Category: Stock Market News

Amazon.com Inc.’s stock fell 1.7% in midday trade Monday, which should come as no surprise to investors despite early reports of another big jump in overall Cyber Monday online sales. On the 11 previous Cyber Mondays, which was coined by Shop.org and the National Retail Federation in 2005, Amazon’s stock fell six times, including the past three years. The median percentage move for the stock on the first Monday after Thanksgiving has been a decline of 0.2%, while the average move on the day was a decline of 1.5%. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF dropped 0.9% on Monday, which is exactly what history suggests. On the past 10 Cyber Mondays since the ETF’s inception in June 2006, it has declined nine times, with an average decline of 2.5%. That includes a 10% decline on the 2008 Cyber Monday, which was in the middle of the financial crisis. Despite Monday’s decline, Amazon’s stock is still up 13% year to date, while the retail ETF has gained 6.9% and the S&P 500 index has climbed 7.9%.

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U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index on track to snap a four-session winning streak. The S&P 500 lost 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,208. The Dow fell 45 points, or 0.3%, to 19,106. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 11 points, or 0.2%, to 5,388.

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Under Armour Inc. said Monday it will change the ticker symbol for its Class A shares to “UAA” from “UA.” The stock will remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The athletic apparel company said the ticker for its Class C shares will change to “UA” from “UA.C.” The changes will be effective Dec. 7. The Class C shares don’t have voting rights. The Class A shares were by far the more active, with a full-day average of 8.03 million shares traded over the past 30 days, according to FactSet, compared with the Class C share volume of 1.58 million shares. The Class A shares, which surged 1.2% in premarket trade, have tumbled 27% year to date through Friday, while the rival Nike Inc.’s stock has dropped 18% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.9%.

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Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. soared 10% in active premarket trade, after activist investor Elliott Management Corp. detailed value creation measures that it believes could propel the stock by nearly 70% in just over a year. Elliott said in a letter to Cognizant’s board that it owns over 4% of the information technology service provider, making it one of the top four shareholders. The investor said one reason for the stock’s underperformance relative to peers and to the broader market is that it follows a strategy developed nearly two decades ago, with target margins that are 10 percentage points lower than direct peers. Elliott’s plan is based on the need for fundamental operational improvements, efficient capital allocation and effective oversight and incentive alignment. Elliott said the stock could “achieve a value of $80-$90+ per share be the end of 2107,” which is 50% to 69% above Friday’s closing price of $53.25. The stock has dropped 11% year to date through Friday, while shares of peer Accenture PLC have run up 16% and the S&P 500 has climbed 8.3%.

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Recro Pharma Inc. shares surged 18.6% in pre-market trade Monday after the company announced positive phase 3 trial results for its acute postoperative pain treatment. The drug, intravenous meloxicam, met the trial’s primary endpoint in the second of two late-stage clinical trials, which should put it on track for a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for summer 2017, Recro Pharma said. Meloxicam demonstrated a statistically significant difference in pain compared to a placebo in the first day after abdominoplasty surgery in a 219 person trial. The drug “has the potential to be a new, non-opioid alternative for patients with moderate-to-severe pain following soft tissue surgery,” said Dr. Neil Singla, the chief scientific officer of Lotus Clinical Research. Recro Pharma shares dropped 13.8% year-to-date, compared with a 8.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund Inc. soared 18% toward an eight-month high in active premarket trade Monday, in the aftermath of Fidel Castro’s death over the weekend. Volume of about 167,000 shares ahead of the open was already six times the full-day average. The fund (CUBA) invests in issuers likely to benefit from economic and political progress in the Caribbean Basin, including Cuba. “At such time as it becomes legally permissible for U.S. entities to invest directly in Cuba, the fund will consider such investments,” according to the fund’s prospectus. The fund’s holding as of June 30 included shares of Mastec Inc. , Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. , Carnival Corp. , Nextera Energy Inc. , Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. and Copa Holdings S.A. . CUBA has lost 3.6% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.3%.

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HSN Inc. , operator of the home shopping network, said Monday it has named Rod Little as chief financial officer, effective Jan. 3. Little was previously CFO of Elizabeth Arden Inc. . The executive is replacing Judy Schmeling, who was named president of HSNI division Cornerstone Brands in August 2016. Schmeling is also chief operatiog officer of HSN. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 20% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Shares of Panera Bread Co. were indicated down more than 1% in premarket trade Monday, after the fast casual restaurant chain was downgraded at Wedbush Securities, which cited concerns over valuation. Analyst Nick Setyan cut his rating to neutral, after being at outperform since March 2014. The stock had rocketed 15% since the election to close Friday at $217.16, or just 1.3% below Seytan’s price target of $220. “We continue to believe drivers of sustained [same-store sales] growth outperformance relative to peers exist,” Seytan wrote in a note to clients. “Nevertheless, we caution against the street’s current optimism relative to our 2017 estimates.” He said unless there are further upward revisions to same-store sales and earnings per share, upside in the stock could prove limited. Seytan forecasts fiscal 2016 EPS of $6.71, matching the FactSet consensus, while his 2017 estimate of $7.45 is below the FctSet consensus of $7.69. The stock has rallied 11% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.3%.

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Bank stocks dropped Monday, as weakness in the broader market and declines in Treasury yields prompted a pullback from the recent record run. Among the sector heavyweights, shares of Bank of America Corp. slumped 1.1% in active premarket trade. The stock had rocketed 23% since the election to close Friday at an eight-year high. Elsewhere, Citigroup Inc.’s stock shed 1.3%, shares of Wells Fargo & Co. slid 1% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares lost 0.7%. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF fell 0.4%, after closing Friday at an 8 1/2-year high. The XLF has run up 12% since the election through Friday, while the Dow has climbed 4.5% to a record high. Dow futures were down over 60 points ahead of the open, while U.S. bond futures gained 0.4%, meaning yields fell. Lower long-term interest rates narrows the spread between what banks earn by funding longer-term loans with shorter-term liabilities.

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International Business Machines Corp. said Monday that online sales for U.S. retailers on Thanksgiving jumped 12% from a year ago, and while Black Friday sales rose 10%. Globally, retailers saw online sales increase 24% on Thanksgiving and 28% on Black Friday. Online sales for the four-day weekend rose 9% for U.S. retailers and 20% globally. IBM expects online Cyber Monday sales to grow in the double-digit percentage range, and projects overall online sales for the November-to-December period rising 14%. “It is clear, online shopping during the US holiday period has become a global phenomenon and more than ever companies are turning to IBM as a trusted technology provider and supporter to help them succeed during this critical period,” said Harriet Green, general manager at IBM Commerce. IBM’s stock has climbed 19% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 7.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News