Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Apple Inc. sank 1.4% in premarket trade Monday, putting it on track to open at an 8-week low, after a report that raises concerns demand for the coming iPhone X may be weaker than anticipated. That stock fell below $150 ahead of the open; the stock hasn’t traded below $150 during regular-session hours since Aug. 1. The decline adds to the 6.0% loss the stock has suffered since Sept. 11, the day before the product event to unveil the new iPhones. Digitimes reported Monday, citing sources from Taiwan-based upstream component suppliers, that Apple has told component suppliers to withhold part of the shipments of parts used in production of the iPhone X devices. The report said supplier are currently shipping just 40% of the quantities of original iPhone X production plans, compared with the iPhone 7 in 2016 when initial parts shipments reached about 60% of production plans. Apple is waiting to see pre-sale orders, which will begin Oct. 27, the report said. Despite the recent weakness, Apple’s stock had still gained 3.8% over the past three months through Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 4.5%.

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Tempur Sealy International Inc. said Monday Chief Financial Officer Barry Hytinen will step down from his position, effective Oct. 13, to pursue an opportunity outside of the bedding industry. Also Monday, underwear maker HanesBrands Inc. named Hytinen as CFO, effective Oct. 16. Mattress maker Tempur Sealy said it named Bhaskar Rao as its CFO. Rao, who joined the company in 2004, was most recently the chief accounting officer. HanesBrands said Hytinen will replace current CFO Richard Moss, who announced in April his plan to retire after 12 years with the company. Tempur Sealy’s stock has rallied 28% over the past three months, while HanesBrands shares have climbed 8.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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Salesforce.com Inc. forecasts that this year’s Black Friday will be the busiest online shopping day in U.S. history, beating Cyber Monday for the second consecutive year. The most popular time for e-commerce visits and orders is from 8pm to 10pm and, the company said in a Monday release, shoppers will have half of their shopping done by Dec. 3 and 80% done by Dec. 15. Orders placed on mobile phones will approach 40% on big shopping days like Black Friday, the company predicted, and 40% of millennials ages 18 to 36 are using voice-enabled assistants like Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa and Apple Inc.’s Siri. Salesforce shares are about flat in premarket trading and up 38.7% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 11.8% for 2017 so far.

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Allergan PLC said Monday that Chief Financial Officer Tessa Hilado will retire, effective when a successor is named. Hilado joined Allergan in December 2014. “When I joined Allergan in December 2014, I promised Brent Saunders, Chairman and CEO, that I would stay three years to help transform the finance organization, institute better systems and financial controls and improve the balance sheet,” Hilado said. “Now is a good time to announce my retirement from Allergan so that we have time to identify my successor and orchestrate a smooth hand-off to continue Allergan’s progress.” Earlier, Allergan announced a new $2 billion stock repurchase program. The stock has lost 20.5% since the end of 2014, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has shed 20.0% and the S&P 500 has climbed 21.5%.

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Allergan PLC said Monday it has authorized a new $2 billion stock repurchase program, saying it believes its shares are “substantially undervalued.” Based on Friday’s stock closing price of $204.65, the new program represents about 9.8 million shares, or about 2.9% of the shares outstanding. The Dublin, Ireland-based drug maker affirmed its commitment to increasing its cash dividend every year and to pay down $3.75 billion in debt in 2018. “Our financial strength and cash flow, strong portfolio of products, and diversified pipeline allow us to balance return of capital to shareholders through a flexible share repurchase program and a growing dividend,” said Chief Executive Brent Saunders. “In its decision, the Board is demonstrating its confidence in our future prospects.” The stock, which fell 0.8% in premarket trade, has plunged 17% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF has lost 3.5% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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Shares of AZZ Inc. plunged 12% in light premarket trade Monday, after the Fort Worth, Texas-based provider of metal coating and welding services to the power generation market slashed its fiscal 2018 outlook, in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The company said it now expects revenue for the fiscal year ending February 2018 of $825 million to $885 million, down from previous guidance of $880 million to $950 million. The outlook for earnings per share was cut to $1.80 to $2.30 from $2.60 to $3.10. In addition to the recent hurricanes, factors affecting AZZ’s outlook included market conditions in the U.S. nuclear market, lower than expected electric utility spending in Saudi Arabia and the current shippable backlog, the company said. Chief Executive Tom Ferguson said the refinery turnaround activity “is likely to improve early next year,” which he believes will boost fiscal 2018 results. AZZ’s stock has plunged 20% year to date through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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Shares of Genuine Parts Co. rose 1.2% in premarket trade Monday, after the automotive replacement parts company announced an agreement to buy European vehicle parts distributor Alliance Automotive Group for $2 billion, including the repayment of debt at closing. The deal, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, is expected to add to earnings immediately after closing, and should boost fiscal 2018 earnings per share by 45 cents to 50 cents and generate $2.3 billion in gross annual billings. Genuine Parts expects to finance the deal with debt financing. The stock has lost 3.0% over the past three months through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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Shares of D.R. Horton Inc. slumped 3.7% in premarket trade Monday, after the home builder cut expectations for its fourth-quarter backlog conversion rate, citing delays caused by recent hurricanes. The company now expects a conversion rate of about 85%, down from previous guidance of 88% to 90%. The company also raised its selling, general and administrative cost estimate as a percent of homebuilding revenue to 8.6% from 8.3% to 8.4%. For fiscal 2017, D.R. Horton slashed its expectation for cash flow from operations in half, to $150 million from $300 million. The company said it did not expect the hurricanes to affect the fiscal 2018 outlook. The stock had rallied 8.9% over the past three months through Friday, while the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF had edged up 0.6% and the S&P 500 had gained 2.6%.

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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday called a snap general election in a bid to consolidate power in the midst of a diplomatic crisis with North Korea, according to media reports. Abe said he’ll dissolve parliament on Thursday Sept. 28, but didn’t give a date for the election. There’s speculation that the vote will be held on Oct. 22, more than a year sooner than planned. The prime minister’s Liberal Democratic Party is likely to make a strong showing in the election, with 44% support versus 8% for the main opposition Democratic Party, according to a poll out on Sunday. Abe said the decision to call the election now was influenced by the tensions with North Korea, which lately has fired several missiles over Japanese territory. “We must not give into the threat of North Korea. I hope to gain the confidence of the people in the upcoming election and push forward strong diplomacy,” Abe said, according to CNN. The yen fell against the dollar, with the greenback buying ¥112.04, up from ¥111.99 late Friday in New York.

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A revised version of the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal Obamacare would benefit states of senators who are currently opposed to the bill, according to reports late Sunday. According to both Politico and the Washington Post, which have seen the revised text, the new bill projects federal funding increases for Arizona, Alaska, Kentucky and Maine, each of which would have seen less federal funding under the original plan. Those states are home to Sens. John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul and Susan Collins, respectively, who have all come out opposed to the bill. The revision will reportedly be unveiled Monday. It faces a Saturday deadline for passage, and the GOP can only afford two dissenting votes. On Sunday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also said he opposed the bill, and suggested Utah Sen. Mike Lee did as well.

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