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Fresh Market Inc.’s stock dropped 1.9% in premarket trade Monday, putting it on track to open at a 15-month low, after the specialty grocer was downgraded at BMO Capital Markets, which cited concerns over negative sales comparisons following price declines in several key categories, such as produce, dairy and seafood. Analyst Kelly Bania cut her rating market perform, after being at outperform since October 2013, and slashed her stock price target to $28 from $44. “We believe that relative to competitors, [Fresh Market] lacks in its ability to react quickly with promotions/price investments, which is necessary to drive volume in a deflationary environment, leaving it exposed to the risk of negative comps in coming quarters,” Bania wrote in a note to clients. The stock had slumped 28% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 had gained 1.6%.

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Target Corp. has named Cathy Smith executive vice preisdent and CFO. She will formally join the company on September 1 from Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefits manager, where she was also executive vice president and CFO. Serving as her advisor during the transition is John Mulligan, who has been promoted to a new role within the company, executive vice president and COO, effective September 1. He will oversee stores, supply chain and properties. He’s been with Target since 1996, starting as a financial analyst and last serving as CFO, a role he held since 2012. He also served as Target’s interim president and CEO between May and August 2014. Target will report its second-quarter earnings on August 19.

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Sprint Corp. has launched a program for both new and existing customers, iPhone Forever, that offers an iPhone upgrade to any user who doesn’t have the most upt-to-date model. The program will cost users $22 per month. And is being introduced in time for what reports say will be a special Apple event on September 9 to unveil a new model. Customers must bring their old iPhone to a Sprint location for the upgrade. Through December 31, the promotional rate for a 16GB iPhone 6 will be $15 per month with a trade-in.

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Micron Technology Inc. was downgraded at Wedbush Securities, which cited concerns that supply-and-dynamics for dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) isn’t likely to improve. Analyst Betsy Van Hees cut her rating to neutral from outperform and slashed her stock price target to $19, which is 12% above Friday’s closing price, from $26. Van Hees said industry checks suggest cost cuts won’t outpace declines in average selling prices until mid-2016. She expects benefits from PC upgrades and a seasonal uplift in mobile handsets to be more muted than previously anticipated, given an uncertain macroeconomic environment, currency headwinds and increased competition. “While we believe [Micron] is laying the right ground work with capex spend for long-term success, until we see signs that DRAM industry supply/demand environment is stabilizing, shares will likely continue to struggle,” Van Hees wrote in a note to clients. The stock, which was little changed in premarket trade, has tumbled 52% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.6%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A reading of New York-area manufacturing conditions tumbled in August to the worst reading since the recession, the New York Fed said Monday. The Empire State general business conditions index nosedived to a reading of negative 14.9, from positive 3.9 in July. The index, on a scale where any positive number indicates improving conditions, was far worse than the positive 4.5 forecast in a MarketWatch-compiled economist poll. The new-orders component sank to negative 15.7 from negative 3.5, and the shipments index sank to negative 13.8 from positive 7.9. Oddly, perhaps, the index for future business activity climbed seven points to 33.6.

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Strategic Hotels & Resorts Inc.’s stock surged 4.5% in premarket trade Monday, after the real estate investment trust said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. The company said it can’t be sure it will enter into any transactions, and does not plan to make further public announcements until the exploration of alternatives is complete. “We are confident in our strategic plan and the value we have created for our shareholders,” said Chief Executive Raymond Gellein. “At the same time, we are always open to ways in which we can further maximize shareholder value.” The stock has climbed 5.2% year to date through Friday, compared with a 1.6% gain in the S&P 500.

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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. was upgraded Monday to outperform from market perform at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, which cited a discounted valuation despite solid profitability measures and on of the strongest balance sheets in the industry. Analyst Christopher Mutascio said he is also upbeat about the banking giant’s high dividend yield–2.6%, compared with 2.1% for the S&P 500–in a low interest rate environment. He said an eventual rise in interest rates should also benefit the bank. Mutascio said JPMorgan is now the only bank of the 11 he covers that carries an outperform rating. His stock price target of $77 is 13% above Friday’s closing price of $67.89. The stock, which tacked on 0.7% in premarket trade, had climbed 8.5% year to date through Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 1.9%.

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Estee Lauder Companies Inc.’s stock was little changed in premarket trade Monday, after the make-up and fragrance company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that beat expectations but provided a downbeat outlook. For the quarter ended June 30, earnings declined to $153 million, or 40 cents a share, from $257.7 million, or 66 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 34 cents. Sales slipped 7% to $2.52 billion, just below the FactSet consensus of $2.57 billion, as bigger-than-anticipated declines in skin care and make-up sales offset a surprise increase in fragrance sales. For the fiscal first quarter, the company expects EPS, including a charge related to Venezuela currency, of 66 cents to 69 cents, and expects EPS excluding currency effects of 75 cents to 78 cents. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of 81 cents. The stock has run up 17% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.6%.

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Telsa Motors Inc. shares surged about 5% in premarket trade Monday, after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the shares by 66% to $465 from $280, and said the company is uniquely positioned to dominate in the emerging world of autonomous technology and driving. The business model of human-driven, privately owned, internal combustion vehicles is fundamentally changing, analysts wrote in a note. “Given the pace of technological development both within Tesla and at rival technology and mobility companies, we would be surprised if Tesla did not share formalized business plans on shared mobility within the next 12 to 18 months,” they wrote. That could be followed by a commercial launch some time after the launch of the Model 3 and could form the basis for a Tesla Mobility 1.0 urban transport PODS (Position on Demand Service) in 2018, said the note. “We view this business opportunity as potentially
additive to Tesla’s existing model of selling human-driven cars to private owners and see potential for this model to conceivably more than triple the company’s potential revenues by 2029. That is, selling miles in addition to selling cars,” said the note. Tesla shares have gained 9.3% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 is up 1.2%.

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Pentair PLC announced on Monday an agreement to buy Ohio-based Erico Global Co. for $1.8 billion in cash. Pentair expects the acquisition of the privately-held maker of engineered electrical and fastening products to close in 2015, and add 40 cents a share to 2016 earnings. “The addition of ERICO’s complementary business will expand our presence in the commercial and industrial sectors,” said Pentair Chief Executive Randall Hogan. “We have similar cultures and serve similar industries with complementary products, which will create a broader and stronger offering for our end users.” Shares of U.K.-based Pentair, which were indicated up over 1% in premarket trade, have fallen 7.2% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.6%.

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