercial initiatives as well as explore treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and spinal muscular atrophy. The company raised its full-year guidance, with revenue growth expected to grow 8% to 9%, non-GAAP diluted EPS between $16.20 and %16.50 and GAAP diluted EPS between $14.65 and $14.95.

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From:: Stock Market News