Category: Stock Market News

Amgen Inc. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the biotech said a late-stage migraine drug study reached its primary endpoint. Amgen shares rose 1.2% to $148.97 after hours. The company said patients given its drug erenumab experienced migraines an average 3.2 to 3.7 fewer days — based on different doses — compared with 1.8 fewer days in the group given a placebo. Patients in the study were suffering an average 8.3 days a month with migraines.

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Shares of L Brands Inc. fell in Wednesday’s extended session after the retailer posted a weak outlook for the all-important holiday shopping season. L Brands reported its third-quarter earnings fell to $121.6 million, or 42 cents a share, from $164 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 4% to $2.58 billion while same-stores sales rose 2% in the quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast L Brands to report earnings of 40 cents a share on revenue of $2.58 billion. The parent company of Victoria’s Secret forecast fourth-quarter earnings per share of $1.85 to $2, below the average of $2.03 projected by analysts. L Brands slid 2% after hours.

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Shares of solar-panel maker First Solar Inc. were halted late Wednesday after the Tempe, Ariz., company updated its guidance for this year and the next and announced a restructuring. First Solar raised its expectations for 2016 adjusted earnings by 30 cents to $4.60 a share to $4.80 a share, and said it expects a GAAP loss between $4 a share and $6 a share this year, whereas it expected GAAP earnings between $3.75 a share and $3.90 a share. It said it expects its 2017 GAAP results to range from a loss of 10 cents a share to earnings of 45 cents a share, and its adjusted 2017 earnings from breakeven to earnings of 50 cents a share. Restructuring charges, mostly related to layoffs, are expected to range between $500 million and $700 million. Such charges are expected mainly this year, First Solar said. It kept 2016 net sales unchanged at $2.8 billion to $2.9 billion. The shares had ended the regular trading day off 1.1%.

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Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. fell in Wednesday’s extended session after the network equipment company issued a weak second-quarter earnings forecast. Cisco reported its fiscal first-quarter earnings fell to $2.3 billion, or 46 cents a share, from $2.4 billion, or 48 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned 61 cents a share. Revenue totaled $12.4 billion versus $12.3 billion, normalized to exclude the SP Video CPE business unit which it sold last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 59 cents a share on revenue of $12.33 billion. For the second quarter, the tech giant expects adjusted earnings per share of 55 cents to 57 cents and revenue to decline 2% to 4% year-on-year. Analysts are projecting quarterly earnings of 59 cents a share on revenue of $12.14 billion. Cisco shares slumped 4.5% after hours.

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Shares of H&R Block Inc. tumbled 6.9% in afternoon trade Wednesday, after the tax preparer was downgraded at Morgan Stanley, which cited the potential headwinds associated with President-elect Donald Trump’s policies and the company’s “Refund Advance” plan. Analyst Thomas Allen cut his rating to equal weight, after being at overweight the last three years, and trimmed his stock price target to $25 from $26. He said he was “puzzled” that the stock (HRB) had run up 12% the past four sessions, as he believes a simplified tax code and the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which were cornerstones of Trump’s candidacy, would remove an industry tailwind. “We see a Trump presidency as an incremental negative to HRB and the broader tax prep industry,” Allen wrote in a note to clients. He also said his research suggests that while the Refund Advance program–a loan product for early-season filers to get their refunds quickly–can provide a near-term tailwind, it is likely to eventually weigh on margins. The stock has tumbled 33% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.5%.

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Among American adults who plan to purchase a tech product during Black Friday Week, most are considering a television, according to the latest data from the Computer Technology Association’s 2016 Pre-Black Friday Survey. Almost half of the adult U.S. population, a record 116 million, said they plan to purchase tech or tech accessories between Nov. 21 and Nov. 28. Rounding out the top five tech items on shoppers’ lists, in order, are laptops, smartphones, video game consoles and tablets. “Outside of the tech perennials – TVs, laptops, smartphones – expect to see front page circular deals form a variety of retailers on emerging products including drones, virtual reality and digital assistant devices such as the Amazon Echo or Google Home,” said Shawn DuBravac, chief economist at the CTA. Amazon.com Inc. shares are up 10.2% for the year so far, Alphabet Inc. shares are up 0.2% for the year so far, and the S&P 500 index is up 6.5% for that period.

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Oil futures ended lower Wednesday, pressured by data showing that U.S. crude inventories rose 5.3 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 11. However, prices found some support following a report indicating that Russia will support the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ deal to curtail output. December West Texas Intermediate crude fell 24 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $45.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Shares of Walt Disney Co. surged 1% toward a four-month high in morning trade Wednesday, after Deutsche Bank turned bullish on the media and theme park company, citing increased confidence in the cable and film businesses. Analyst Bryan Kraft raised his rating to buy, after being at hold since March 2015, primarily because of concerns over the weakening performances of cable networks, notably ESPN, and of consumer products, given difficult film comparisons. But Kraft said ESPN subscriber numbers are starting to improve, and should improve further with the proliferation of streaming pay TV bundles in fiscal 2017. He also believes Disney’s film business will get a boost next year from “Cars 3” and “Spiderman: Homecoming,” with 2017 ending up as the second-best year ever. The stock, which has rallied 4.6% since the presidential election, is still down 6.1% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 8.2%.

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Oil futures turned higher Wednesday after Reuters reported that Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said he sees big chances for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach an agreement to curb production. The news came shortly after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies in the week ended Nov. 11 rose by 5.3 million barrels. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a decline of 2 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a rise of 3.65 million barrels, according to sources. Total crude output, meanwhile, fell 11,000 barrels to 8.681 million barrels a day. Gasoline supplies rose 700,000 barrels and distillate stockpiles climbed by 300,000 barrels, according to the EIA. December crude rose 7 cents, or 0.3%, to $45.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $45.43 before the data.

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Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that it is offering a limited-time 20% discount on annual Prime membership in anticipation of its new original series “The Grand Tour.” The show will debut on Fri. Nov. 18, and the discount, which brings the price down to $79, will be available starting Friday at midnight ET and ending at 11:59 om PT. New episodes will be released weekly for 12 weeks. “The Grand Tour,” which stars Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, will focus on autos. The show also has a tie-in to Amazon’s Alexa-enabled devices, with weekly trivia and random drawings taking place between Nov. 19 and Dec. 22. Amazon shares are up 0.8% in Wednesday trading, and up nearly 11% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 6.6% for 2016 to date.

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