Category: Stock Market News

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Thursday showed that domestic supplies of natural gas rose by 64 billion cubic feet for the week ended Oct. 20. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 66 billion cubic feet. Total stocks now stand at 3.710 trillion cubic feet, down 189 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 46 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. November natural gas fell 1.9 cents, or 0.7%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $2.90 per million British thermal units, down a bit from $2.892 before the data.

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Shares of Neos Therapeutics Inc. rocketed 42% in morning trade Thursday, after the pharmaceutical company confirmed the receipt of an unsolicited buyout bid by PDL BioPharma Inc. for $10.25 a share, and said it will respond to the bid “in due course.” The per-share bid was 40% above Neos’s stock’s Wednesday closing price of $7.30. Neos said after initially receiving PDL’s buyout proposal for $10.25 a share on July 23, Neos said its board of directors had unanimously rejected the proposal, after determining the bid substantially undervalued the company, as it did not reflect the company’s strategic value and future prospects. The company said it believes it is well positioned to continue to successfully execute its strategy to drive additional value creation in the near and long term. The stock has now run up 81% year to date, while PDL shares have climbed 42% and the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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General Electric Co.’s stock slid 0.9% in morning trade Thursday, putting it on track to suffer the worst four-day stretch 7 1/2 years, in the aftermath of the industrial conglomerate’s rare profit miss. After rising 1.1% on Friday, after GE missed profit expectations for the first time in 2 1/2 years, the stock has now tumbled 10.6% over the past four sessions, which would be the biggest four-day percentage decline since it plunged 12.4% in the four days ending May 5, 2010. The stock is also headed toward its worst weekly performance since it plummeted 11.5% during the week ending May 15, 2009. GE’s stock has now dropped TK% over the past three months, while the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has TK% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained TK%.

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Exchange-traded funds that track the biotechnology sector sank on Thursday, following weak results from a major component. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF lost 2.5% and was on track for its seventh straight daily drop. The fund has declined by 4.3% over the past month, though it remains up 18.2% for 2017. The biggest weight on the sector on Thursday was Celgene Corp. , which plummeted 19% after the company reported better-than-expected profit, but failed to meet analysts’ consensus estimates on revenue. The biotech company also lowered its 2017 outlook for profit and revenue. Among other big decliners, Gilead Sciences Inc. fell 1.3%, BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. was off 1.8% and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. was down 0.8%. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF lost 1.8%, on track for its eighth straight daily decline, as well as its 14th drop of the past 15 sessions.

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Shares of Imax Corp. rose more than 10% in premarket trade on Thursday after the premium movie theater exhibitor reported third-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations. Imax reported net income of $2.90 million, or a loss of 1 cent per share, after income of $4.38 million, or 4 cents per share, during the same quarter a year ago. Imax revenue was $98.8 million, up from $86.6 million last year, and above FactSet’s $86.5 million revenue consensus. The company said its box office revenue increased more than 17% to $218.8 million in the quarter. “Despite overall cinema industry challenges, it was our strongest third quarter ever, underpinned by our out performance on blockbuster-titles such as ‘Dunkirk,'” Imax Chief Executive Richard Gelfond said in a statement. “Last quarter we laid out several initiatives aimed at increasing the revenue generation of our network and reducing our cost structure. While we are still in the early stages of fully implementing these initiatives, we were pleased with the tangible progress we made in the third quarter.” Shares of Imax Corp. are down nearly 26% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up close to 15% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 18%.

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Ford Motor Co.’s press release Thursday about its third-quarter earnings report just provided a link investors had to click on to get to the actual report, and continued to “flip the table,” which refers to the unusual practice of listing prior-year results in a financial statement to the left of current-year results. It’s a basic financial-reporting principle that tables are read from left to right, as audited results filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission always have most recent results to the left of prior year results. It’s not an auto industry practice to flip the table, since the financial tables in General Motors Co.’s and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s earnings releases read from left to right. Ford’s stock rallied 2.0% in morning trade after profit and revenue beat expectations. It has edged up 1.2% year to date, while GM shares have run up 30.3%, Fiat shares have soared 90.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 14.5%.

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Comcast Corp. reported losing 125,000 cable TV subscribers during the third quarter, but Jefferies analyst Scott Goldman chose to focus on the media, telecom and entertainment company’s overall in-line earnings. Goldman said he expects Comcast’s results to alleviate investor concerns around video losses. Shares of Comcast were down 3.6% after the company reported. “We view the results positively in light of weakness into the print,” Goldman wrote in a note to investors. “The results are likely to alleviate investor concerns, though forward looking commentary will be closely watched.” Comcast shares are up 6.7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up 14.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 18.1%.

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The S&P 500 and Dow industrials opened higher on Thursday, however the Nasdaq Composite was under pressure, as investors focused on the latest policy update from the European Central Bank and a deluge of corporate results, on one of the busiest days for earnings. The S&P 500 opened 5 point, or 0.2%, higher to 2,562. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 96 points, or 0.4%, to 23,421. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index declined 5 points, or 0.1%, to 6,560. Among the worst performers on the S&P 500, Celgene Corp. shares plunged 17% after the company reported a third-quarter profit beat and revenue miss and lowered its 2017 profit and revenue outlook. Among the best performers, Twitter surged 12% after the social media group reported narrower losses.

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Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $91.4 million, or 37 cents per share, up from $86.3 million, or 36 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 58 cents, ahead of the 48-cents FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $1.21 billion, up from $1.08 billion last year and beating the $1.19 billion FactSet consensus. Restaurant Brands portfolio includes Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes. Same-restaurant sales grew 0.3% at Tim Hortons, were up 3.6% at Burger King, but fell 1.8% at Popeyes. Restaurant Brands shares are up 49.5% for the past year outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 19.5% for the period.

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Shares of Charter Communications Inc. were down nearly 6% in premarket trade on Thursday after the telecommunications company reported third-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations and a loss of 104,000 TV subscribers. The company reported net income of $48 million, or 19 cents per share, compared with $189 million, or 69 cents per share during the same quarter a year ago. FactSet’s per-share earnings consensus was 98 cents. Revenue for the quarter was $10.46 billion, up from $10.04 billion a year ago, but below FactSet’s $10.49 billion consensus. Charter’s TV subscriber losses accelerated in the quarter. The company lost 104,000 TV subscribers in the quarter, compared with 51,000 last year. Customer additions for its internet business, where it added 249,000, helped offset overall declines. Shares of Charter Communications are up nearly 20% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 18%.

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