Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Facebook Inc. rose 1% on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley lifted its 12-month price target on the stock to $160 from $150. Analyst Brian Nowak reiterated an overweight rating on Facebook shares, and said he believes the company will beat the fiscal 2017 revenue consensus by 6% and the adjusted earnings per share estimate by 10%, even if ad load growth slows by 50%. Some investors have expressed concerns that a slowdown in ad growth could lead to “material revenue deceleration” in the second half of the year. Those fears have weighed on Facebook’s shares, which are now trading nearly 40% below its median relative P/E multiple, according to Nowak. However, he believes that while ad load growth “will slow,” Facebook’s “large and growing scale and engagement are even more important.” Shares of Facebook have risen 11.4% in the past three months and 49% in the past 12, outperforming the S&P 500 , up 3.5% in the past three months and 14% in the past 12.

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U.S. stocks opened slightly lower Wednesday as investors remained cautious as they waited for more economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s next policy move. The S&P 500 index opened 3 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,183. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 25 points, or 0.1%, to 18,511. Meanwhile the Nasdaq Composite Index began the session off 2 point at 5,274.

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Delta Air Lines Inc. said on Wednesday that a three day-long computer failure in early August is expected to cost it $150 million of pre-tax income in the third quarter. Those technology problems, which forced Delta to cancel more than 2,000 flights, should account for around one point of unit revenue decline in the third quarter, of an about 7% total decline, the company said in a regulatory filing. Delta said it was on track for a 18% to 19% operating margin and nearly $1.5 billion of operating cash flow in the quarter, despite the technology failure’s “operational disruption, volatile fuel prices, and continued unit revenue weakness.” Delta shares dropped 12.5% over the last three months, compared with a 3.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Mondelez International is expanding into the U.S. chocolate market. and partnering the Oreo with Milka, a European chocolate brand, the company said Wednesday. The pairing is already available in more than 20 countries internationally. Mondelez is also expanding its Green & Blacks chocolate offerings, by adding 70 percent dark chocolate in tablets and sharing and gift packs. “The U.S. is the world’s largest chocolate market, valued at $14 billion. However, per capita consumption is only about half that of many developed European chocolate markets,” Tim Cofer, Chief Growth Officer said in the press release. Shares of Mondelez have lost 2% in the past three months compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 3.5%.

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Kohl’s will start a new e-commerce distribution center in Plainfield, Ind. and hire about 300 full-time and 600 part-time employees, the company said Wednesday. The center is expected to open in the summer of 2017 and will be one of 14 distribution centers in the U.S. for the store.

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Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it had its best-ever August sales in China, selling 96,450 vehicles in the month. That was up 22% from a year ago. Year-to-date sales for Ford, Changan Ford and Jiangling Motor Corp. are close to 750,000 vehicles, up 8% on the same time a year ago. Growth was driven by sales of small vehicles, with the new Ford Focus chalking up 92% growth and the Ford Escort up 49%. Ford shares were slightly higher premarket, but are down 11% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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General Mills Inc. said Wednesday it still expects to meet its targets for fiscal 2017 ending May 28, including organic net sales growth of flat to down 2%. But the maker of Cheerios, Annie’s and Yoplait said first-quarter to Aug. 28 organic net sales growth will be below the full-year guidance range. “First quarter constant-currency adjusted diluted earnings per share are expected to be below last year’s levels that grew 36 percent,” the company said in a statement ahead of a presentation. Shares have gained 23% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained about 7%.

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Valspar Corp. shares slipped 1.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales. The paint company said it had net income of $117 million, or $1.44 a share, in the quarter, up from $102.9 million, or $1.25 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per share earnings came to $1.57. Sales dipped to $1.142 billion from $1.149 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.44 and sales of $1.179 billion. “Coatings segment performance was led by strong volume growth in the coil and wood product lines,” Chief Executive Gary Hendrickson said in a statement. Shares have gained 27% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained about 7%.

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Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. shares slid 6.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company lowered its full-year sales and profit outlook, citing an increasingly competitive and promotional environment and its own cautious outlook. The grocery chain said it now expects third-quarter same-store sales to be flat, while full-year same-store sales are expected to up 1.5% to 2.5%. The company is expecting full-year per-share earnings of 83 cents to 86 cents. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of 94 cents, full-year same-store sales growth of 3.9% and third-quarter same-store sales growth of 3.6%. “The prolonged deflationary environment, competitive landscape and industry dynamics have prompted heavy promotions across the industry, adversely impacting retail deflation and traffic generation,” the company said. The company’s board has approved a share buyback of up to $250 million. Sprouts Farmers Market has 240 stores across the U.S. Shares are down 14.2% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained about 7%.

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has banned all partners from making donations to certain political campaigns, including the Donald Trump presidential ticket, according to media reports. The investment bank last week sent out an email to its top employees, stating that all partners would be restricted from making campaign contributions to candidates running for state and local offices as well as for sitting officials running for federal office, according to Politico. “The policy change is meant to prevent inadvertently violating pay-to-play rules, particularly the look-back provision, when partners transition into roles covered by these rules,” the email said, Politico reported. “The policy change is also meant to minimize potential reputational damage caused by any false perception that the firm is attempting to circumvent pay-to-play rules, particularly given partners’ seniority and visibility,” it added. The Politico report didn’t cite Trump’s name, but a separate story in Fortune on Tuesday said the memo specifically mentioned the Trump-Pence campaign as an example of banned donations for Goldman Sachs employees. The new rules at Goldman don’t restrict contributions to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, because she currently doesn’t hold office. A representative from Goldman Sachs wasn’t immediately available to comment on the reports.

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