Category: Stock Market News

Discovery Communications Inc. said on Thursday it has reached a new long-term agreement with AT&T Inc. that will also expand its portfolio of networks across more platforms. The renewed deal will see Discovery’s content distributed to AT&T’s DirecTV U-Verse customers via set-top boxes, streaming and temporary download through DirecTV’s TV Everywhere, Discovery’s suite of websites and applications as well as AT&T’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, DirecTV Now, which is set to launch in the fourth quarter. Shares of Discovery are down more than 6% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up nearly 7%. AT&T shares are up more than 20% in the year.

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U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday, after the European Central Bank kept key interest rates steady but disappointed investors who anticipated more stimulus measures. The news sparked a selloff in European equities and spread to the U.S., as risk appetite, fueled by the expectation of more stimulus by the ECB, diminished. On the U.S. economic front, weekly jobless claims showed that layoffs remained at historic lows, reflecting a tightening labor market. The S&P 500 shed 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,181. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 55 points, or 0.3%, to 18,469. And the Nasdaq Composite fell 18 points, or 0.3%, to 5,266. On the corporate front, Apple Inc. shares fell 1.2% after the company on Wednesday unveiled its new iPhone and an updated Apple Watch.

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Barnes & Noble Inc. shares slid 3.8% premarket Thursday, after the company missed sales estimates for its first fiscal quarter. The bookstore chain said it had a net loss of $14.4 million, or 20 cents a share, in the quarter to end July, after a loss of $34.8 million, or 68 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges, it had a net loss from continuing operations of 7 cents a share, narrower than the FactSet consensus for a loss of 18 cents a share. Sales fell 6.6% to $913.9 million, below the FactSet consensus of $958 million. Same-store sales fell 6%, far more than the 0.4% drop FactSet analysts were expecting. “Given the softer than expected sales results to date, and the expected continuation of the challenging retail environment, the Company now expects fiscal 2017 comparable store sales to decline in the low single digits,” the company said in a statement. Shares have gained 42% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%. .

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HGTV, the Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.-owned home improvement cable network, is set to launch in Poland. Scripps Networks said on Thursday the network, which is available in more than 30 countries in North America and Asia, will be added to the channel portfolio of Polish media company TVN, which is owned by Scripps Networks. The network is scheduled to launch in January 2017, marking its first foray into the European market. Shares of Scripps Network were inactive in premarket trade, but are up nearly 15% in the year to date, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up 7%.

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PulteGroup, Inc. said Thursday that it had appointed Ryan Marshall, the president of PulteGroup, as chief executive officer of the company effective immediately. He succeeds Richard Dugas, who had said he plans to retire. As president, Mr. Marshall was in charge of the company’s homebuilding operations, marketing and strategy. The company also announced that it had appointed William J. (Bill) Pulte, the grandson of the company’s founder, William Pulte, to its board of directors. The company also has agreed that the signatories will vote in favor of any board nominees while Bill Pulte serves on the board.

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Shares of Tractor Supply Company dropped 13% in premarket trade Thursday after two downgrades of the company’s stock. The downgrades came after the company cut its 2016 outlook Wednesday afternoon and issued third-quarter net sales guidance of $1.54 billion to $1.55 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $1.57 billion. The company said the lowered guidance was partly due to weak sales in energy producing regions. Wedbush analysts downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform and cut the price target to $72, saying the company is suffering from these macro trends but also from “limited sales drivers” recently. Credit Suisse also downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform based on the guidance and expected near-term pressure on the stock. Year to date, shares have fallen 2%, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 7%.

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The European Central Bank, as expected, left official interest rates unchanged on Thursday. The bank’s main lending rate, known as the refi rate, remains at 0%, while the rate paid on deposits left overnight at the ECB remains at minus 0.4%. The rate on the bank’s marginal lending facility stands at 0.25%. ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Frankfurt time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern. The ECB repeated, in its statement, that policy makers expect rates to remain at present or lower levels for an “extended period.” The bank also repeated that its program of monthly asset purchases of 80 billion euros will continue until at least the end of March 2017.

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Shares of Pier 1 Imports Inc. plunged 16% in premarket trade Thursday after the stock was downgraded to underperform from neutral at Credit Suisse. The downgrade was based on Pier 1’s weak second-quarter sales results, the analysts said, as well as the company’s low position in the industry, potential margin challenges from increased promotional activity and the announced departure of Alex Smith, the company’s chief executive. Shares of Pier 1 have fallen 20% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 3%.

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Supervalu Inc. shares slid 5.9% in premarket trade Thursday, after the supermarket chain lowered guidance for full-year adjusted EBITDA, citing a weaker-than-expected second-quarter performance at its Retail and Save-A-Lot segments. The company is now expecting full-year adjusted EBITDA to be down 5% versus the year earlier. The company said its Retail segement has been hurt by competition and a challenging sales environment. It’s Save-A-Lot business “has been impacted by deeper levels of deflation as well as lower levels of SNAP (supplemental nutrition assistance program) benefits compared to the first quarter,” said a statement. An aggressive store reset program has brought further pressure, although it is expected to bring benefits later in the year. The cmopany now expects its second-quarter same-store sales percentage to be lower than in the first quarter. The company’s second quarter ends on Sept. 10. Shares have fallen 19% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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Pier 1 Imports Inc. shares fell more than 10% late Wednesday after the home furnishings retailer said its board of directors and Chief Executive Alex Smith “mutually agreed” to part ways effective Dec. 31. The board of directors is putting in place a succession plan and conducting a CEO search with the help of human-resources consultants at Korn Ferry. Smith has been Pier 1’s CEO for nearly 10 years. In a separate statement, the Fort Worth, Texas, company said its second-quarter net sales fell 6.7% compared to the same period a year ago and comparable-store sales fell 4.3%. The company expects adjusted second-quarter losses between 6 cents a share and 5 cents a share related to the CEO ousting. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results Sept. 15 and analysts polled by FactSet had expected a loss of 3 cents a share in the quarter. Shares had ended the regular session up 3.2%.

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