Category: Stock Market News

Menlo Therapeutics Inc., a late-stage biopharma company that specializes in developing treatments for itchy skin disorders, has filed for an initial public offering to raise at least $85 million. The company said it is applying to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “MNLO”. Jefferies, Piper Jaffray, Guggenheim Securities are joint bookrunners on the deal with JMP Securities acting as lead manager.

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In-store traffic on Super Saturday, the final Saturday before Christmas Day, was up 20% year-over-year, according to data from ShopperTrak. This year Super Saturday fell on Dec. 23. “[W]ith it being more than a week away from Christmas Day last year, the day had less urgency,” wrote Brian Field, senior director of advisory services at ShopperTrak, in a blog post. “This year, Super Saturday was only two days away from Christmas Day, and it served as the last full shopping day prior to Christmas, motivating shoppers to get out and hit the stores.” One of the 10 busiest shopping days of the year is still ahead, Dec. 30. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is up 8.7% for the past three months, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 7% for the period.

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Crude-oil prices on Thursday finished with modest gains in an up-and-down session. February West Texas Intermediate crude-oil futures finished up 20 cents, or 0.3%, at $59.84, recovering from an earlier slide, as market participants grew optimistic about inventory reports that point to a steady decline in U.S. crude stocks, which suggests that efforts to erase a global glut of oil may be taking hold headed into 2018. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic-crude supplies fell by 4.6 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 22, compared with a 6 million barrel drawdown reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday. Markets had been anticipating a decline in crude oil of about 3.7 million barrels. Investors have traded somewhat skittishly with just one final session of trade left in 2017 and markets set to be closed for New Years on Monday.

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Gold futures prices climbed Thursday, closing at at a 10-week high in a light seasonal volume as a weaker dollar offered the dollar-pegged commodity complex a runway to advance. February gold rose $5.80, or 0.5%, to $1,297.20 an ounce, marking its highest settlement since Oct. 16, when the contract finished at $1,303, according to FactSet data. A softening dollar, which can make the yellow metal more attractive to buyers using less potent currencies, has been the major catalyst for the recent updraft in gold futures. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index , which measures greenback against a basket of six rivals, was down 0.5% at 92.59. The dollar’s slide comes even as the Federal Reserve increased interest rates mid-month, which should help support bucks. However, expectations that other global central banks will end easy-money policies in coming months has weigh on the U.S. unit.

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Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Thursday showed that domestic crude supply fell 4.6 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 22, failing to match a 6 million barrel drawdown reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday. A survey by the Wall Street Journal showed expectations for a decline of 3.7 million barrels for the week. EIA showed that gasoline stocks increased by about 590.000 barrels on the week, while distillate products rose by 1.1 million barrels. Supplies at a key energy hub at Cushing, Okla., fell by 1.6 million barrels. February crude held on to slight declines, off 8 cents, or 0.1% at $59.55 a barrel.

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GW Pharmaceuticals plc said early Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration will review a new drug application for its cannabis-derived drug epidiolex for seizures associated with two rare types of childhood epilepsy. The application was accepted for priority review, a special status that offers an accelerated review for high-priority products, and the regulator aims to have a decision by or on June 27, 2018. If approved, epidiolex — which contains cannabidiol (CBD), rather than the psychoactive component of cannabis, THC — could be the country’s first cannabis-derived drug. (link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/zynerba-pharmas-failed-cannabidiol-gel-trial-has-upside-for-rival-gw-pharma-2017-08-07) That the product is derived from cannabis will likely be the focus of debate among investors in the coming months and of an FDA advisory committee meeting reviewing the product, expected around April or May, said Leerink Partners analyst Paul Matteis. “A hypothetical positive vote from a panel of physicians can help prevent a problematic media narrative that Epidiolex is ‘marijuana for kids’ and instead can cultivate a more accurate narrative that Epidiolex represents an important, generally safe medicine for children with serious, sometimes fatal epileptics,” Matteis, who rates the company outperform, said. “It’s possible that the FDA may also ask questions around medical marijuana use in epilepsy today, and how physicians are considering that the approval of Epidiolex could increase this dynamic by lending credence to cannabis itself being an effective anti-convulsant.” He expects the drug will be approved and have a “very strong launch,” given three positive late-stage trials; “favorable reimbursement dynamics in epilepsy + high patient awareness/demand will represent tailwinds for a successful launch: we assume $1.5B in gross 2025 sales,” he added. Epidiolex’s Thursday filing was for seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndrome; the therapy is also being developed for tuberous sclerosis complex and infantile spasms. Shares were down 2% Thursday, but have gained 19.5% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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Mobile phone export data from Chinese provinces has left Wells Fargo analysts feeling cautious about Apple Inc.’s current iPhone cycle, according to a note published Thursday. An analysis of iPhone-related data points from different parts of the most recent quarter shows shipments excluding China in the low to mid-60 million unit range, compared with 63.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2016, “which would leave us at an implied 15-20 million iPhone shipments in China (vs. 14.9 million in 4Q16) – a shipment level we currently see as optimistic,” analysts led by Aaron Rakers wrote. “Currently see limited/no upside potential to our 81.2M iPhone ship estimate.” Data for four key iPhone provinces, namely Henan, Shanghai, Shanxi and Jiangsu shows mobile phone exports up 18% in dollar terms in November, but up less than 1% once October is included, said the note. On a unit basis, Apple’s key provinces saw growth of 20% in November, but growth of just 2% for October and November. Meanwhile, exports from Zhengzhou Customs, the largest port for iPhone shipments, were up 17% on a dollar basis in November, while units were down 8%. Including October, exports were down 15% on a dollar basis and down 28% on a unit basis. Wells Fargo rates Apple market perform with a $195 stock price target, equal to 14% above its current trading level. Apple shares rose 0.5% in early trade, and are up 48% in 2017, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 25% and the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, with a rise in energy-related companies leading the market up in what was expected to be a light day of trading in a holiday-shortened week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.2%, to 24,828. The S&P 500 added 4 points, or 0.1%, to 2,686. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 13 points to 6,953, a rise of 0.2%. All three indexes are within one percentage point of record levels. Energy companies were supported by crude oil, which stabilized near 2 1/2-year highs. Among the most active names in early trading, Chesapeake Energy Corp. rose 1.8% while Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. rose 0.6%. Also driving trading was the latest economic data. Initial U.S. jobless claims were unchanged at 245,000 last week, a historically low level.

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Republican Roy Moore has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop Alabama from certifying rival Democrat Doug Jones as winner of their recent U.S. Senate race, the Associated Press reported Thursday. The filing comes just hours before a meeting of a state canvassing board that is expected to confirm that Jones won the Dec. 12 special election, when he defeated Moore by about 20,000 votes. Moore is seeking an investigation of alleged voter fraud and pushing for a fresh election, said the AP. The election was held to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but Moore’s campaign was hurt by accusations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls decades ago. The suit includes a statement from Moore saying that he completed a polygraph test showing that the accusations were false, according to other media reports.

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Kelley Blue Book said Thursday it expects new car sales to fall 7% in December to 1.57 million units, resulting in an estimated 17.6 million seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). “December should be the biggest sales month of the year, and despite our expectations for significant year-over-year declines, the projected SAAR of 17.6 million would be the third highest of the year,” analyst Tim Fleming said in a statement. In the year-earlier month, sales were strong thanks to heavy incentives and year-end discounting, he said. “We’re still expecting a year-end sales push from many manufacturers, which will translate into incentives and discounting, but since the sales objectives should be reduced from last year’s peak, we are projecting slower sales than last December,” he said. Among individual car companies, Ford Motor Co. is expected to gain nearly a percentage point of market share, led by SUVs. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is expected to lose the most volume at 12%, due to the discontinuation of several model lines. General Motors Co. is expected to see sales fall 7.9% and to cede 0.2% market share. Ford shares were slightly lower premarket and have gained 3% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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