Category: Stock Market News

Sprint Corp. said late Wednesday it reached a deal with several bankrupt entities to sell and then lease back network assets which will then be used as collateral to raise $2.2 billion. When the deal closes sometime next week, it is expected to boost the company’s liquidity at a “mid-single digits” rate, it said. “This transaction is an important first step in addressing upcoming debt maturities,” said Sprint’s Chief Financial Officer Tarek Robbiati in a statement. Softbank of Japan, which owns about 72% of Sprint, is one of the lenders involved in the transaction. Shares of Sprint rose 2.8% in after hours trading.

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​Shares of ​Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. rallied in Wednesday’s extended session after the retailer released quarterly earnings and announced its first quarterly dividend. Bed Bath and Beyond reported its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $303.5 million from $321.1 million a year earlier. However, on a per-share basis, earnings rose to $1.91 versus $1.80, bolstered by a favorable state audit settlement. Revenue rose 2.4% to $3.42 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.80 a share on revenue of $3.39 billion. Same-store sales increased 1.7% in the quarter. The retailer also initiated a quarterly dividend of 12.5 cents a share to be paid to shareholders of record on June 17. Bed Bath & Beyond shares gained 4.4% in after-hours trading.

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U.S. stocks ended higher Friday as oil prices logged their largest one-day gain in three weeks, driven by an unexpected drop in crude oil inventories. The S&P 500 gained 21.49 points, or 1.1%, to 2,066.66, led by strong gains in health-care and energy shares. The Dow industrials rose 112.73 points, or 0.6%, to 17,716.05, with Pfizer Inc. emerging as the strongest gainer after the company walked away from a controversial with Ireland-based Allergan Plc. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 76.78 points, or 1.6%, to 4,920.72, its highest closing level of the year. Stocks remained higher after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed most policy makers support a cautious approach to raising interest rates.

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Shares of Baxalta Inc. shot up 6.4% in afternoon trade, after Shire PLC said it expects its merger with the biopharmaceutical company to close as planned, despite new government measures aimed at blocking tax inversion deals. The U.S.-listed shares of Shire, which is based in Ireland, climbed 4.9%. “The combination of Shire and Baxalta is based on a strong strategic rationale to create the leading global biotechnology company focused on rare diseases,” Shire said in a statement. “The company currently expects to complete its proposed combination by mid-2016 as previously announced.” Earlier Wednesday, Pfizer Inc. said it was walking away from the planned $150 billion merger with Ireland-based Allergan PLC because of the Treasury Department’s new measures. The deal for Shire to buy Baxalta was announced on Jan. 11.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc.’s stock soared 19% in active trade Wednesday afternoon, putting it on track for the biggest one-day percentage gain since Sept. 9, 2005, after activist investor William Ackman made bullish comments about the drug maker. The rally comes on the heels of a 10% surge on Tuesday, after the company said it completed its internal accounting review without finding any additional problems, which allows it to file its annual report by April 29. The two-day gain of 31% would be the best two-day stretch since it climbed 31.1% the two days ending July 17, 1996. Ackman said, in a quarterly conference call for his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, that Valeant’s stock has a “remarkably low valuation for a business of this quality.” He also said Valeant has “one of the best collections of durable assets in the pharma space.” Ackman said, in a quarterly conference call for his hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, that Valeant’s stock has a “remarkably low valuation for a business of this quality.” He also said Valeant has “one of the best collections of durable assets in the pharma space.” Pershing, which owns 30.7 million Valeant shares, making it the second-largest shareholder, according to FactSet, could be making about $248.5 million in two days on its Valeant stock.

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Oil futures ended sharply higher Wednesday, boosted by an unexpected drop in crude inventories and a further pickup in demand by refineries. West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in May on Comex rose $1.86, or 5.2%, to close at $37.75 a barrel.

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The dollar fell to another 17-month low against the yen on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed officials felt raising interest rates in April wouldn’t be appropriate. Initially, a knee-jerk reaction carried the dollar higher after the minutes were released at 2 p.m. Eastern. But the buck soon reversed direction, falling to a new low at 109.4 yen , compared with 109.61 shortly before the minutes were released. The dollar performed slightly better against the euro and the pound. The shared currency traded at $1.1394 after the minutes, down from $1.1416 shortly before, while the pound traded at $1.4105, compared with $1.4120 shortly before.

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Gold prices retreated Wednesday as traditional risk assets drew bidders a day after a global selloff in stocks and just ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting. June gold finished down $5.80, or 0.5%, to $1,223.80 an ounce. A rally in crude futures , which was soaring Wednesday aided by a surprise decline in inventories, helped earlier gains in stocks and undercut demand for haven assets. Financial markets are awaiting the release of minutes, due at 2 p.m. Eastern, from the Fed’s March meeting which could provide hints on the timing and pace of interest-rate hikes. However, the release of the minutes occur half an hour after gold closes on Comex.

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Cisco Systems Inc.’s stock jumped 1.2% in afternoon trade Wednesday, after J.P. Morgan analyst Rod Hall said he was no longer bearish, given limited downside risk and an attractive dividend yield. Hall raised his rating to neutral, after being at underweight since Jan. 27, 2014. He bumped up his stock price target to $27.50, which is 1.5% below current levels, from $17. Hall said he believes concerns over the commoditization of Cisco’s switching business is already baked into conservative analyst estimates for the current fiscal year, making further cuts less likely. He said the stock’s relatively-high annualized dividend yield–3.7% yield vs. the aggregate 2.5% yield of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, according to FactSet–is “compelling” during current uncertain market conditions. “We see this high dependable cash return as a critical supporting factor for the stock in the midst of current market volatility and believe the company has the firepower to further increase should they wish to do so,” Hall wrote in a note to clients. The stock has gained 2.8% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has tacked on 1.4%.

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