Netflix’s stock price target boosted 15% at Pacific Crest

Netlix Inc.’s stock price target was boosted by 15% on Friday at Pacific Crest Securities, which said the video streaming service’s price increase implemented for new subscribers on Thursday is a signal of confidence in its North American subscriber base. Analyst Andy Hargreaves raised his stock price target to $140, which is 22% above Thursday’s closing price of $114.93, from $122. He affirmed his overweight rating, which he’s had on the stock since April 2014. Hargreaves said he doesn’t believe Netflix’s management would raise prices if it were concerned about the direction of subscriber growth. “We view today’s price increase as positively, as it likely signals confidence in subscriber growth and suggests a faster pace of price increases than is embedded in our model,” Hargreaves wrote in a note to clients. The stock slipped 0.2% in premarket trade, after running up 6.3% on Thursday. It has more than doubled so far this year, while the S&P 500 has slipped 2.2%.

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Standard Chartered to slash 1,000 top jobs: Reuters

Standard Chartered PLC is planning to cut up 1,000 top jobs at the bank in a drive to reduce costs, Reuters reported on Friday. According to a memo sent to Standard Chartered staff and seen by the news outlet, the company’s new chief executive Bill Winters plans to ax the number of staff who are in the 1-4 bands by 25%. There are about 4,000 employees in those bands, covering board members and bankers at managing director level. The memo also detailed plans to make disposals and cut clients as part of Winters’s turnaround plan. Shares of Standard Chartered were up 5.6% in mid-morning London trade. A representative from the bank didn’t immediately respond.

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GGC announces 9% stake in Ascena Retail Group

Golden Gate Capital disclosed that it has a 9% stake in Ascena Retail Group , which owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Dressbarn and other brands. GGC believes the company’s stock is significantly undervalued, according to the SEC filing. The firm also said it’s in the early stages of discussions with Ascena’s management team and the board of directors to grow the company. Ascena stock is up 13% for the year to date. The S&P is down 2.2% for the same period.

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Gap Inc. net sales, same-store sales down 1% for September

Gap Inc. reported September same-store sales down 1%, driven by a 10% decline at Banana Republic versus 2% increase last year. Gap Inc. same-store sales were flat the previous year. Old Navy was positive 4% this year compared to positive 1% the previous year. Gap Global same-store sales were flat versus negative 3% last year. Gap Inc. expects expects gross margins to remain the same. The company reported net sales of $1.46 billion for the period ending Oct. 3, a 1% decrease from $1.48 billion in the five-week period ending Oct. 4, 2014. Gap stock is down 31.3% for the year-to-date versus a 2.2% decline for the S&P over the same period.

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Polyone board hikes dividend 20%

Polyone Corp. said late Thursday its board approved a 20% dividend hike. The new quarterly dividend of 12 cents a share will be paid Jan. 7 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 18. Shares of Polyone were flat at $33.80 in after-hours activity.

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Ruby Tuesday shares down after company misses earnings, sales

Ruby Tuesday Inc. said Thursday it lost $4.19 million, or 7 cents a share, in the fiscal first quarter, reversing earnings of $2.56 million, or 4 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, the restaurant chain reported a loss of 3 cents a share, compared with EPS of 1 cent a year ago. Revenue for the quarter reached $279.5 million, down from $281,182 million a year ago. First-quarter same-restaurant sales were lower than a year ago, in part because, due to a late Labor Day holiday this year, sales during that holiday will be reported in the second quarter, not in the first quarter as last year, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report earnings of 4 cents a share on revenue of $280 million. Ruby Tuesday shares lost 6% in late trading after ending the regular trading day up 2.3%.

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Alcoa slashes it outlook for China’s production of cars, heavy duty trucks

Alcoa Inc. indicated that China’s industrial economy is slowing more rapidly than expected, as the aluminum producer slashed its production outlook for the country for cars, trucks and construction. Alcoa said it now expects 2015 automotive production growth in China to be in the range of 1% to 2%, down from a previous outlook of 5% to 8% growth. Heavy duty truck and trailer production is now expected to drop 22% to 24%, compared with a previous estimate of a 14%-to-16% decline. Commercial building and construction sales are expected to increase 4% to 6%, down from its previous growth forecast of 6% to 8%. Alcoa’s stock dropped 4.2% in after-hours trade, after the company reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that missed expectations.

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