Category: Stock Market News

The Senate passed a bill Thursday to fund the federal government through Jan. 19, hours after its approval by the House. The bill heads off a partial government shutdown this weekend, and is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump on Friday. In addition to extending agency funding at current levels, it would fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, through the end of March, and also extends the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The bill also contains language preventing automatic spending cuts to programs including Medicare. Approval of that language would allow Trump to sign the Republican tax bill Friday as well. Legal protection for “dreamers,” the children of undocumented immigrants, was not included, and is likely to be a contentious topic when spending talks are revisited next month. Separately, the Senate did not vote on an $81-billion disaster-relief bill for areas struck by hurricanes and wildfires, which the House passed earlier in the day.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

ADT Inc., a home-security company that was acquired in 2016 by Apollo Global Management LLC , plans to return to the public markets. The company filed for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, though Apollo plans to hold more than 50% of the shares, which will make ADT a “controlled company.” The SEC filing lists a target of $100 million for the IPO, though that is typically a placeholder figure used to estimate fees that is changed in later versions. Apollo combined ADT with another home-security company it acquired, known as Protection 1, and the new entity produced a net loss of $295.6 million on revenue of $3.21 billion in the first nine months of 2017, according to the filing. The company plans to list the stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol ADT.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co. rose more than 16% Thursday afternoon after the company announced it had received approval for a new drug to increase blood pressure. The drug, Giapreza, is used to treat patients suffering from septic and other forms of shock, and La Jolla plans to make it available in March 2018 after getting the OK from the Food and Drug Administration. “We look forward to bringing this new treatment option to the many critically ill patients suffering from septic or other distributive shock,” Chief Executive George Tidmarsh said in Thursday’s announcement. La Jolla shares hit $33 in late trading after closing with a 4.5% gain at $28.30. Even before the after-hours bump, La Jolla shares had gained more than 61% this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased 25.4% in that time.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

A total of three executives overseeing content have left Amazon.com Inc. for Apple Inc. , with the latest departures reported Thursday, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter. Amazon stock is flat after hours at $1,175.43 and Apple stock is up a fraction to $175.15. Tara Sorensen has been at Amazon since 2012 and served as the head of kids programming, the Reporter said, and will serve the same role at Apple. Former Amazon international development executive Carina Walker and head of business affairs Tara Pietri are also leaving for Apple. Sorensen won an Emmy for youth programming series “Lost in Oz,” “Tumble Leaf” and nominations for “Annedroids,” the Reporter said. The three executives are expected to begin at Apple in January. Apple stock has gained 51% this year, as the S&P 500 index rose 20%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , of which Apple is a component, has gained 25%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Thursday will step down as executive chairman of the search giant’s parent company, Alphabet Inc. , in January. Schmidt will remain on the board and serve as “a technical advisor on science and technology issues,” Alphabet Chief Executive Larry Page said in Thursday’s announcement. “Larry, Sergey, Sundar and I all believe that the time is right in Alphabet’s evolution for this transition,” Schmidt said, referencing Google’s two cofounders and its current CEO. “The Alphabet structure is working well, and Google and the Other Bets are thriving.” Page and Sergey Brin recruited Schmidt to be the CEO of their young company in 2001, and he served in that post until 2011, when Page took over the reins and Schmidt moved up to the chairman role. Schmidt has been a prominent figure for Alphabet since, appearing regularly in public on behalf of the company. Alphabet said it plans to appoint a non-executive chairman to replace Schmidt as the head of its board.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Papa John’s International Inc. founder John Schnatter is stepping down as chief executive, according to a report late Thursday on The Wall Street Journal. The pizza chain also announced late Thursday that Steve Ritchie, a former franchisee and chief operating officer, will take over as CEO on Jan. 1, mentioning only that Schnatter would “continue to champion” the company’s principles in his duties as chairman and founder. Schnatter will also “pursue his personal passion for entrepreneurship, leadership development and education,” according to the company’s statement. Last month, Papa John’s apologized for Schnatter’s comments during an earnings call earlier in November blaming poor sales on NFL player protests. Shares of Papa John’s ended the regular trading day down less than 0.1%. The stock is down 31% this year, versus gains of 20% for the S&P 500 index.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The House passed a bill Thursday to fund the federal government through Jan. 19, sending the measure to the Senate. If approved in the Senate, the bill would head off a partial shutdown this weekend. In addition to extending agency funding at current levels, it would fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, through the end of March. The House bill also contains language preventing automatic spending cuts to programs including Medicare. Approval of that language would allow President Donald Trump to sign the Republican tax bill before January.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Celgene Corp. shares declined more than 4% in late trading Thursday after revealing that a phase II study of a cancer drug failed to meet its goal. Celgene said that a study testing Revlimid on follicular lymphoma did not meet the desired endpoint. Revlimid is already approved for other forms of cancer, and is Celgene’s biggest drug in terms of revenue, producing $7 billion in sales in 2016 before price hikes last year. “We remain committed to advancing our broad pipeline of novel therapies to establish new standards of care for patients with lymphoma,” Chief Medical Officer Jay Backstrom said in the announcement. Celgene stock fell to $103.50 in late trading, after closing with a 0.4% decline at $107.88.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Cintas Corp. rose nearly 4% late Thursday after the uniform-rental company reported fiscal 2018 second-quarter earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations and raised its guidance for the full fiscal year. Cintas said it earned $137 million, or $1.23 a share, in the quarter, compared with $140 million, or $1.29 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 26% to $1.61 billion, compared with $1.27 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $1.21 a share on sales of $1.59 billion. Cintas also raised its revenue guidance from a range of $6.325 billion to $6.400 billion to a range of $6.365 billion to $6.430 billion, and EPS from continuing operations from a range of $5.30 to $5.38 to a range of $5.39 to $5.46, the company said. Cintas shares ended the regular trading day up 0.4%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Finish Line Inc. was upgraded to market perform from underperform at Cowen & Company on fiscal fourth-quarter guidance that analysts call “conservative.” Last year, fourth-quarter same-store sales fell 4.5%, largely due to delayed tax refunds and a gross margin decline. In the third-quarter earnings announcement early Thursday, Finish Line reported 0.8% same-store sales growth, exceeding the 4.5% decline FactSet forecast. Cowen thinks positive trends and an easy comparison make the guidance for 3%-to-5% same-store sales decline modest. However, analysts remain cautious. “We don’t see a catalyst for Finish Line’s sales to meaningfully increase on a sustainable long-term basis given the amount of store closures and competitive environment,” the note said. Finish Line shares are up more than 13% in Thursday trading, but down 37% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 18.6% for the last 12 months.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News