Category: Stock Market News

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. boosted his stake in Apple Inc. by 55% to 15.23 million shares as of June 30 from 9.81 million shares on March 31, according to a 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Apple’s stock tumbled 12% during the quarter. Among some other notable changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s stock holdings, the stake in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was cut to 40.2 million shares from 55.2 million shares, while the stake in Liberty Global PLC was bumped up to 30.7 million shares from 23.8 million shares. The Phillips 66 holding increased to 78.8 million shares from 75.6 million shares, while Deere & Co. was cut to 21.96 million shares from 23.28 million shares. The overall value of Berkshire’s equity holdings increased 0.9% to $129.70 billion from $128.57 billion during the quarter, while the S&P 500 rose 1.9% over the same time.

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Domino’s Pizza Inc. said Monday that it has partnered with Ready Pac Foods and will now deliver salads nationwide. There are three prepackaged salad options: Classic Garden, Chicken Caesar and Chicken Apple Pecan. The salads are priced at $5.99 each when paired with mix-and-match items, including a medium pizza with two toppings and pasta. Domino’s shares are down 0.8% in Monday trading, but up 30.3% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 7.2% for the year to date.

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Shares of Best Buy Co. Inc. dropped 1% in afternoon trade Monday, despite the broad gains seen in the retail sector and the overall stock market, after Jefferies downgraded the consumer electronics retailer on concerns over a weakening 4K TV market. Analyst Daniel Binder cut his rating to hold, after being at buy for at least the last three years. He trimmed his stock price target to $36, which is just 4.3% above current levels, from $39. Binder said he is worried that the 4K TV cycle is maturing as prices fall and competition increases. He said the average selling prices for large screen 4K TVs have dropped 30% on a trailing-12-month basis, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. [: tgt] have “dramatically increased” their product offerings. Wal-Mart increased its shop-keeping-unit (SKU) count on 4K TVs to 9 from a few, while Target has tripled its SKU count to 15 from 5, Binder said. “[Best Buy] has above average market share in 4K TV, but will face stiffer competition this holiday season,” Binder wrote in a note to clients. He believes the commoditization of 4K TVs puts same-store sales growth at risk for the rest of the year. Best Buy’s stock has soared 13% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has climbed 6.3% and the S&P 500 has run up 7.3%.

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Oil futures settled at their highest level since July 15 on Monday as Russia reportedly said it’s willing to cap production along with other crude producers if necessary. The comments fed expectations that major producers may agree to freeze output at an informal meeting set for next month. September WTI crude rose $1.25, or 2.8%, to settle at $45.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. [Updated to revise preliminary closing price details.]

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Oil futures settled at their highest level since July 20 on Monday as Russia reportedly said it’s willing to cap production along with other crude producers if necessary. The comments fed expectations that major producers may agree to freeze output at an informal meeting set for next month. September WTI crude rose $1.25, or 2.8%, to settle at $45.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Oil production from seven major U.S. shale plays is forecast to decline by 85,000 barrels a day to 4.47 million barrels a day in September from August, according to a monthly report from the Energy Information Administration released Monday. Oil output at the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas is expected to see the largest decline, down 53,000 barrels a day. However, output from the Permian Basin, which covers parts of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, is expected to edge up by 3,000 barrels a day. September oil traded at $45.63 a barrel, up $1.14, or 2.5%, shortly before the settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Shares of GoPro Inc. rocketed nearly 11% in afternoon trade Monday, sending the stock to a seven-month high. The stock has been on a tear in recent months in anticipation of a number of product launches expected to hit ahead of the holidays, such as the Karma drone and Hero 5 camera. Its shares have risen 78% in the past three months, vastly outperforming the S&P 500 , which is up 7% over that time period. They’re still off roughly 73% in the past 12 months though. Some of GoPro’s rally could be related to a short squeeze, which occurs when short sellers cover their positions. Short interest in GoPro rose to 30.8 million shares through the beginning of August, an increase from 27 million through the beginning of July, and more than tripled what it was a year ago, according to FactSet. Shares of GoPro supplier Ambarella Inc. also rallied on Monday, rising roughly 4%.

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Gold futures finished with a gain on Monday, with weakness in the U.S. dollar offering support to prices which posted declines over the past two trading sessions. Analysts said the next big influence for gold may come from the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting due out Wednesday. December gold rose $4.30, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,347.50 an ounce.

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Shares of Twitter Inc. were up 4% Monday, trading at a seven-month high, after a New York Times report that the company has been talking with Apple Inc about putting a Twitter app on Apple TV. The move would add to Twitter’s recent partnership with the National Football League. Shares of Apple were up 1%. In the past month to date, shares of Twitter have gained 23% compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 1%.

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U.S. stocks opened higher Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite trading above their record closing levels. The S&P 500 added 3 points, or 0.1%, at 2,186. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 32 points, or 0.2%, to 18,619. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 10 points, or 0.2%, to 5,243.

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