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The price of bitcoin sank late Wednesday after a report by the Wall Street Journal that the Securities and Exchange Commission is ramping up pressure on the initial-coin-offerings industry, issuing scores of subpoenas and information requests to companies. The Journal reported the SEC is seeking information about the structure of ICO sales and pre-sales. Bitcoin immediately fell about 2% after the report, and was last trading at $10,346, according to Coindesk. The SEC has previously suggested that many ICOs may be violating securities laws. In December, a new SEC cyber unit took its first action, halting an allegedly fraudulent ICO. An ICO is a fund-raising method in which a company issues its own cryptocurrency, typically in exchange for bitcoin. The process has significantly fewer regulatory hoops to jump through than an IPO, and the ICO market has been booming, with $6.5 billion raised last year. They’re also highly risky — according to a new survey, 46% of new ICOs in 2017 either flopped out of the gate or have since gone out of business.

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Shares of Monster Beverage Corp. fell more than 4% late Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings and sales that missed Wall Street targets. Monster Beverage said it earned $201.3 million, or 35 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $172.9 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 7.5% to $810.4 million, compared with $753.8 million in the same period last year. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 37 cents a share on sales of $843 million. Shares of Monster Beverage ended the regular trading session down 1.3%.

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Shares of QEP Resources Inc. rose more than 10% late Wednesday after the energy company swung to a surprise fourth-quarter profit and said it had kicked off “an accelerated transition” to focus solely on West Texas’s Permian Basin. QEP said it earned $150.3 million, or 62 cents a share, versus a loss of $133.3 million, or 56 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2016. The quarterly net income included a $307.9 million tax benefit thanks to the U.S. tax overhaul. Excluding one-time items, QEP earned $274 million, or $1.13 a share, versus an adjusted loss of $36.2 million, or 15 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue rose to $429 million, from $400 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a loss of 6 cents a share on sales of $389 million. QEP said it hired consultants to sell assets in North Dakota and elsewhere this year, and that it will use the proceeds to fund its Permian Basin developments, pay down debt, and buy back shares. The company approved a share buyback program of $1.25 billion, and a capital investment plan of $1.08 billion, of which 65% will be directed toward the Permian Basin.

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Shares of Habit Restaurants Inc. rallied in Wednesday’s extended session after the hamburger chain posted quarterly earnings in line with expectations even though it fell short on the revenue target. Habit reported it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $6.2 million, or 30 cents a share, from a profit of $1.32 million, or 7 cents a share, a year earlier. It cited the recently enacted tax cuts for its quarterly loss. On an adjusted basis, the company would have reported it broke even. Revenue rose to $85.1 million versus $73.9 million a year ago while comparable sales fell 1% from the fourth quarter of 2016. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Habit to break even on revenue of $85.6 million. The company projected revenue in the range of $389 million to $393 million and same-store sales of “flat to slightly positive” for 2018. Analysts are forecasting, on average, revenue of $389.3 million. Habit shares rose 5.8% after hours.

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3D Systems Corp. shares spiked higher in late trading Wednesday after the company released preliminary fourth-quarter numbers as it goes through an accounting review. The 3D-printing company said that its fourth-quarter earnings and annual report have been delayed after realizing that it needed more time to plan for new revenue-recognition rules and how they relate to the company’s product warranties. 3D Systems said it expects to report a loss of 8 cents to 10 cents a share, which will be earnings of 3 cents to 5 cents a share after adjustments, on sales of $176 million to $178 million. Analysts on average had been expecting adjusted earnings of a penny a share on sales of $162.1 million, according to FactSet. The company said it now plans to fully report earnings on March 14, and file its delayed annual report at that time. 3D Systems stock jumped about 15% in late trading after the announcement was made, after closing with a 6.1% decline at $9.50. The company struggled mightily in 2017, and shares are down 37.5% in the past year, as the S&P 500 index has gained 16.1%.

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Shares of Victoria’s Secret parent L Brands Inc. fell more than 10% late Wednesday after the retailer reported fourth-quarter per-share profits above expectations but called for lower profits in the first quarter. L Brands said it earned $664 million, or $2.33 a share, in the quarter, compared with $631 million, or $2.18 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $2.11 a share, compared with $2.03 a share a year ago. Sales rose to $4.82 billion in the quarter, compared with $4.49 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $2.05 a share on sales of $2.82 billion. L Brands said it expects full-year 2018 per-share earnings between $2.95 and $3.25, including earnings per share between 15 cents and 20 cents in the first quarter, reflecting a lower tax rate and an “incremental investment in wages and benefits,” mainly for hourly employees, of about $100 million. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect first-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share and full-year earnings of $3.14 for 2018. L Brands shares ended the regular trading session up 2.4%.

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Shares of Hostess Brands Inc. rose more than 7% late Wednesday after the maker of Twinkies and Ding Dongs reported better-than-expected per-share earnings and sales in the fourth quarter thanks in part to a new line of premium baked goods that skips artificial flavors and high-fructose corn syrup. Hostess said it earned $189.6 million, or $1.74 a share, in the quarter, including $163.1 million in one-time gains relating to the U.S. tax overhaul, compared with $22 million, or 14 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Hostess earned 17 cents a share, compared with 15 cents a share a year ago. Sales rose 9.7% to $196.2 million, “representing the company’s best organic growth rate for the year,” the company said. “The company’s strong performance was led by the introduction of the Hostess Bakery Petites, a premium snacking platform made with no artificial flavors or colors, and no high fructose corn syrup, which contributed 3.1% of the net revenue increase,” Hostess said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of 14 cents a share on sales of $194 million.

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The largest exchange-traded fund to track the energy sector fell sharply on Wednesday, sufferings its biggest one-day percentage drop since Feb. 8. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF lost 2.3% in a volatile session, having previously risen as much as 0.9% on the day. The move lower tracked a decline in crude-oil prices. U.S. crude-oil futures lost 2.3%. While selling accelerated going into the close of trading, the ETF turned negative after crude inventories showed a bigger-than-expected increase in supplies in the latest week. In the data, domestic crude supplies rose by 3 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 23. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had forecast a climb of 2.1 million barrels. Rising supply, along with falling demand, is a primary driver behind weakness in oil prices. Among specific stocks, Marathon Oil Corp. was down 3.2% while Halliburton Co. was off 2.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.5% while the S&P 500 was off 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.8%. For the month of February, the energy ETF fell 10.8%, its biggest one-month percentage drop since December 2015.

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Novavax Inc. shares soared 15% higher in late trading Wednesday after the company said a study into its new flu vaccine approach showed stronger results than the standard flu vaccine in responding to a strain that has caused massive trouble this year. Novavax said its study showed better results than the current vaccine in three areas, with the most important being response to the H3N2 flu strain. That strain has been partly blamed for this flu season being one of the worst on record, and an article in the New England Journal of Medicine claimed that this year’s vaccine is only 10% effective against that strain. Novavax said that its NanoFlu recombinant vaccine was 47% to 64% more effective against different strains of H3N2 than the standard flu vaccine. After closing with a 3.6% decline at $2.17, shares jumped about 15% after the study’s results were released.

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Hope Hicks is resigning as White House communications director, The New York Times reported. Hicks is a long-serving aide to President Donald Trump, from before his days as a candidate, and her resignation comes a day after testifying before the House Intelligence Committee over its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The report also quoted Trump as saying “Hope is outstanding and has done great work for the last three years.” Hicks said she had “no words” to express her gratitude to the president.

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From:: Stock Market News