Category: Stock Market News

Denali Therapeutics Inc. shares surged 3.6% in moderate morning trade Friday on news of the company’s $150 million partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. on up to three therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. The agreement also makes Denali eligible for up to $90 million in other payments, and the companies will split global profits equally. Denali will be responsible for development activities and costs, while Takeda will have the option to co-develop and co-commercialize the three therapies, in which case the two companies will work together on clinical development and split costs. Takeda and Denali also plan to jointly commercialize the therapies in the U.S. and China, with Takeda taking on commercial activities exclusively in all other markets. Denali, which is focused on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), was founded by several executives formerly at Genentech — which is now a subsidiary of Roche — and the biotech completed its initial public offering in early December. Denali shares have surged 6.3% over the week-to-date to $16.63, compared with a 2.2% rise in the S&P 500 and a 1.4% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said Friday he thinks the central bank will only raise interest rates twice this year, one fewer than the central bank’s median forecast of three moves. In a speech at the American Economic Association meeting in Philadelphia, Harker said the central bank will be in “monitoring mode” this year. “There is a lot to watch generally, and much of it, in some form or another, is new territory,” Harker said. The Philadelphia Fed president said he expects growth a little below 2.5% this year. He forecast that inflation will rise above the Fed’s 2% target in 2019. “If soft inflation persists, it may pose a significant problem,” he said. Harker is not a voting member of the Fed’s interest-rate policy committee this year.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. factory orders rose 1.3% in November to mark the fourth straight increase, reflecting strong demand for manufactured goods. That was a touch better than the 1.1% forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch. Orders for October were also revised to show a 0.4% gain instead of a 0.1% decline, the government said Friday. Business investment softened in November, however, after a series of strong gains. The dropoff might just prove temporary, though. Recently enacted tax cuts will make it cheaper for businesses to invest starting in 2018.

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Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares dropped 8% in extremely heavy morning trade on Friday after the company released results from two late-stage trials for its dry eye therapy KPI-121. KPI-121 had statistically significant results for some but not all endpoints in the two trials, which enrolled about 900 patients each. In particular, the therapy was not statistically significant for the primary symptom endpoint of the second trial, STRIDE 2, measuring ocular discomfort severity change from baseline to day 15. “Although we did not achieve statistical significance for the primary symptom endpoint in STRIDE 2, we did observe a strong trend towards a positive treatment effect in symptoms in more symptomatic patients, for which we achieved statistical significance in STRIDE 1,” said Mark Iwicki, chief executive of Kala Pharmaceuticals. The company will continue to analyze the results and expects to discuss them with the Food and Drug Administration, he said, noting the company’s $114 million cash balance. Kala also emphasized that the therapy was well-tolerated, with the most common side effect being instillation site pain. Dry eye disease, which has symptoms such as chronic pain, dry eyes, eye discomfort and variable vision, is a major market primed for new entrants. Allergan’s Restasis has long been a powerhouse dry eye therapy without much competition, bringing in $1.4 billion in revenue for the company in 2016. Kala shares have dropped 31% over the last three months to $15.94, compared with a 7% rise in the S&P 500 and a 10% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Barnes & Noble Inc. shares sank 15% in Friday trading after the retailer announced holiday season sales and traffic declines. Sales for the holiday period totaled $953 million, down 6.4% from last year. Same-store sales fell 6.4% for the period, and e-commerce sales were down 4.5%. The company said same-store sales had improved in the second quarter and into November, but lower traffic in December softened sales trends. Half of the same-store sales decline was due to decreases in sales across gifts, music and DVDs. Book sales fell 4.5%. The company now expects fiscal 2018 same-store-sales declines in the mid-single digits. Barnes & Noble shares are down more than 48% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 20.4% for the period.

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Marijuana-related stocks fell again Friday, extending their prior-session losses after the U.S. Justice Department overturned an Obama-era protection for states that have legalized the plant. The news put the brakes on a strong rally early in the week that was driven by the start of marijuana sales in California after voters approved recreational use for adults. Nevada-based Cannabis Sativa Inc. , which is active in the research, development and licensing of marijuana products, slid another 16%. Colarado-based farmer GrowGeneration Corp. fell 3%. Toronto-based medical marijuana distributor Supreme Cannabis Co. Inc. fell another 2%. Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences Index , which started trading on the Toronto stock exchange last month and tracks more than 20 marijuana-related companies in North America, was down 1%. Ontario-based rival Canopy Growth Corp. bucked the trend to rise about 2%, after it said it will not conduct business in any jurisdiction where weed is federally banned. The S&P 500 was up 0.3%.

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Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares dropped 8% in extremely heavy morning trade on Friday after the company released results from two late-stage trials for its dry eye therapy KPI-121. KPI-121 had statistically significant results for some but not all endpoints in the two trials, which enrolled about 900 patients each. In particular, the therapy was not statistically significant for a primary sign endpoint of the second trial, STRIDE 2, measuring ocular discomfort severity change from baseline to day 15. “Although we did not achieve statistical significance for the primary symptom endpoint in STRIDE 2, we did observe a strong trend towards a positive treatment effect in symptoms in more symptomatic patients, for which we achieved statistical significance in STRIDE 1,” said Mark Iwicki, chief executive of Kala Pharmaceuticals. The company will continue to analyze the results and expects to discuss them with the Food and Drug Administration, he said, noting the company’s $114 million cash balance. Kala also ephasized that the therapy was well-tolerated, with the most common side effect being instillation site pain. Dry eye disease, which has symptoms such as chronic pain, dry eyes, eye discomfort and variable vision, is a major market primed for new entrants. Allergan’s Restasis has long been a powerhouse dry eye therapy without much competition, bringing in $1.4 billion in revenue for the company in 2016. Kala shares have dropped 31% over the last three months to $15.94, compared with a 7% rise in the S&P 500 and a 10% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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U.S. stock-market indexes opened in record territory as investors appeared to have shrugged off a weaker-than-expected monthly jobs report. The U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in December, falling short of expectations of 198,000 by the economists polled by MarketWatch. The S&P 500 gained 9 points, or 0.3%, to 2,733. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71 points, or 0.3%, to 25,146. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index advanced by 30 points, or 0.4%, to 7,107. Among the best performers on Wall Street, shares of Hess Corporation rose sharply after the company announced positive results from its Ranger-1 exploration well offshore Guyana.

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Francesca’s Holdings Corp. shares have plummeted 17.3% in Friday premarket trading after the company issued a profit warning. The retailer said late Thursday that it now expects fourth-quarter sales in the range of $137 million to $139 million and a same-store sales decline of 15% to 17%. The previous guidance was for sales in the range of $145 million to $150 million and a same-store sales decline of 9% to 12%. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $139.6 million and a same-store sales decline of 13%. Fourth quarter earnings per share are expected to be in the range of 18-to-23 cents versus previous guidance in the range of 35-to-40 cents and the FactSet consensus of 25 cents. Full-year EPS is expected to be in the range of 50-to-55 cents, below the 57-cent FactSet consensus. Francesca’s stock is down 56.5% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 20.1% for the period.

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Australia’s Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters on Thursday that the country plans to become just the fourth in the world to legalize medical marijuana exports. The move, which came the same day U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions dealt a blow to the U.S. marijuana market, should help Australia capture a piece of the global medical marijuana market, which by some estimates is expected to hit a market size of roughly $55 billion by 2025. “We would like to be, potentially, the world’s number one medicinal cannabis supplier,” Hunt said. Shares of a number of Australian marijuana-related companies skyrocketed. Shares of Cann Group Ltd. closed up more than 35%, while shares of AusCann Group Holdings Ltd. finished the day up close to 54% and Bod Australia Ltd. rose almost 40%.

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