Category: Stock Market News

Zumiez Inc. shares jumped in the extended session Wednesday after the teen specialty retailer raised its outlook for the third quarter because of better-than-expected sales. Zumiez shares surged 12% to $20.38 after hours. The company forecast third-quarter earnings of 29 cents to 30 cents a share on revenue of $216 million to $217 million, up from a previous forecast of 21 cents to 26 cents a share on revenue of $209 million to $213 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 24 cents a share on revenue of $209.5 million.

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Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plan to meet with other major oil producers from Oct. 8 to Oct. 13 in Istanbul to discuss details surrounding OPEC’s preliminary pact to cut crude-oil production, Reuters reported late Wednesday. The news agency cited comments from Algerian Energy Minister Nouredine Bouterfa to local Ennahar TV, in an interview scheduled to be broadcast on Thursday. November West Texas Intermediate crude traded at $49.76 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the settlement at $49.83. December Brent crude traded at $51.77 a barrel, also down from the earlier $51.86 settlement.

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Semtech Corp. shares were halted in the extended session Wednesday as the semiconductor company lowered its quarterly outlook following a network agreement with Comcast Corp. Semtech shares were halted at $27.74 after hours. The company now sees third-quarter earnings of 43 cents to 47 cents a share, down from a previous forecast of 49 cents to 53 cents a share. Semtech also sees sales of $130 million to $138 million, rather than the previous forecast of $134 million to $142 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate earnings of 35 cents a share on revenue of $138.5 million. Under the Comcast deal, Semtech said it will grant the media company a warrant to purchase about 1.1 million shares over the next 30 months. Expenses from the warrants will come out of net sales since they are being granted to a customer, Semtech said.

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Shares of Yum Brands Inc. fell more than 2% late Wednesday after the parent company of fast-food chains Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and others missed Wall Street’s third-quarter adjusted earnings and sales expectations. Yum said it earned $622 million, or $1.56 a share, in the quarter, compared with $421 million, or 95 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted for one-time items, Yum said it earned $1.09 a share, compared with $1 a share a year ago. Sales reached $3.32 billion in the quarter, down from $3.43 billion a year ago, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted earnings of $1.10 a share on sales of $3.49 billion. The company raised its full-year 2016 core operating profit growth to a least 15% from at least 14%, and said its overall same-store sales rose 1%. Yum is on track to complete the formal spin off its China business, it said in a statement, noting that its sales in China had been hampered by regional protests and “negative sentiment” against multi-national companies linked to western brands stemming from territorial conflicts in the South China Sea. Shares of Yum had ended the regular session down 1.8%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The maker of EpiPen have overcharged Medicaid for two decades, two Congressmen said Thursday after getting a letter from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, both Democrats, said the CMS letter backs their view that EpiPen has been misclassified as a generic drug since the fourth quarter of 1997. Since 2011, Medicaid has spent nearly $800 million on EpiPen and got the generic rebate of 13% instead of at least a 23.1% rebate. They further said the CMS expressly told Mylan the product was incorrectly classified.

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The U.S. stock market rebounded from two days of losses Wednesday on the back of strong economic data and a rally in oil prices. The S&P 500 climbed 9 points, or 0.4%, to close at 2,159 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 110 points, or 0.6%, to finish at 18,279. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 26 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,316. The Institute for Supply Management’s services index surged to 57.1 in September from 51.4 in August. The robust data boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates by the end of the year, propelling financial stocks higher. Oil prices also rose on news that U.S. crude oil supply fell for fifth straight week in a row. November WTI crude gained $1.14, or 2.3%, to settle at $49.83 a barrel.

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Coupa Software, a cloud-based-company that manages corporate spending, increased the range of its initial public offering Wednesday, but will still see a down round when it goes public unless the shares pop on the public market. The company, which has a private market valuation of at least $1 billion, increased its range to $16 to $18 a share, up from $14 to $16. At the high-end of its range, the company would have an initial market capitalization of about $866 million. The company plans to sell 7.4 million shares to raise $133 million. Coupa plans to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “COUP.”

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Oil futures settled sharply higher on Wednesday after U.S. government data revealed a fifth-straight weekly decline in domestic supplies of crude. November West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.14, or 2.3%, to settle at $49.83 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest finish for a front-month contract since June 29, according to FactSet data.

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Gold futures finished lower Wednesday, extending their losses to a fourth session in a row. A spike in the U.S. ISM services index to an 11-month high and gains in U.S. equities helped dull the metal’s investment appeal. December delivery settled at $1,268.60 an ounce Wednesday, down $1.10, or 0.1%.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges against Credit Suisse AG for misrepresenting how it determined a key performance metric for its wealth management business. The bank agreed to pay a $90 million penalty and admit wrongdoing. The SEC investigation found that Credit Suisse contradicted its publicly disclosed methodology for determining “net new assets” or NNA, a metric valued by investors in financial institutions to measure success in attracting new business. Rolf Bögli, who served as chief operating officer of the firm’s private banking division also agreed to settle charges that he allegedly pressured employees to classify certain high net worth and ultra-high net worth client assets as NNA in order to meet sales targets despite concerns raised by some employees. Bögli neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s finding that he was a cause of the Credit Suisse violations but agreed to pay an $80,000 penalty.

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