Angie’s List will drop membership fee as part of new profitable growth plan

Angie’s List Inc. laid out a new profitable growth plan in a statement released ahead of its investor day that will cut its ratings and reviews membership fee and offer new tiered services. “Our new profitable growth plan removes the barrier that has limited our growth and enables Angie’s List to engage with more consumers and more services providers than ever before,” Angie’s List Chief Executive Scott Durchslag said in a statement. The home services company plans to begin opening the paywall and rolling out tiered offerings in select markets in the second quarter of 2016, expected to finish by the third quarter. The company said it expects the benefit from lower marketing spend in 2016 to be offset by a decline in membership revenue. Angie’s List expects overall revenue for 2016 in a range of $345 million to $355 million, with revenue growing to $750 million by 2020. The FactSet revenue consensus for 2016 is $362 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are expected to fall somewhere between $31 million and $35 million in 2016, and free cash flow should be break-even. Shares of Angie’s List are down more than 10% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 index is down nearly 3%.

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Kroger shares fall 4% after weaker-than-expected sales number

The Kroger Co. shares fell 4% in premarket trade Thursday, after the supermarket chain reported weaker-than-expected sales for its fiscal fourth quarter. Kroger said it had net income of $559 million, or 57 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $518 million, or 53 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to $26.165 billion from $25.207 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 54 cents and sales of $26.276 billion. Looking ahead, the company said it expects fiscal 2016 EPS of $2.19 to $2.28, compared with a FactSet consensus of $2.24. Shares have gained 16% in the last 12 months, outperforming the S&P 500, which is down about 7%.

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Intel shares enjoy positive bump following RW Baird upgrade to outperform

Shares of Intel Corp. were up more than 1.7% before the opening bell Thursday, after they were upgraded to outperform from neutral at RW Baird. Analyst Tristan Gerra wrote in a note that Intel’s mix of data centers has reached sufficient critical mass to drive renewed earnings-per-share growth in 2017. Data center demand is high, according to Gerra, who also increased his price target to $38 from $33. He wrote that Intel’s LTE technology has matured, improving its positioning for a potential tier-one smartphone in the second half of the year. One caveat Gerra laid out in his note is Intel’s reliance on revenue from PCs. “Intel derives nearly two-thirds of its revenues from the PC market,” he wrote, also stating PC units could be down 10% in the first quarter compared to last quarter. To help diversify moving forward, people within the company told The Wall Street Journal recently Intel is working on an augmented-reality headset. Shares of Intel are down more than 11% so far in the year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 3%.

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Herbalife’s stock plunges after disclosure of new member growth reporting errors

Herbalife Ltd.’s stock plunged 13% in premarket trade Thursday, after the nutritional supplements seller disclosed that it overstated growth in active new members because of “database scripting errors.” The company said in a regulatory filing that it didn’t find the errors earlier because of “limited visibility” into the likely rate of change in the “Active New Member” metric it used. Among some of errors originally reported on Feb. 25, fourth-quarter year-over-year growth in worldwide active new members excluding China was corrected to 3.2% from 16.7%, in U.S. active new members was corrected to 30.7% from 71% and in Europe, Middle East and Africa was corrected to 17.7% from 44%. For the third quarter, North America active new member growth was corrected to 1.8% from 33%. “The company has taken corrective action regarding these issues,” the company stated in the filing. Herbalife said the errors do not impact historical financial statements. Prior to Thursday’s premarket selloff, the stock had climbed 5.2% year to date, while the S&P 500 had slipped 2.8%.

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Sotheby’s names Michael Goss CFO, succeeding Dennis Weibling

Auction house Sotheby’s said Thursday it has appointed Michael Goss as chief financial officer, succeeding Dennis Weibling, who will remain on the board. Goss is a former partner and managing director of private-equity firm Bain Capital. Sotheby’s shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 41% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has fallen about 6%.

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North Korea has fired off 6 ‘rockets or missiles’: reports

North Korea has fired six short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korean officials said Thursday, according to media reports. The projectiles were either rockets or guided missiles, and were launched at around 10 a.m. local time from Wonsan on the east coast, the BBC reported. The launches came just a few hours after the United Nations imposed unprecedentedly harsh new sanctions on Pyongyang. The UN move, led by the U.S. and China, was prompted by North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launch in defiance of existing sanctions.

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SunEdison tanks after company suspends dividend

Shares of SunEdison Inc. skidded late Wednesday after the solar developer said it has suspended quarterly dividends on its preferred shares. The payments will accrue in arrears and the board will reassess its dividend policy going forward, SunEdison said in a statement. The company had announced plans to restructure its business last month amid an ongoing weakness in the energy market. Shares plunged 12% in after-hours trading after jumping 19% in the regular session.

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Sina reports drop in quarterly earnings, expects yuan to drop 8.5% in 2016

Sina Corp. late Wednesday reported its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $14.6 million, or 21 cents a share, from $59.8 million, or 90 cents a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the Chinese online company would have earned 35 cents a share. Revenue rose 21% to $256.2 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 35 cents a share on revenue $244 million. For 2016, Sina projected revenue in a range of $850 million to $950 million, based on the assumption that the yuan will depreciate against the dollar by 8.5%. The company also plans to buy back up to $500 million of its shares by the end of June 2017. Shares of Sina fell 4.9% in after-hours trading.

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Hess names James Quigley as new chairman

Hess Corp. said late Wednesday that Chairman Mark Williams has retired effective immediately due to health reasons. To succeed Williams, the board chose James Quigley, former chief executive of Deloitte and current board member, as chairman. Shares of Hess rose 0.2% to $47 in after-hours activity.

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Hess names James Quigley as new chairman

Hess Corp. said late Wednesday that Chairman Mark Williams has retired effective immediately due to health reasons. To succeed Williams, the board chose James Quigley, former chief executive of Deloitte and current board member, as chairman. Shares of Hess rose 0.2% to $47 in after-hours activity.

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