Category: Stock Market News

BTIG analyst Mark Palmer reiterated his sell rating on Square Inc. shares Tuesday, writing that share price fluctuations in recent months have been similar to Bitcoin price fluctuations, though that’s not the main reason for his caution. “While that connection seems to have worked to Square’s benefit during the latter portion of that ride given that Bitcoin has been rallying, it served as confirmation that Square’s stock has become tethered to the movements of a volatile cryptocurrency – a live-with-it, die-with-it relationship that we do not believe is conducive to the sustenance of a lofty multiple,” Palmer wrote. He’s one of two analysts with a sell rating on Square’s stock, according to FactSet, and his concerns stem mainly from Square’s valuation, with shares trading at nearly 26 times consensus estimates for adjusted Ebitda in 2020. “Its valuation already reflects unimpeded rapid growth when competitive, credit-related and macro factors that could moderate the pace of its expansion remain very much in play,” Palmer added. Square shares are up 3.5% in Tuesday trading and 215% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index is up 16% over the past year.

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Gold prices finished sharply lower on Tuesday, marking the sharpest daily decline in more than a year, against a backdrop of rising gold and stabilizing equities. April gold ended off $25.10, or 1.9%, at $1,331.20 an ounce, representing its steepest single-session pullback since a $33.90 drop, or 2.9%, on Dec. 15. 2016, FactSet data show. The tumble for precious metals comes as many Asian investors, big buyers in the commodity, continue to observe Lunar New Year. weighing on buying momentum. The decline also comes against the backdrop of a U.S. dollar, measured by the U.S. ICE Dollar Index , gathered some upward momentum, up 0.6% at 89.69, after registering a weekly decline of 1.4% last week. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index, a proxy for risk appetite against haven assets, was up 0.6% at 7,281, even as a steep decline in shares of retailer Walmart Inc. weighed mightily on the broader market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , where Walmart is a major component, was off 135 points, or 0.5%, at 25,088, while the S&P 500 index was down 0.1% at 2,729.

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CFRA upgraded the stock of Home Depot Inc. Tuesday, after the home-improvement retailer reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. Analyst Victor Ahluwalia upgraded the stock to buy from hold and raised his 12-month price target by $39 to $209, ” accounting for HD’s premium valuation against peers, justified by superior margins, an outlook for further same-store sales, and market share gains in 2018.” Ahluwalia is expecting the company to benefit from additional home price appreciation and stronger consumer demand, aided by the revamp of the U.S. tax code in December. Home Depot shares were up 1.4% in early afternoon trade, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3%.

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The men’s college basketball championship won by the University of Louisville in 2013 is being vacated after an NCAA appeal panel upheld a previous ruling, along with a Final Four appearance the previous season, according to a Washington Post report. In all, according to the breaking report, 123 Louisville wins are being erased from the record books. The NCAA ruling, called “simply wrong” by the university’s interim president, according to the Post, was linked to a scandal involving the hiring of prostitutes to have sex with recruits and players, and unrelated to a separate FBI probe into suspected corruption in the university’s storied basketball program under the leadership of then-coach Rick Pitino and then–athletic director Tom Jurich. Louisville won previous NCAA titles in 1980 and 1986.

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Shares of Walmart Inc. late-Tuesday morning were getting walloped, with the retailing giant on pace to log its worst dollar decline of all time and its worst percentage drop since October of 2015, according to FactSet data. The world’s largest retailer was under heavy selling pressure after it said online sales growth slowed during the fourth quarter. That marks a turn from three quarters of strong online growth, for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company as it attempts to wage war against rival and retailing behemoth Amazon.com Inc. . Walmart has been a publicly traded company since the early 1970s. On the upside, Walmart reported that sales in existing stores rose 2.6% in the fourth quarter, representing its 14th consecutive quarter of growth. Walmart’s decline was weighing on the broader market, yanking the Dow Jones Industrial Average , where it is a component, down by about 70 points, while the S&P 500 index’s consumer-staples sector, as measured by the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF , was also getting whacked, with declines there weighing on the broad-market S&P 500. Nearly all the components of the XLP, referring to its ticker, were trading in negative territory. Most recently, the Dow was off 130 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.2% at 2,726, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3% at 7,264, bucking the overall Walmart-driven slide for U.S. equities.

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Fox News said on Tuesday that it is launching an over-the-top opinion streaming service called Fox Nation. The 21st Century Fox Inc. standalone service is expected to debut in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to the company. Fox said the price will be announced at a later date. Fox Nation will take deep dives into the issues of the day, while offering exclusive events and more than 20 years of archival programming, according to a news release. Shares of 21st Century Fox are up 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index [s; SPX] is up 16%.

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Broadcom Ltd. said it was “evaluating its options” regarding its hostile takeover bid for Qualcomm Inc. , after Qualcomm raised its own bid for NXP Semiconductors NV on Tuesday. “Broadcom believes the price increase demonstrates the Qualcomm board’s disregard for its fiduciary duty to maximize value for Qualcomm stockholders,” Broadcom said in a release. Qualcomm increased its bid for NXP to $127.50 a share, from $110 previously. “We believe any responsible board would have seriously engaged with Broadcom regarding Broadcom’s value-maximizing offer and the terms of the NXP acquisition,” Broadcom said in its statement. NXP shares are up 6% in premarket trading, to $125.62, while Qualcomm shares are down 3.5% and Broadcom shares are up 2.2%. The S&P 500 is down 0.4%, compared with a 1.4% gain for the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index .

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A downturn in shares of Walmart Inc. on Tuesday was weighing on consumer staples, and a popular exchange-traded fund that tracks the sector. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF was off 1.9% in early trade, with one of the biggest weights on the fund derived from the more than 9% drop in shares of Walmart Inc. . Other consumer-staples names were driven, including Kroger Co. , off 3.6% and shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. , down 1.4%. The decline in consumer staples was among the most severe among the S&P 500 index’s 11 sectors during the session. Walmart’s stock, on track to post its steepest daily percentage decline in about three years, also was exacting a more than 70-point toll on the Dow Jones Industrial Average . The Walmart share stumbles comes after the world’s biggest retailer reported that online sales growth slowed during the fourth quarter. The online sales slippage also put its profit margin under pressure. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index was slightly higher, up 0.1%, at 7,248, while the S&P 500 was off 0.4% at 2,722. The Dow was down 193 points, or 0.8%, at 25,023.

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Shares of Gap Inc. slide more than 3% Tuesday, after the company said its Gap brand Chief Executive Jeff Kirwan is leaving, prompting KeyBanc analysts to downgrade the stock to sector weight from overweight. “A change to Gap banner underscores structural weakness at the brand,” analysts led by Edward Yruma wrote in a note. Kirwan was in the CEO role since December of 2014, “and we do have some concerns that issues (product, brand perception, store fleet) with Gap banner may be difficult to fix,” said the note. Gap said it will start searching for a replacement and installed Brent Hyder, current Gap Inc. executive vice president, global talent and sustainability, as interim brand head. “While we remain confident in Old Navy’s ability to post solid results against difficult comparisons, we have less confidence in an operational turn at Gap banner in the short to medium term,” wrote Yruma. Gap shares have fallen 5.9% in 2018 to date, but have gained 31% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was being dragged lower by a pullback in shares of Walmart Inc. Shares of Walmart were down 9%, or $9.39, at $95.50, putting the retailing giant in position to mark its worst daily percentage decline since Oct. 14, 2015, according to FactSet data. That decline was weighing mightily on the Dow, exacting a more than 65-point toll. A $1 swing in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equating to a 6.83-point move. Walmart Inc.’s share stumble comes after its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings a share were weaker than forecast. The lion’s share of the Dow’s 136-point drop, or 0.5%, at 25,057, was tied to Walmart. Another Dow component, UnitedHealth Group Inc., was delivering a 24-point tax. The S&P 500 index retreated 0.2% at 2,726, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.3% at 7,262, bucking the market’s broader drift lower.

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