Category: Stock Market News

Sequenom Inc.’s stock nearly tripled in premarket trade Wednesday, after the patient management information company said it agreed to be bought by Laboratory Corp. of America Holdings in deal valued at $302 million, or $371 million including debt. Under terms of the deal, LabCorp will pay $2.40 for each Sequenom share outstanding, which is 182% above Tuesday’s closing price of 85 cents. Sequenom’s stock has closed below $1 since June 27. It has tumbled 48% year to date through Tuesday, while LabCorp shares had climbed 12% and the S&P 500 had gained 6.1%.

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Coca-Cola Co. shares fell 1.2% in Wednesday premarket trading after the beverage giant reported sales that fell below estimates and guided for a 2016 adjusted earnings decline. The company said it had second-quarter net income of $3.45 billion, or 79 cents per share, up from $3.10 billion, or 71 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were 60 cents per share, beating the 58 cents per share FactSet consensus. Revenue for the quarter totaled $11.54 billion, falling below the $11.64 billion FactSet consensus. Coca-Cola now expects fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings per share to fall between 4% and 7% versus the previous year’s adjusted earnings of $2 per share. The company expects full-year share repurshares between $2 billion and $2.5 billion. Coca-Cola shares are up 4.5% for the year to date while the S&P 500 Index is up 6.1% for the same period.

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Comcast Corp.’s stock gained 1.2% in light premarket trade Wednesday, after the cable operator beat second-quarter profit and sales expectations. Earnings declined to $2.03 billion, or 83 cents a share, from $2.14 billion, or 84 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 81 cents. Revenue increased to $19.27 billion from $18.74 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $19.00 billion. Cable communications revenue rose 6% to $12.44 billion, compared with expectations of $12.43 billion, while NBC Universal revenue slipped 1.8% to $7.10 billion, above expectations of $6.79 billion. Customer relationship net additions increased by 115,000 to 28.1 million. “Despite an expected difficult comparison to last year’s record second quarter film slate, NBCUniversal achieved solid results, driven by strength in our TV businesses and Theme Parks, which benefited from the successful opening of The Wizarding World of Harry PotterTM in Hollywood,” said Chief Executive Brian Roberts. The stock has climbed 19% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.1%.

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Hillary Clinton is officially the Democratic candidate for president, and the first female presidential candidate for any major party. Clinton clinched Tuesday on a voice vote from the Democratic National Convention floor from the South Dakota delegation, putting her over the needed 2,380 delegates needed.

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Kadmon Holdings Inc. said late Tuesday it sold 6.25 million shares on its initial public offering at $12 a piece. In a statement, the drug developer said its stock is expected to begin trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KDMN. Kadmon’s founder and former CEO, Sam Waksal, founded biopharmaceutical company ImClone Systems, the company at the center of an insider trading scandal that ensnared media personality Martha Stewart.

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Oil futures headed lower in electronic trading Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. crude supplies fell by roughly 800,000 barrels for the week ended July 22, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a decline of 2.6 million barrels for crude inventories. Sources also said the API data showed supplies at the oil-storage hub at Cushing, Okla. rose by a more than expected 1.4 million barrels. The closely watched Energy Information Administration report will be released Wednesday. September crude was at $42.65 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the contract’s settlement of $42.92 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Twitter Inc. shares plunged late Tuesday after the company missed second-quarter revenue expectations and forecast weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales. The micro-blogging company said it lost $107 million, or 15 cents a share, in the second quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, Twitter earned $93 million, or 13 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with 7 cents a share in the year-ago period. Revenue reached $602 million in the quarter, up from $502 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report adjusted quarterly earnings of 10 cents a share on sales of $608 million. Average monthly users reached 313 million in the quarter, slightly ahead of expectations, compared with 310 million in the previous quarter. For the third quarter, Twitter said its sales are expected to reach $590 million to $610 million. The analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected sales of $682 million. Shares fell 9% in late trading after ending the regular trading day down 1.7%

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Panera Bread Co. shares rose in the extended session Tuesday after the bakery and restaurant chain topped Wall Street expectations for the quarter. Panera shares advanced 4% to $215.83 after hours. The company reported adjusted second-quarter earnings of $1.78 a share on revenue of $698.9 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.74 a share on revenue of $696.2 million. For the year, Panera expects adjusted earnings of $6.60 to $6.70 a share, while analysts are looking for $6.88 a share.

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LogMeIn Inc. announced Tuesday that it will combine with Citrix Systems Inc.’s GoTo business in a reverse-merger deal valued at $1.8 billion. In connection with the deal, LogMeIn, a cloud communication company, has declared a special cash dividend of 50 cents a share, to be paid Aug. 26 to shareholders of record on Aug. 8. The combined company is expected to have annual revenue of more than $1 billion, and to achieve cost synergies of $65 million within the first year and $100 million in the second year. Details of the deal include Citrix creating a wholly-owned subsidiary, or GetGo to hold the GoTo business, then distribute that subsidiary to its shareholders. The GetGo subsidiary will then merger with a wholly-owned subsidiary of LogMeIn. Prior to trading halts, LogMeIn’s stock surged 6.7% in afternoon trade and Citrix shares gained 1.2%. Year to date, shares of LogMeIn tacked on 3.9%, Citrix soared 18% and the S&P 500 gained 6.1%.

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CBS Corp. and Apple Inc. said on Tuesday the two have reached an agreement for the tech giant’s music streaming service Apple Music to be the exclusive home for the network’s new “Carpool Karaoke” TV series. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it will be an exclusive first-window licensing agreement. The series is based on the viral hit started on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” where celebrities ride and sing along with the host. The series is expected to have 16 episodes and a host has not yet been named. CBS said the “Carpool Karaoke” segment on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” will also continue.

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