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Fitbit Inc. shares are poised for a three-session winning streak Tuesday following upbeat comments from an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities who reiterated his “overweight” rating on the stock. “Checks indicate that demand for Fitbit devices remains very strong heading into the holidays, with inventory appearing curiously low,” said analyst Brad Erickson in a report. The analyst also downplayed investors’ concerns about competition, noting that corporate wellness is “underappreciated” in Fitbit’s outlook. Erickson assigned a stock price target of $47. Shares of Fitbit shares gained 3.3% to $37.30.

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From:: Stock Market News

Fortress Investment Group confirmed that it was closing its flagship Fortress Macro Funds, and returning all the capital to investors, by the end of the year following a challenging two-year period. Fortress Principal Michael Novogratz, who founded the hedge fund’s liquid markets business in 2002, is expected to retire at year end. Fortress said it will repurchase all of Novogratz’s ownership stake, representing beneficial ownership of 56.8 million shares, as $4.50 a share, which is 17% below Monday’s closing price of $5.44. “After careful consideration and analysis, we have decided to close the Fortress Macro Funds and return cash to our investors,” Novogratz said. “This was a difficult decision given my confidence in both the research positions we hold and the talent of our team. But we have had an extremely challenging two years, and I do not believe the current environment is conducive to achieving our best results.” The Wall Street Journal had reported late Monday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Fortress would close its flagship hedge fund and that Novogratz would leave the firm. The stock surged 4.4% in midday trade after a halt was lifted. It has dropped 29% year to date, while the S&P 500 has lost 2%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said it’s brought its first-ever case involving misstatements and omissions by an issuer of structured notes. The SEC fined UBS $19.5 million over allegations it made false or misleading statements and omissions in offering materials provided to U.S. investors in structured notes. According to the SEC, UBS falsely stated the instrument used market prices when undisclosed hedging trades by UBS reduced the index price by about 5%. Between December 2009 and November 2010 approximately 1,900 U.S. investors bought approximately $190 million of structured notes linked to what’s called the V10 index. UBS did not admit or deny the findings.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of General Motors Co. extended gains for a second session Tuesday on news that car sales in China, a key market for the automaker, are recovering. Passenger car sales rose 3.3% in September to 1.75 million units, while combined sales of passenger and commercial vehicles grew 2.1% to about 2 million, according to China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. GM shares rose 0.9% to $33.31, following a 0.2% rise in the previous session. For the year, the stock is down 4.6%. Ford Motor Co. shares also climbed 0.4% to $15.05.

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Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday placed ratings of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA on review for a possible downgrade, following the news that it has agreed in principle to acquire SABMiller Plc for about $106 billion in cash and stock. Moody’s rates AB InBev’s long-term senior unsecured debt at A2. “Moody’s will consider the significant increase in leverage and likely time period to reduce leverage as a result of the partially debt funded acquisition, the execution risks associated with meeting regulatory requirements including asset sales, the implication for various partnerships that the companies’ have globally, integration risks, possible synergies, and the likely financial policy going forward,” the rating agency said in a statement. AB InBev is the world’s largest brewer with leading positions in many of the world’s most profitable markets.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Transportation Average slumped 0.8% in morning trade Tuesday, as sharp selloffs in the shares of components Ryder System Inc. and JetBlue Airways Corp. caused the transport sector tracker to underperform the broader market by a wide margin. Ryder’s stock slid 8% to the lowest price since February 2014 after the truck rental company cuts its third-quarter and full-year profit outlook late Monday. JetBlue’s stock shed 6.3% after J.P. Morgan downgraded the air carrier on concerns over valuation. Among other more-active Dow transport components, shares of United Continental Holdings fell 0.6%, CSX Corp. lost 0.6% and Southwest Airlines Co. slipped 0.2%, while Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 0.7%. The Dow transports’ decline comes after it had run up 7.6% over the past two weeks. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% in morning trade, on track for an eighth-straight gain, and has gained 7.2% since Sept. 28.

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From:: Stock Market News

Whole Foods Market Inc. is adding to the items it sells for a quarter after the success of the 25-cent coffee program, the company said in a statement. Between Oct. 14 and 27, Whole Foods will sell small-sized oatmeal from the hot bar for 25 cents until 10 a.m. daily. And between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3, the market will sell 12-ounce Allegro coffee and tea. There are no limits to how many 25-cent items customers can purchase. Whole Foods launched a promotion to sell 12-ounce cups of coffee for a quarter in September. The company sold 1.2 million cups, an average of 57,117 per day, it said. Whole Foods stock is down 33.4% for the year so far. The S&P is down 2% for the same period.

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Heartware International Inc.’s stock plunged nearly $8, or 18%, in active morning trade Tuesday, making it the biggest price and percentage decliner on the Nasdaq exchange. The stock was trading at the lowest price seen since Jan. 27, 2010. Volume of about 2 million shares as of 10:15 a.m. ET was already about triple the full-day average, according to FactSet. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing Tuesday that it may not reinitiate enrollment in MVAD heart pump clinical trials in November as previously expected. The company had said in early September that it paused its MVAD clinical trial to address a manufacturing process issue. HeartWare said in a statement that it had begun investigating causes of reported adverse events in certain trial patients, and is currently “in the process of implementing manufacturing improvements as well as software updates.”

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Denver-based fast casual restaurant Smashburger has agreed to sell 40% of the company to Philippines-based Jollibee Foods Corp. , according to a statement. The deal values Smashburger at $335 million. Jollibee operates a global network of 3,000 restaurants including Jollibee, Red Ribbon, Chowking and Burger King Philippines. It is the largest restaurant chain in Asia, according to a release. Smashburger launched in 2007 and has more than 335 corporate and franchised restaurants in 35 states and seven countries. About 60% of its restaurants are company owned and operated.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday as weak Chinese trade data appeared to sour Wall Street sentiment. The early slump threatens to snap a seven-day win streak for the Dow Jones Industrial Average , which lost 92 points, or 0.5%, to open at 17,041. The S&P 500 , which was on track to end four straight days of gains, fell about 11 points, or 0.6%, to 2,006. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 30 points, or 0.6%, to 4,808.

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From:: Stock Market News