Category: Stock Market News

Blank-check company GigCapital Inc. said it has priced its initial public offering at $10 a share. A blank-check company is one that has no assets, but plans to use the proceeds of the deal to acquire them. The company sold 12.5 million units to raise $125 million. The units will start trading later Friday on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GIG.U”. Each unit is equal to one share of common stock. “Although the Company’s efforts to identify a target business are not limited to a particular industry or geographic region, the Company intends to focus on opportunities in the middle market technology media and telecommunications (“TMT”) sectors,” the company said in a statement.

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Apple Inc. shares gained 0.5% in Friday morning trading after an analyst at Drexel Hamilton penned an upbeat note on the Apple supply chain. Drexel’s Brian White wrote that sales for his “Apple Monitor,” a basket of Apple suppliers, rose 7% in November, ahead of the season average of 6%. White is also optimistic that Apple will have a good holiday season and benefit from the iPhone X over the long term. “We believe this is a durable iPhone cycle that will pay dividends for years to come given that the iPhone X pushes Apple deep into the ultra-luxury smartphone market with the highest-priced iPhone in the company’s history,” he wrote. Apple shares have gained 46% so far in 2017, compared with a 23% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Biotech Denali Biotherapeutics Inc. priced its initial public offering at $18 a share, the midpoint of its $17 to $19 price range. The company sold 13.9 million shares to raise $250 million, giving it a valuation of $1.7 billion, according to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused ETFs like the Renaissance IPO ETF . Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan were lead managers on the deal. The stock will start trading today on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DNLI”.

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U.S. stock-index futures added to modest gains on Friday after a stronger-than-expected jobs report for November. The U.S. economy added 228,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. The hourly average earnings rose 0.2%. The S&P 500 futures were up 8 points, or 0.3%, at 2,647. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 70 points, or 0.3%, to 24,297. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 38 points, or 0.6%, to 6,361.

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Sage Therapeutics Inc. shares rose another 2% Friday, adding to prior-session gains of more than 70%, as SunTrust Robinson Humphrey became the latest shop to raise its stock price target after positive results in a mid-stage trial of a new depression treatment. SunTrust boosted its target to $178 from $116, and reiterated a buy rating. “Based on the positive top-line readout from the Phase II trial for SAGE-217 in MDD, we have increased the probability of success from 30% to 60%,’ analyst Edward Nash wrote in a note. “Post-partum depression (PPD) is the second mood disorder being investigated by SAGE for SAGE-217. We have increased the probability of success from 50% to 60% in PPD as we believe
a read-through from the positive MDD Phase II data is warranted.” On Thursday, Leerink raised its stock price target to $246 from $123, while RBC raised its target to $280. Shares closed Thursday’s session at $156.27, and have gained 206% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

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The U.K.’s so-called ‘divorce’ bill from the European Union is expected to be finalized at a range between £35 billion to £39 billion, reports said Friday. “We would look at it as a fair settlement of our obligations,” said a Downing Street spokesperson, according to Sky News. In current dollar-pound currency rates, the bill would amount to between $47 billion and $52 billion. U.K. and the European Union officials early Friday said they had reached agreement on the terms of the Brexit ‘divorce’, clearing the way to move on to the second phase of trade and transition talks. The U.K. is expected to leave the EU in March 2019.

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Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has been ordered under arrest on treason and other charges, according to media reports. Thursday’s order stems from allegations she covered up the possible role of Iranian officials in a 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires in exchange for oil-related trade deals, reports said. The bombing of a Jewish community center killed 85 people. Kirchner at a Thursday press conference denounced the charges and said they were politically motivated. Kirchner, who led Argentina from 2007 to 2015, won a Senate seat in October. In addition to the arrest order, Judge Carlos Bonadio called on the Senate to start the process of stripping Kirchner of her parliamentary immunity. Kirchner was scheduled to be sworn into her Senate seat on Sunday.

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Bitcoin tumbled on Friday, breaking below $15,000 just hours after blasting through the $17,000 milestone. The cryptocurrency briefly slid 11% to trade around $14,996 on CoinDesk, before rebounding slightly to trade around $15,303. The slump comes after bitcoin on Thursday broke through the $15,000, $16,000 and $17,000 milestones, pushing it up more than 1,600% since the beginning of the year.

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Republican Rep. Trent Franks said late Thursday he would resign amid a sexual harassment investigation by the House Ethics Committee. In a statement, the staunchly conservative Arizona congressman denied intimidating, coercing or attempting sexual contact with members of his staff. But he did acknowledge he had asked two female staff members to be the surrogate for his child. Franks in his statement admitted his request “made certain individuals uncomfortable,” and he had “became insensitive as to how the discussion of such an intensely personal topic might affect others.” Franks said he and his wife have struggled with infertility, and have twins who were conceived through surrogacy. Franks said his last day will be Jan. 31.

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Biotech company MediciNova Inc. said late Thursday that it had received positive top-line results from the company’s clinical trial of MN-166 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Shares went on a rampage after hours, up more than 52% to $10.52. The company said that it conducted data analysis on 51 subjects without non-invasive ventilation in the “intent to treat” population and the trial “achieved the primary endpoint of safety and tolerability, and also demonstrated efficacy trends in favor of MN-166 (ibudilast).” MN-166 has been marketed in Japan and Korea to treat post-stroke complications and bronchial asthma, the company said. MediciNova is attempting to develop MN-166 for progressive multiple sclerosis and other neurological conditions such as ALS, the company said. Prior to after hours Thursday, MediciNova stock is up 14% this year, as the S&P 500 index gained 18%.

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