Category: Stock Market News

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it will lay off 30% of its workforce, effective immediately, in an effort to conserve cash. The developer of neuromuscular disease treatments said the job cuts, which affects employees from its commercial team, come as it moves to complete requirements for a new drug application submission for a treatment of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome and congenital myasthenic syndromes. The company had 23 employees as of March 11, 2016, according to a regulatory filing. “The decision to reduce the Company’s workforce has been extremely difficult, but we believe that it is a necessary step to better align our resources and enable us to achieve our goal of bringing Firdapse to market for patients with LEMS and CMS,” said Chief Executive Patrick McEnany. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has plunged 76% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.1%.

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Francesca’s Holdings Corp. shares fell 23% in premarket trading after the company issued a warning on Tuesday that first quarter results will fall below expectations, and announced the departure of the company’s chief executive officer. The retailer expects earnings per share of 17 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 20 cents. And first-quarter same-store sales are expected to increase of 2%, below the FactSet consensus of 5.4%. The company will announce first-quarter results on June 9. Francesca’s Chief Executive Michael Barnes has also resigned for personal reasons, effective immediately. The company’s former lead director, Richard Kunes, will serve as interim CEO and president while the search for a permanent replacement is underway. Francesca’s shares are down 14.4% for the year to date while the S&P 500 is up 1.1% for the same period.

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Dex Media Inc. said Tuesday it has filed a prepackaged plan of reorganization under Chapter 11, after reaching an agreement with its senior lenders. The provider of marketing for local businesses said its senior lenders have agreed to swap $2.12 billion of claims for a new $600 million first-lien term loan, 100% of the equity of the restructured entity, subject to potential dilution from a management incentive plan, and a cash distribution upon emergence from bankruptcy. The company’s unsecured creditors will receive a $5 million cash payment and warrants to purchase up to 10% of the post-reorganized equity. The company is expecting to pay all of its vendor bills in full. The company, which missed an interest payment in the fourth quarter, did not obtain debtor-in=possession financing, because it still has large cash balances and to generate positive cash flow. Shares trade over the counter.

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Home Depot on Tuesday raised its yearly outlook and posted better-than-anticipated same-store sales figures in a quarter that was “marked by week-to-week demand spikes caused by weather variability.” The home improvement retailer said first-quarter net profit were $1.8 billion, or $1.44 share, compared with $1.58 billion, or $1.21 a share, a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.35 a share. Sales rose to $22.76 billion from $20.89 billion in the same period last year. Wall Street had pegged sales at $22.38 billion. Home Depot said quarterly U.S. same-store rose 7.4%, above expectations of a 5.2% increase. The company now expects fiscal 2016 per-share earnings to rise 14.8% to $6.27, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $6.22 a share. It also lifted its fiscal 2016 sales view, foreseeing a same-store sales rise of 4.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Home Depot on Tuesday raised its yearly outlook and posted better-than-anticipated same-store sales figures in a quarter that was “marked by week-to-week demand spikes caused by weather variability.” The home improvement retailer said first-quarter net profit were $1.8 billion, or $1.44 share, compared with $1.58 billion, or $1.21 a share, a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.35 a share. Sales rose to $22.76 billion from $20.89 billion in the same period last year. Wall Street had pegged sales at $22.38 billion. Home Depot said quarterly U.S. same-store rose 7.4%, above expectations of a 5.2% increase. The company now expects fiscal 2016 per-share earnings to rise 14.8% to $6.27, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $6.22 a share. It also lifted its fiscal 2016 sales view, foreseeing a same-store sales rise of 4.9%.

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Hedge-fund manager James Paulson shed some positions in healthcare stocks while taking a few new positions in tech, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Monday. Paulson & Co. eliminated its stake in AbbVie Inc. , while increasing its position in Pfizer inc. . Paulson also lowered its stake in Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. , and created a new stake in Activision Blizzard Inc. and a small position in Facebook Inc.

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Hedge-fund manager James Paulson shed positions in healthcare stocks while taking a few new positions in tech, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Monday. Paulson & Co. substantially reduced its stakes in Allergan PLC, and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. , while eliminating its stake in AbbVie Inc. . Paulson also lowered its stake in Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. , and created a new stake in Activision Blizzard Inc. and a small position in Facebook Inc.

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Soros Fund Management LLC, George Soros’ hedge fund, took new stakes in Apple Inc. , Fitbit Inc. , Netflix Inc. , Nike Inc. , Starbucks Corp. , and Yahoo Inc. , according to a regulatory filing submitted Monday. Most of the new holdings were on a relatively small scale, ranging from 3,100 shares in Apple to 141,924 shares in Yahoo. The fund also pared its stakes in several large companies and held 6,637 shares of Alphabet Inc. at the end of the first quarter compared with 65,570 at the end of the fourth quarter. Its stake in Facebook Inc. fell to 442,696 from 816,761 and it trimmed its stake in Amazon.com Inc. to 71,140 versus 106,363 shares. The one notable increase was eBay Inc. from 3,434,592 shares to 3,704,830. Meanwhile, Soros Fund no longer hold call options–an option to buy an asset at a specified price–in Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. .

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Twitter Inc. added Debra Lee, the chief executive of entertainment network BET, to its board, Omid Kordestani, Twitter’s executive chairman, tweeted Monday. Twitter announced Hugh Johnston, chief financial officer and vice chairman at Pespi Co. and Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of a travel website and founder of a private karaoke company, as additions to the board last month. The stock was unchanged after hours Monday.

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U.S. stocks finished sharply higher Monday as gains in tech and a rally in crude futures helped the Dow and Nasdaq Composite score three straight days of gains. The S&P 500 also closed firmly higher led by advances in the energy, materials and technology. Tech’s rally was partially inspired by a nearly 4% rise in the shares of Apple Inc. . The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 178 points, or 1%, to 17,710, with Apple serving as the blue-chip gauge’s biggest gainer. The S&P 500 closed 20 points, or 1%, higher at 2,066, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 57 points, or 1.2%, higher to 4,775. Meanwhile, June West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.51, or 3.3%, to settle at $47.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude’s early ascent helped underpin the day’s gains after a report from Goldman Sachs indicated that oil inventories were shrinking. Apple received a boost after it was revealed in a regulatory filing on Monday that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had purchased a roughly $1 billion stake in the iPhone maker during the first quarter. Investors also appeared to cheer a flurry of mergers and acquisitions news, including Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc. agreement to be bought by Pfizer Inc. .

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