Category: Stock Market News

CarGurus Inc. said late Wednesday it was pricing shares of its initial public offering above its previously stated range. The company, which uses algorithms and data analytics to find users deals on new and used cars, said it would price 9.4 million shares at $16 apiece for trading under the ticker “CARG” on the Nasdaq on Thursday. The company had said in late September that shares would be priced in the $13 to $15 range. CarGurus is selling 2.5 million shares, while existing shareholders are selling 6.9 million. Underwriters have an option for 1.4 million additional shares to cover overallotments. Earlier in September, CarGurus filed for its IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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AT&T Inc. late Wednesday warned investors to expect lower third-quarter revenue and profit after several “devastating hurricanes, as well as earthquakes in Mexico, significantly impacted certain regions of our service area during the third quarter,” the company said in a filing. Damage to the company’s network and other property, costs to restore services, and revenue declines from waived charges will decrease third-quarter revenue nearly $90 million, and pre-tax earnings about $210 million, or 2 cents a share, AT&T said. “We expect further reductions in the fourth quarter as we continue to assess damage to our network and fully restore service,” it said. The company reiterated its full-year 2017 guidance of mid-single-digit adjusted earnings growth, adjusted consolidated operating margin expansion, capital expenditures in the $22 billion range, and free cash flow at the low end of the $18 billion range. The company also said it expects to report a net decline in total video subscribers, thanks to “heightened competition in traditional pay TV markets and over-the-top services, hurricanes and our stricter credit standards.” Shares of AT&T fell 0.2% after hours, and ended the regular session down 0.8%.

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Outgoing Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Wednesday the central bank doesn’t see an unsustainable bubble building in asset prices. Responding to a question about lofty equity valuations during an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered, Fischer said “well, with low interest rates stock-market prices will tend to be higher than they would be if the interest rates were higher. But we don’t think we’re in a situation where we have an inflationary bubble or an unsustainable set of prices in the asset market.” He said the U.S. central bank is usually reluctant to comment on asset prices, saying “I shouldn’t go on.” The Fed vice chairman is set to retire at the end of this week even though his term is up in June. Fischer said he was leaving the central bank early for “personal reasons” but did not elaborate.

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Outgoing Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Wednesday the central bank doesn’t see an unsustainable bubble building in asset prices. Responding to a question about lofty equity valuations during an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered, Fischer said “well, with low interest rates stock-market prices will tend to be higher than they would be if the interest rates were higher. But we don’t think we’re in a situation where we have an inflationary bubble or an unsustainable set of prices in the asset market.” He said the U.S. central bank is usually reluctant to comment on asset prices, saying “I shouldn’t go on.” The Fed vice chairman is set to retire at the end of this week even though his term is up in June. Fischer said he was leaving the central bank early for “personal reasons” but did not elaborate.

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The American Petroleum Institute reported Wednesday that U.S. crude supplies rose by 3.1 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 6, according to sources. The API data also showed that gasoline stockpiles declined by 1.6 million barrels, but inventories of distillates rose by 2 million barrels, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Thursday morning, a day later than usual because of the Columbus Day holiday. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the EIA to report a fall of 400,000 barrels in crude inventories, along with declines of 1.4 million barrels for gasoline and 1.64 million barrels for distillate supplies. November crude was at $51.03 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the settlement of $51.30 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Ardelyx Inc. shares soared more than 60% in after-hours trading Wednesday, after the company reported positive results for a study of a proposed drug. Ardelyx said a second Phase 3 study of tenapanor, a drug targeting irritable bowel syndrome with constipation, reached its primary endpoint and all secondary endpoints, and was well-tolerated by patients. “These results are a game-changer for patients with IBS-C, their treating physicians and for Ardelyx as a company,” Ardelyx Chief Executive Mike Raab said in the announcement. The same drug previously failed in a study aimed at using it for kidney disease. Ardelyx shares topped $8.50 in late trading after closing at $5.40.

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Snap Inc. enjoyed its best day of trading Wednesday since its March 2 debut in the public market, rising 11.4% to $15.98. The company has struggled since the stock soared to a record $27.09 in the days following the initial public offering, and has plunged 22.8% in the past six months. The S&P 500 index has risen 8.4% in the past six months. In a research note sent to clients Wednesday, Credit Suisse raised its price target to $20 from $17, citing an increase in its North American daily active user estimates.

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General Electric Co.’s stock slumped 1.5% in afternoon trade Wednesday, toward the lowest close in over four years, and to extend its losing streak to four sessions. The stock has tumbled 6.2% during its losing streak, the worst four-day stretch since it lost 7.0% during the four days ending Jan. 11, 2016. The losses accelerated this week after the company announced after Friday’s closing bell that its chief financial officer and two other vice chairs were leaving the company, and on Monday that it elected activist investor Trian Fund Management’s chief investment officer to its board. On Wednesday, analyst C. Stephen Tusa at J.P. Morgan, the most bearish of the 20 analysts surveyed by FactSet who are covering GE, cut his price target to $20, which is 13% below current levels, from $22, while reiterating his sell rating. “In our view, an activist heightens the risk that GE tries for a quick fix, like it has done in the past,” Tusa wrote. GE’s stock, on track to close at the lowest level since July 3, 2013, has plunged 27% year to date, while the Dow has gained 16%.

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Shares of Ralph Lauren Corp. slid about 2% Wednesday, after Miller Tabak downgraded the stock to sell from hold and said demand for its brands among luxury shoppers appears to be fading. The investment firm said its indicator of demand peaked at 14% in July and is now flat and headed lower, and it expects the stock to follow suit. “The last time our indicator started downward the stock dropped from $109 in December 2016 to $75 in February 2017 (and then further to $65 when they missed the next quarter),” Miller Tabak wrote in a note. The stock is not expensive, trading at 16 times expectations for calendar year 2018, but if fundamentals decline, that may not matter, said the note. Analysts have tweaked forecasts upward after an earnings beat last quarter. “We’ll continue to look to see if our fundamental demand indicator changes. If it does, we’ll likely change our mind on our rating,” said the note. Ralph Lauren shares have fallen 5% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Cook County in Illinois, which comprises Chicago and many of its inner suburbs, has repealed its four-month-old tax on sugary soft drinks, known locally as the pop tax. The county board’s president, Toni Preckwinkle, had vigorously defended the penny-per-ounce tax, which had been forecast to raise $200 million annually, on both public-health and fiscal grounds, backed by an advertising push from Michael Bloomberg, the former New York mayor. Opponents of the tax included retailers and the American Beverage Association. The repeal vote was 15-2, the Chicago Tribune reported, adding that it would cease being collected on Dec. 1.

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