Category: Stock Market News

Uber Technologies Inc. announced a redesign to its app Wednesday that will allow users to map themselves to a person, rather than a physical location, among other additions. With the redesign, the app will suggest routes for frequent riders and include a feature called “people are the new places” which allows the user to sync contacts with the app, type their name in the search bar and map toward the location the friend shares. The app also has more integrations, with options to browse Yelp reviews, use exclusive Snapchat filters and order food through UberEats within the app. Switching between Uber’s different car offerings is more streamlined and it will show you the different fare options and estimated time of arrival before the trip begins. The last redesign of the app was in 2012.

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Shares of Frontier Communications Corp. tumbled 9.4% toward a 4 1/2-year closing low, as the communication services company’s disappointing third-quarter results led to multiple analyst downgrades and stock price target cuts. Late Tuesday, Frontier reported a swing to a wider-than-expected loss and revenue that missed expectations, as the number of customers declined and churn increased. Analyst Jennifer Fritzsche at Wells Fargo cut her rating to market perform, after being at outperform since she started covering the stock in January 2014, and slashed her stock valuation range to $4.00 to $4.25 from $8.50 to $9.00. “While we are typically reluctant to change ratings during earnings periods, we just do not have line of sight into when revenue stability in the acquired markets will be achieved,” Fritzsche wrote in a note to clients. “We see limited near-term catalysts to drive the shares higher.” Deutsche Bank analyst Matthew Niknam downgraded Frontier to hold, less than nine months since upgrading it to buy, and cut his stock price target to $4 from $5, as the company’s efforts to stem revenue losses through cost cuts remain challenged. “It all comes back to revenue growth, or lack thereof,” Niknam wrote. The stock

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Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new chat-based system for Windows 10 called “Teams” on Wednesday that competes with SlackHQ. The product is integrated with Office 365 services and the Office suite. A person can, feasibly, chat with colleagues while simultaneously presenting a project or working with Office documents directly from the platform. Similarly to Slack, Microsoft will enable both group discussions and direct messages. Slack barked back at the announcement on Wednesday in a press release that appeared as a letter to Microsoft, saying that while it is “genuinely excited to have some competition,” it is “harder than it looks.” Shares of Microsoft fell 0.1% to $59.75 on Wednesday. They’ve risen 5% in the past three months and 12% in the past year, outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 .

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Oil futures dropped Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies rose by 14.4 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 28. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a 1.9 million-barrel climb, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a rise of 9.3 million barrels, according to sources. Gasoline supplies, meanwhile, fell by 2.2 million barrels and distillate stockpiles declined 1.8 million barrels, according to the EIA. December crude lost $1.59, or 3.4%, to $45.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with prices set for their lowest finish since late September. Prices traded at $45.80 before the data.

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Shares of Square Inc. climbed 5% Wednesday after the stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse following an earnings beat. The analysts said the company’s third-quarter results, in which Square beat earnings and revenue expectations, show that Square is a scalable company that can comfortably reach a target price of $15. Square is ahead of the competition on small business payment systems, particularly because of its moves in payment electronification and simplification, the analysts said. They expect the company could see high 20% to mid 30% volume growth in the near or mid-term. Shares of Square have gained 15% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s loss of 2%.

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Shares of GameStop Corp. plunged 13% to a four-year low in active morning trade Wednesday, after the video game seller warned that fiscal third-quarter results would fall short of expectations, citing disappointing sales of new titles. The company said it now expects same-store sales for the quarter ended in October to be down 6.0% to 7.0% from a year ago, compared with the FactSet consensus of a 0.5% increase. GameStop expects revenue of $2.0 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.1 billion, and earnings per share of 45 cents to 49 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 57 cents. For fiscal 2016, the company now expects EPS of $3.65 to $3.80 and a same-store sales decline of 6.5% to 9.5%, compared with FactSet’s EPS consensus of $4.01 same-store sales estimate of a decline of 3.2%. “Our expectation was that the new titles released in October would provide a catalyst for new software sales, but despite gaining market share, the titles underperformed our forecasted sales,” said Chief Executive Paul Raines. “While the Technology Brands and Collectibles segments continue to grow rapidly, they will not offset the decline in gaming this quarter.” The stock has tumbled 27% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.2%.

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Netflix Inc. is the most-loved brand across the U.S., U.K. and Brazil, according to The Love Index 2016, compiled by Accenture Interactive and the company’s design unit, Fjord. Apple Inc. , Microsoft Corp. and Netflix are the most-loved brands in the U.S., according to the research. And consumer interactions with Netflix, FitBitInc. , Amazon.com Inc. , Apple and Facebook Inc. are setting benchmarks for brand experiences across other products and services in the U.S. Accenture Interactive and Fjord polled 26,000 people about 70 brands for the Love Index.

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U.S. stocks opened marginally lower on Wednesday, after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index logged a sixth straight drop in the prior sessions, as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s lead over Republican Donald Trump continued to narrow, according to the latest polling data. The S&P 500 shed 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,106. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 55 points, or 0.3%, to17,986. The Nasdaq was off 8 points, or 0.1%, to 5,146.

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Shares of Ford Motor Co. slumped 1.1% in premarket trade, after the auto maker reported a sharp decline in sales during October, with all vehicle types showing weakness. Total sales dropped 11.7% to 188,813 vehicles, with trucks declining 2.2% to 83,722 vehicles, sport-utility vehicles falling 9.4% to 60,166 and cars plunging 27.5% to 44,925. By brand, Ford sales dropped 12.5% while Lincoln sales increased 6.9%. Within the Ford brand, Fusion model sales fell 21.0%, Focus declined 43.0% and Taurus dropped 18.4%. Within trucks, F-Series sales inched up 0.1% and Transit increased 9.0%, while Transit Connect tumbled 61.5%. The stock has tumbled 18% year to date through Tuesday, while rival General Motors Co. shares have lost 7.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.3%.

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Shares of Kroger Co. surged 2.1% premarket trade Wednesday, after the supermarket chain confirmed its full fiscal year outlook ahead of its investment conference. The company disclosed in a regulatory filing that it expects adjusted earnings per share of $2.10 to $2.20, compared with the FactSet consensus of $2.13. Same-supermarket sales are expected to grow 1.4% to 1.8% for the year, also surrounding the FactSet consensus of a 1.6% rise. Kroger expects product cost inflation, excluding fuel, is expected to continue through early 2017. Regarding company-sponsored pension plans, the company expects expenses of about $80 million, and doesn’t expect to make a cash contribution this year. For multi-employer pension funds, Kroger expects to contribute about $260 million this year. The stock has tumbled 26% year to date through Tuesday, while SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has tacked on 4.1% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.3%.

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