Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Netflix Inc. were up more than 4% in active premarket trade, with about 500,000 shares traded, after finishing the previous trading session up 2% at $87.66. Late on Monday the Los Gatos, Calif. company disclosed in a filing Director Jay Hoag spent $51.9 million to buy 600,000 Netflix shares at at weighted average price of $86.43 each, from Thursday through Monday. Separately, Chief Executive Reed Hastings disclosed late Monday that he exercised options to buy 116,431 Netflix shares at a price of $2.86 a share. He sold those shares at a weighted average price of $86.59, to net a profit of $9.75 million. Netflix shares are down more than 23% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 6% in the year.

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Active Power Inc. said Tuesday it was reviewing strategic and financial alternatives to boost shareholder value, including finding new investors, ways to accelerate growth initiatives or a potential sale of the company. The maker of power supply systems said it hired Vinson & Elkins as its legal advisor. “We believe our current share price undervalues the company,” said Chairman Daryl Dulaney. “Our board and management team have always been committed to acting in the best interests of our shareholders and we are aggressively seeking ways to maximize shareholder value by pursuing strategic and financial alternatives.” The stock, which is currently halted for news, has plunged 71% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.1%. The stock closed Monday at 38 cents, and is set to resume trade at 9:15 a.m. ET.

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Activision Blizzard Inc. said Tuesday it will host a conference call on July 29 to discuss changes it is planning to its financial reporting. The video game maker said the changes are in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s updated compliance and disclosure interpretations released on May 17. The SEC has repeatedly said it is concerned at the widespread use of non-GAAP numbers”, or those that do not comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. “The updated interpretations apply to all U.S. public companies that report Non-GAAP measures and do not affect underlying business performance,” the company said in a statement. “Activision Blizzard will not be discussing business results during the call.” Shares were slightly higher premarket, but are up 9.5% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Shares of Netflix Inc. were up more than 4% in active premarket trade, with about 500,000 shares traded, after finishing the previous trading session up 2% at $87.66. Late on Monday the Los Gatos, Calif. company disclosed in a filing Director Jay Hoag spent $51.9 million to buy 600,000 Netflix shares at at weighted average price of $86.43 each, from Thursday through Monday. Separately, Chief Executive Reed Hastings disclosed late Monday that he exercised options to buy 116,431 Netflix shares at a price of $2.86 a share. He sold those shares at a weighted average price of $86.59, to net a profit of $9.75 million. Netflix shares are down more than 23% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 6% in the year.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Shares of Mobileye plummeted 19% in pre-market trade Tuesday after the company said its partnership with Tesla Motors would not continue after its own third quarter. Tesla cars had used Mobileye driver-assistance technology as part of the autopilot feature. Mobileye said it would be shifting to working on fully autonomous vehicle technology and had partnered with BMW and Intel . “Moving forward to more advanced autonomy is a paradigm shift both in terms of function complexity and the need to ensure an extremely high level of safety,” Amnon Shashua, chief technology officer of Mobileye, said on the earnings call. The company will continue to “support and maintain” the Tesla autopilot products and will update several functions. Mobileye had beaten earnings and revenue expectations earlier Tuesday, and shares had risen 5.5%.

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Progenics Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it received a $50 million milestone payment after its opioid-induced constipation drug Relistor was approved last week. The payment was from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. , a global collaborative partner of Progenics. Progenics said it is eligible for up to $200 million of sales milestone payments overall. The company’s shares were up 2.2% in pre-market trade. Its stock rose 10.0% over the last three months, compared with a 3.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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The National Retail Federation has raised its 2016 retail sales forecast to a year-over-year increase of 3.4% from the previous forecast of 3.1% growth. Online and other non-store sales are expected to increase between 7% and 10% year-over-year, up from the previous forecast increase between 6% and 9%. NRF Chief Executive Matthew Shay said in a statement that positive trends in economic indicators like the housing market and job growth, and high consumer confidence were the reasons for the increase. Retail sales for the first half of 2016 grew 4% year-over-year, excluding autos, gas stations and restaurants. The organization said it is monitoring economic developments and, if needed, will update the forecast in October as part of the NRF’s annual holiday forecast.

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3M Co.’s stock dropped 1.5% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the maker of Post-it notes and Scotch tape reported second-quarter earnings that topped expectations but sales that missed. Earnings for the latest quarter came in at $1.29 billion, or $2.08 a share, compared with $1.30 billion, or $2.02 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $2.07. Revenue slipped 0.3% to $7.66 billion from $7.69 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $7.71 billion. Declines in industrial and electronics and energy revenue offset growth in safety and graphics, health care and consumer. Looking ahead, the maker of Post-it notes and Scotch tape revised its 2016 EPS outlook to $8.15 to $8.30 from $8.10 to $8.45; the FactSet consensus was $8.23. “Our execution of the 3M playbook is enabling us to deliver premium returns today while also building for the future, which includes making good progress on business transformation and investing approximately 10 percent of our sales into R&D and capital expenditures in the quarter,” said Chief Executive Inge Thulin. The stock had run up 19% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 6.1%.

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Caterpillar Inc. shares [s; cat] fell almost 1% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company beat second-quarter earnings estimates, but offered a gloomy outlook for the rest of the year. The heavy equipment maker said it had net income of $550 million, or 93 cents a share, in the second quarter, down from $802 million, or $1.31 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding restructuring costs, adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.09, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 96 cents. Sales fell to $10.342 billion from $12.317 billion, but were ahead of the FactSet consensus of $10.117 billion. “Together with our dealers, we’re having success managing through the downturn in industries like mining and oil and gas, and in sluggish economic conditions in much of the developing world,” Chief Executive Doug Oberhelman said in a statement. The company is not expecting a rebound in those sectors in the second half, and expects full-year results to come in at the low end of its guidance. Restructuring costs are expected to be about $700 million, up from an earlier forecast of about $550 million, mostly because of further job cuts to be carried out in the second half. Shares are up 16% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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Reynolds American Inc. missed second-quarter revenue and earnings expectations and announced a $2.0 billion share buyback program Tuesday morning. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $796 million, or 56 cents per share, from $1.93 billion, or $1.69 cents per share in the year-earlier period, which the company attributed primarily to the gain on divestiture related to its acquisition of Lorillard Inc. last year. Adjusted earnings-per-share were 58 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 61 cents. Revenue rose to $3.2 billion from $2.4 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $3.3 billion. For 2016, the company narrowed its adjusted EPS guidance to $2.26 to $2.34, compared with the FactSet consensus of $2.35. RAI shares slumped 0.6% in pre-market trade. The company’s shares rose 8.3% over the last three months, compared with a 3.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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