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Fitbit Inc. fell 12% into record-low territory after reporting weaker-than-expected results late Monday, but Oppenheimer analyst Andrew Uerkwitz reiterated his optimism. Though sales of the new Ionic smartwatch fell short of the company’s own expectations, Uerkwitz saw some positive signs in Fitbit’s earnings report. The company reported 9% growth in active users during the year and said that 37% of activations came from repeat customers. “With reactivations, cash being essentially flat, and recent digital health acquisitions, we remain ever the optimists,” Uerkwitz wrote. He has an outperform rating on shares and an $8 target price. Fitbit shares have fallen 14% over the last 12 months, as of Monday’s close, while the S&P 500 Index is up 17%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Stocks were flat to slightly higher at the opening bell on Tuesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell released his written remarks ahead of Congressional testimony this morning. The S&P 500 was up by 2 points at 2,781. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 14 points to 25,723. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down by 2 points to 7,420. Powell said he wanted to strike a balance between preventing the economy from overheating while adjusting monetary policy to hit the 2% inflation target.

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Market research firm IDC said Tuesday that global smartphone shipments declined 0.5% in 2017, but it predicts that shipments will return to growth in 2018 and beyond. Shipments in China dropped 5%, while U.S. shipments were near flat. Apple Inc. iPhone shipments grew 0.2% in 2017 after posting a decline the prior year, according to IDC data, and the company is making up for that slow growth through higher selling prices for its devices. IDC sees iPhone volumes growing at a 2.4% annual rate through 2022. Average selling prices for phones running Alphabet Inc.’s Android software grew for the first time since 2010, IDC added, mainly because the cheapest players moved toward “mid-tier pricing.” Alphabet shares are up 35% over the past 12 months, while Apple shares have gained 31%. The S&P 500 Index is up 17% in that time, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23%.

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Shares of iRobot Corp. rose 0.8% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the consumer robot company said it launched a $50 million stock buyback program, that runs from March 28 to Dec. 28, 2018. The company did not repurchase any shares in fiscal 2017, according to recent regulatory filings, after spending a total of $134.4 million on repurchases in 2016 and 2015. Based on Monday’s closing stock price of $69.62, the company could buy back about 718,184 shares, or about 2.6% of the shares outstanding. “With a strong balance sheet and cash flows, we believe we can take advantage of volatile market conditions to buy back our shares while maintaining the flexibility to make strategic investments in our future,” said Chief Executive Colin Angle. The stock was little changed over the past three months through Monday, while the S&P 500 had gained 6.9%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – An early look at U.S. trade patterns in January points to another increase in the nation’s trade deficit that is likely to act as a drag on first-quarter gross domestic product. The trade gap in goods – services are excluded – rose 3% to $74.4 billion last month, the government said Tuesday. The government will release overall trade numbers for January next week, but the size of the deficit is tied to changes in exports and imports of goods. Trade patterns involving services rarely change much from month to month. Advanced reports for retail and wholesale inventories, meanwhile, both increased in January. Retail inventories jumped 0.8% and wholesale inventories climbed 0.7%.

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Walt Disney Co. said on Tuesday it plans to invest 2 billion euros for a multi-year expansion of its Disneyland Paris theme park and resort. Disney plans to add three new areas based on Marvel, Frozen and Star Wars, along with multiple new attractions and live entertainment experiences to Europe’s most-visited theme park; the resort accounts for roughly 6.2% of France’s tourism income. According to a news release, the 2 billion euro expansion is one of the most ambitious development projects at the Paris park since it opened in 1992. The multi-year expansion will begin in 2021, but Disney did not give an estimate on when it could be completed. Disney shares are down less than 1% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 17% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 23%.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks-market futures added to modest losses on Tuesday as investors digested the written remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who begins his testimony in front of lawmakers later this morning. The remarks were released at the same at as other economic data. U.S. durable goods orders sank 3.7% in January. The S&P 500 futures were off 6 points, or 0.2%, to 2,778. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 52 points, or 0.2%, to 25,706. The Nasdaq-100 futures were off 13 points, or 0.2% to 6,987.

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Macy’s Inc. shares jumped 9.3% in Tuesday premarket trading after the department store retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations and gave upbeat guidance. Net income totaled $1.33 million, or $4.31 per share, up from $475.0 million, or $1.54 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS, excluding tax benefits and other items, was $2.82, beating the $2.67 FactSet consensus. Sales were $8.666 billion, up from $8.515 billion last year and met the $8.666 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales on an owned basis rose 1.3%, and were up 1.4% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. The FactSet consensus was for 0.4% growth. Macy’s expects same-store sales growth on both an owned and an owned-plus-licensed basis to be flat to up 1% in fiscal 2018. Sales are expected for fall between 0.5% and 2%. And adjusted EPS is expected to be $3.55 to $3.75. The FactSet consensus is for a same-store sales decline of 0.8% and EPS of $3.05. The retailer sold floors 8 through 14 of its Chicago State Street store to a private real estate fund sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management in February. Macy’s will receive $27 million of consideration and a $3 million contribution for certain improvements. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of fiscal 2018. And the company is exploring chances to sell the 240,000-square-foot I. Magnin part of the San Francisco Union Square building. Macy’s stock is up 29.4% for the past three months, but down 18.2% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 17.3% for the past year.

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From:: Stock Market News

Macy’s Inc. shares jumped 9.3% in Tuesday premarket trading after the department store retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations and gave upbeat guidance. Net income totaled $1.33 million, or $4.31 per share, up from $475.0 million, or $1.54 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS, excluding tax benefits and other items, was $2.82, beating the $2.67 FactSet consensus. Sales were $8.666 billion, up from $8.515 billion last year and met the $8.666 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales on an owned basis rose 1.3%, and were up 1.4% on an owned-plus-licensed basis. The FactSet consensus was for 0.4% growth. Macy’s expects same-store sales growth on both an owned and an owned-plus-licensed basis to be flat to up 1% in fiscal 2018. Sales are expected for fall between 0.5% and 2%. And adjusted EPS is expected to be $3.55 to $3.75. The FactSet consensus is for a same-store sales decline of 0.8% and EPS of $3.05. The retailer sold floors 8 through 14 of its Chicago State Street store to a private real estate fund sponsored by Brookfield Asset Management in February. Macy’s will receive $27 million of consideration and a $3 million contribution for certain improvements. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of fiscal 2018. And the company is exploring chances to sell the 240,000-square-foot I. Magnin part of the San Francisco Union Square building. Macy’s stock is up 29.4% for the past three months, but down 18.2% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 17.3% for the past year.

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From:: Stock Market News

Dillard’s Inc. shares rose nearly 5% in Tuesday premarket trading after the retailer reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations. Net income totaled $157.6 million, or $5.55 per share, up from $56.9 million, or $1.72 per share, for the same period last year. The result includes a $77.4 million, or $2.73 per share, benefit from the tax overhaul. Sales totaled $2.06 billion, up from $1.94 billion last year. The company blew past the FactSet EPS consensus of $1.82 even after stripping the tax benefit. The FactSet sales consensus was $2.05 billion. Same-store sales increased 3%, beating the FactSet consensus for 1.4% growth. The company had above-average sales in ladies, juniors, and children’s apparel and accessories. Sales were below average in cosmetics, ladies accessories and lingerie, home, furniture and shoes. “The positive sales trends we noted at the end of the third quarter continued through the fourth,” said Chief Executive William Dillard II. Dillard’s stock is up 29% for the past three months, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 7% for the period.

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