Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Chevron Corp. climbed 0.6% in midday trade Tuesday, despite some broader weakness in the energy sector, after Piper Jaffray turned bullish on the oil giant. Analyst Guy Baber at Piper Jaffray’s Simmons & Co. raised his rating to overweight from neutral, and boosted his stock price target to $117–15% above current levels–from $110. He said execution remains a concern given ongoing uncertainty in the commodities markets, and the stock doesn’t offer the deepest valuation discount in the sector. That said, Baber believes Chevron is “an attractive name to own” at this point in the commodities cycle. “More specifically, [Chevron] fulfills our criteria of offering impressive financial resilience and dividend sustainability alongside leading operational leverage to eventual oil price normalization and a seemingly more sustainable business model (among super majors),” Baber wrote in a note to clients. At current prices, Chevron’s dividend yield of 4.2% is highest among Dow Jones Industrial Average components and above the SPDR Energy ETF yield of 2.79%. The energy ETF (XLE) was down 0.1% in midday trade. Chevron’s stock has now run up 13.1% year to date, while the XLE has climbed 13.4% and the Dow has gained 6.6%.

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Shares of Vivint Solar Inc. ran up 14% in active morning trade, after better-than-expected second-quarter results prompted an analyst to turn bullish on the solar energy systems seller. Volume reached 3.8 million shares within the first hour of trade, which was already more than five times the full-day average. Vivint reported late Monday an adjusted per-share loss that narrowed to 49 cents from 85 cents a year ago, compared with the FactSet loss-per-share consensus of 58 cents. Revenue more than doubled to $34.9 million from $16.1 million, and beat the FactSet consensus of $25.0 million. Oppenheimer analyst Colin Rusch raised his rating on Vivint to outperform from perform, citing valuation support from Vivint’s existing portfolio, lower costs and a disciplined sales strategy, coupled with the closing of a key financing deal. He introduced a stock price target of $7, which is 97% above current levels. “With [Vivint’s] recent expansion of its term loan facility, we believe the company is demonstrating its ability to close large deals in a relatively short time frame,” Rusch wrote in a note to clients. The stock, which has now rocketed 31% in three sessions, was still down 62% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.9%.

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U.S. stocks opened higher Tuesday, with the S&P 500 trading just below its all-time closing high. The S&P was up 1 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2,181. The Dow industrials [s djia] added 10 points, or 0.1%, to 18,542. The Nasdaq Composite gained 3 points, or 0.1%%, to 5,217.

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Biogen Inc. said Tuesday that its previously-announced hemophilia business spinoff into a standalone biotech company now has a name, Bioverativ, and a planned early-2017 launch date. The new company plans to trade under the ticker BIVV on the NASDAQ stock market, Biogen said, and will focus on treatments for hemophilia and other blood disorders. The spinoff was first announced in May. Biogen shares rose 16.1% over the last three months, compared with a 5.9% rise in the S&P 500 .

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The U.S. Postal Services reported a fiscal third-quarter loss that widened to $1.57 billion from $586 million a year ago. The widening was due primarily to a $1.6 billion unfavorable change in workers’ compensation expense as a result of interest rate changes. Revenue rose 7.1% to $17.7 billion, but was reduced by about $450 million by the expiration of an exigent surcharge. Total volume declined 0.2% to 36.73 billion pieces, as a 1.7% increase in standard mail volume, a 14% increase in shipping and packages and 5% growth in international was offset by a 3.4% decline in first-class mail and a 3.8% drop in periodicals. “Although the Postal Service achieved strong results in package delivery and Standard Mail volumes, only a slight increase in total revenue was recorded due to a mandated price reduction earlier this year,” said Chief Financial Officer Joseph Corbett. “We incurred a net loss resulting, in part, from continued decreases in first-class mail volume and systemic financial imbalances associated with our retiree health benefit prefunding requirements.”

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Impax Laboratories Inc.’s stock plunged 26% in premarket trade, putting it on track to open at a near two-year low, after the drugmaker’s second-quarter results fell well short of expectations. Losses for the latest quarter widened to $2.7 million, or 4 cents a share, from $1.9 million, or 3 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 21 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 32 cents. Revenue fell to $172.6 million from $214.2 million, due primarily because of a 30% decline in generics revenue, to miss the FactSet consensus of $223.7 million. “Our second quarter results reflect the unexpected and rapid decline in sales of diclofenac and metaxalone as a result of additional competition,” said Chief Executive Fred Wilkinson. “In particular, the change in the diclofenac market quickly moved us from an exclusive supplier position to a five competitor market.” The stock had tumbled 28% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF has lost 10% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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Press Ganey , which offers performance analytics to health care companies, said it has entered an agreement to be acquired by private-equity firm EQT in a deal with an enterprise value of about $2.35 billion. EQT will pay $40.50 in cash per Press Ganey share, for a 20% premium of the stock’s year-to-date volume-weighted average price, or a 62% premium over its initial pubic offering issue price. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. Press Ganey shares were flat in premarket trade, but have gained 28% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained about 7%.

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Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. tumbled 8.1% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the cruise operator reported a second-quarter profit that beat expectations, but provided a downbeat outlook. Earnings fell to $145.2 million, or 64 cents a share, from $158.5 million, or 69 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 85 cents, beating the FactSet consensus of 83 cents. Revenue rose to $1.19 billion from $1.09 billion, but was below the FactSet consensus of $1.22 billion, as weaker-than-expected passenger ticket revenue offset a beat in onboard and other revenue. Looking ahead, third-quarter adjusted EPS is expected to be $1.57 to $1.62, below the FactSet consensus of $1.78. Citing continued weak demand from North American consumers and a weaker British pound following the Brexit vote, the company no longer expects to achieve its 2017 adjusted EPS target of $5.00.

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Wayfair Inc. shares dropped 9.4% in Tuesday premarket trading after the online home furnishings company reported second-quarter losses that exceeded estimates. Wayfair reported a net loss of $48.27 million, or 57 cents per share, compared with a loss of $19.33 million, or 23 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted losses were 43 cents per share while the FactSet consensus was for a loss of 40 cents per share. Revenue for the quarter totaled $786.93 million, up from $491.75 million for the same period last year and exceeding the $782 million FactSet consensus. Wayfair shares are up 32.1% for the past year while the S&P 500 Index is up 5% for the same period.

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Shares of Array BioPharma Inc. slumped 11% in premarket trade Tuesday, on news that a late-stage trial of a treatment for lung cancer failed to meet its primary goal. The news was revealed by AstraZeneca which owns the exclusive rights to the drug from Array. It said the Phase III trial of selumetinib, in combination with docetaxel chemotherapy as a second-line treatment in patients with KRAS mutation-positive locally-advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer failed to meet its primary endpoint. Array has received $26.5 million in upfront and milestone payments for the drug and could earn up to $70 million more in milestone payments and royalties. Last week, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. said its lung cancer treatment failed a late-stage trial, sending its stock sharply lower. AstraZeneca shares were down 1.5%. S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%.

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