Category: Stock Market News

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said that it is increasing prices on its neurology, gastrointestinal disorder and urology portfolios by 2% to 9%, effective Friday. The company also said there will be “no pricing adjustments this year” on dermatology and eye health products, though it was unclear what aspect of pharmaceutical pricing that referred to, and the company did not make anyone available for comment after the news. The company reiterated that it has limited itself to a single digit annual average price increase for prescription drugs, or less than 10%, and below the five-year weighted branded biopharma industry increase. The limit is in line with Allergan’s pronouncement earlier this year that branded therapeutics would be limited to once-a-year, single-digit increases. Valeant formed its Patient Access and Pricing Committee, which decided Friday’s price increases and the price increase limit, in May after a series of scandals regarding pricing and accounting practices tarnished the company. Valeant shares were down 1.9% after the news. Shares declined 3.0% over the last three months, compared with a 1.1% decline in the S&P 500 .

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Nike Inc. is by far the top choice for apparel and footwear among teens, according to the latest semi-annual Piper Jaffrey Taking Stock with Teens Survey. In the clothing category, Nike got 29% of the votes, followed by American Eagle (9%) and Forever 21 (5%). Nike got 51% of the footwear vote, followed by Vans, a VF Corp. brand, with 9%, and Converse, a Nike brand, with 7%. Piper Jaffrey polled 10,000 teens in 46 states with an average household income of $68,000. Michael Kors Holdings Ltd is the top handbag choice with 34%, followed by Kate Spade & Co. with 19%. The top restaurant choice was Starbucks Corp. with 14% of the vote. Restaurants represented 23% of the overall spend for upper-income teens, Piper Jaffrey said. Nike shares are down 0.2% in Friday trading, and down nearly 17% for the year so far. Michael Kors shares are up 0.7% on Friday, and up 17.3% for the year so far. And Starbucks shares are up 0.5% for the day and down 11.3% for the calendar year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for 2016 so far.

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Shares of Twitter Inc. were plunging 6% Friday after the Financial Times reported that Salesforce.com Inc. has walked away from a bid for the social platform. The Financial Times reported that Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff said Twitter was not the “right fit” for his company. Salesforce was one of the last top bidders rumored to be considering a bid for Twitter, with Apple , Google and Disney already rumored to have walked away. Shares of Twitter have fallen 17% week to date compared to the S&P 500’s drop of 1%.

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Oil futures continued to decline Friday after data from Baker Hughes revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 4 to 432 rigs this week. The oil-rig count has now posted gains in each of the last seven weeks. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, climbed by 15 to 539, Baker Hughes said. November crude was at $50.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 29 cents, or 0.6%, from Thursday’s settlement. It was trading around $50.10 before the rig data.

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Amazon.com Inc.’s stock slipped 0.2% in midday trade Friday, but remained just below all-time highs despite record levels of bearish bets by speculators. The value of short interest in the ecommerce giant’s stock surged since September to a historical high of approximately $5.3 billion this week, estimates financial analytics firm S3 Partners, which suggests the bulk of the bets were made by shorter-term momentum traders, rather than for fundamental reasons. “Traders are betting on [Amazon’s] stock price to cool off temporarily after hitting its historical high,” S3 Partners wrote in a research note to clients. Amazon’s stock has lost 2% since closing at a record of $844.36 on Oct. 5, but has run up 12% in the past three months and 23% so far this year, compared with year-to-date gains of 11% for the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF and 4.6% for the S&P 500 .

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Green Century Capital Management said Thursday that it has withdrawn the proposal it filed with Tyson Foods Inc. , for disclosure of the risks of growing demand for plant-based protein, after the meat company announced a 5% stake in Beyond Meat. Beyond Meat makes plant-based burgers and other proteins. “We are pleased to see that the company is responsive to investor concern on this issue and becoming an early mover in the industry to create a more sustainable food system,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century Capital Management, said in a statement. Tyson shares are nearly flat in Friday trading, but up 35% for the year to date. The S&P 500 Index is up 4.8% for 2016 so far.

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Shares of SkinnyPop maker Amplify Snack Brands Inc. slumped 3.6% in morning trade Friday, after Goldman Sachs said it was no longer bullish, solely because of valuation. Analyst Jason English cut his rating on the better-for-you snacks company to neutral, after being at buy for the past seven months. His stock price target remained at $18, which is 21% above current prices. “We downgraded Amplify Snack Brands…to neutral as upside to our price target shrinks,” English wrote in a note to clients. “Our fundamental view of the company is unchanged.” The stock, which went public on Aug. 5, 2015 at an initial public offering price of $18, has now lost 13% since the Sept. 6, 2016 record close of $17.08. It was still up 29% year to date, while the S&P 500 was up 5%.

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Shares of Mammoth Energy Services were trading at $14 Friday morning, below their $15 issue price, in the company’s debut on the Nasdaq. The offering was comprised of 7.75 million shares for a total of $112.5 million raised. Mammoth said it would sell 7.5 million shares while 250,000 shares were sold by stockholders. Mammoth estimated that it would receive $103.2 million from the offering. Credit Suisse was the lead underwriter for the offering.

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U.S. stocks opened higher Friday as investors welcomed better-than-expected results from three of the largest banks. J.P.Morgan Chase & Co , Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. all beat Wall Street estimates. The S&P 500 gained 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2,145. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 150 points, or 0.8%, to 18,244. The Nasdaq Composite began the session up 32 points, or 0.6%, at 5,245.

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Shares of Best Buy Co. Inc. slipped 0.6% in premarket trade Friday, bucking gains seen in the broader market, after government retail sales data showed sales at electronics and appliance stores falling in September. Sales at electronics and appliances stores fell 0.9% since August, according to Department of Commerce data, even though Apple Inc.’s new iPhones went on sale in September, and declined 3.8% from the same period a year ago. In Best Buy’s fiscal second-quarter results, sales of consumer electronics, computing and mobile phones and appliances accounted for 90% of Best Buy’s revenue. Among other consumer electronics and appliance retailers, HHGregg Inc.’s stock was still inactive in premarket trade, as was the SPDR S&P Retail ETF . Best Buy shares have soared 25% over the past three months, while the retail ETF has has lost 1.6% and the S&P 500 has slipped 1.4%.

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