Category: Stock Market News

Micron Technology Inc. shares surged Monday after one analyst nearly doubled his price target on the stock. Micron shares rallied nearly 12% to $60.87 at last check. Instinet analyst Romit Shah, who raised his rating on Micron to buy from reduce back in June 2016, raised his price target to $100 from $55. “We see DRAM pricing resuming an upward trend in Q2, a first-time dividend and share buyback announcement in May, continued margin expansion in NAND and increased M&A discussion as important catalysts,” Shah said. Of the 31 analysts who cover Micron, 27 have buy ratings, three have hold ratings, and one has a sell rating, according to FactSet data. Following Shah’s target hike, analysts had an average price target of $61.89 on the stock.

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Democrat Conor Lamb leads Republican Rick Saccone in a new poll of Pennsylvania voters a day ahead of a closely watched special House election. The Monmouth University poll found Lamb has a 51%-45% lead over Saccone if turnout yields a Democratic surge, similar to other special elections over the past year. President Donald Trump has stumped for Saccone in the race, which analysts say will reflect on the president and could help predict the midterm elections.

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U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday it was “was highly likely Russia was responsible” for poisoning former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury eight days ago. Speaking at the House of Commons, May said it has been concluded that the two were were poisoned by “military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia,” indicating that either Moscow was responsible for the attack or the country has lost control of its chemical weapons. The prime minister has now given Russia until the end of tomorrow to provide an explanation.

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Apple Inc. said Monday it has reached a deal to buy Texture, which is Next Issue Media LLC’s digital magazine subscription service, for an undisclosed amount. Apple’s stock rallied 1.0% in midday trade, putting it on track for a second-straight record close. For $9.99 a month, the Texture app gives subscribers access to over 200 magazines, including “People,” Newsweek” and “Sports Illustrated” and many others. “We’re excited Texture will join Apple, along with an impressive catalog of magazines from many of the world’s leading publishers,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of internet software and services at Apple. “We are committed to quality journalism from trusted sources and allowing magazines to keep producing beautifully designed and engaging stories for users.” Apple’s stock has gained 5.9% over the past three months and climbed 31% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 21% over the past year.

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U.S. stocks retained modest losses Monday afternoon, with the Dow down about 100 points, amid a report suggesting that CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow was the leading contender to replace Gary Cohn, who resigned as chief economic advisor to President Donald Trump and his director of the National Economic Council last week. Most recently, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about 100 points, or 0.4%, at 25,245, the S&P 500 index was flat at 2,786. The Nasdaq Composite Index meanwhile, was up 0.5%, trading in record territory at 7,596, as the technology-laden index was before the report on Kudlow. According to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Kudlow is the leading contender to head NEC and “would take the job if offered it.” The report emphasizes that Trump hasn’t formally offered the job. Cohn who is expected leave the White House in coming weeks is viewed as departing due to a dispute over tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that he disagreed with. Critics of tariffs have made the case that such duties could spark retaliatory responses from countries that could hurt the U.S.’s economic expansion. To be sure, Kudlow is’t the only contender for the Cohn post, recent reports also pointed to the Christopher Liddell as strong consideration.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was stumbling lower on Monday, giving up early morning gains, on the back of a selloff in shares of Boeing Co., as the market assessed the impact of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on some of the U.S.’s largest industrial companies. Boeing’s share selloff, down 3%, or $10.47, was exacting a roughly 75-point toll on the blue-chip benchmark. A $1 move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.89-point swing in the benchmark. Meanwhile, shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. provided a modest lift for the average, coming as the investment bank reported that its former-CFO Harvey Schwartz, viewed as a potential chief executive at the bank, was set to leave the bank in late April. That news comes amid reports that CEO Lloyd Blankfein may soon be ready to retire from the firm after 12 years at its helm. Most recently, the price-weighted Dow was down 150 points, or 0.6%, at 25,190, while the S&P 500 index was off 0.2%, with a decline in the industrials leading the way lower among its 11 sectors.

Correction and amplification: An earlier version of this article misstated the multiplier for the Dow in point terms. A $1 move equates to a swing of 6.89 points.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average was struggling to hold on to early gains on Monday, but not for lack of gains from shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Shares of Goldman were offering the greatest support for the Dow [: DJIA] in late-morning action, contributing more than 20 points to the price-weighted average. A $ move in any one of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.83-point swing in the Dow. Still, the Dow was being buffeted by a selloff in Boeing Co. , which was down 1.6%, or $5.61, exacting a more than 40-point toll on the blue-chip benchmark. Goldman’s rally comes as the investment bank reported that its former-CFO Harvey Schwartz, viewed as a potential chief executive at the bank, was set to leave Goldman in late April, coming amid reports that CEO Lloyd Blankfein may soon be ready to retire from the firm after 12 years at its helm.

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The most popular benchmark of small-capitalization stocks on Monday was less than a percentage from a record, underlining a relatively brisk recovery for stocks after last month’s fall of about 10% from recent peaks. The small-cap focused Russell 2000 was up 0.2% at 1601.68 at its intraday peak, putting the gauge just about 0.6% shy of its all-time high close of 1610.71 on Jan. 23. according to FactSet data. The barometer for smaller-cap stocks is on pace to outstrip its larger-cap peers, up 5.8% so far in March, compared with a gain of 4.3% for the large-cap S&P 500 index and a return of 1.5% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the month. The stocks of small companies have been viewed as better insulated from a potential trade war arising from President Donald Trump’s decision to institute tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Smaller stocks have a higher exposure to the U.S. rather than the global market, the thinking goes.

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U.S. stocks rose on Monday, with stocks advancing in a broad rally that had 10 of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors higher on the day. The only negative group was industrial stocks, which slipped 0.1%. On Friday, the sector soared more than 2% in its biggest one-day percentage jump since November 2016. The top-performing group on Monday was telecommunications, which rose 0.8%, and consumer-discretionary stocks, up 0.7%. Energy shares were also higher, with the sector up 0.5% despite a 0.8% decline in the price of crude oil. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4% while the S&P 500 was up 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.4%, hitting an intraday record. The gains came as investors continued to view last week’s jobs report as suggesting an ideal environment for investing in stocks.

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Adamas Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares rose 5% in Monday morning trade after the company released new data showing that its Parkinson’s disease drug Gocovri has been selling well. There have been 742 filled prescriptions for Gocovri from January 1 to February 28, and the company has received prescriptions from nearly 400 different prescribers, relative to more than 300 as of mid-February, according to company filings. (The therapy has been available since October but launched in full in January.) This indicates that the company is adding roughly 50 new prescribers a week “which is a very strong adoption curve,” with the company aiming for 5,500 specialists, according to EvercoreISI analyst Joshua Schimmer. The number of filled prescriptions, which includes refills, likely indicates that about 550 patients are on the drug, Schimmer said. Gocovri is a new formulation of a generic drug that has long been used off-label for the involuntary movements that are a side effect of Parkinson’s disease medication. It has been criticized for its price tag of between $10,000 and $30,000 a year, which one expert said was too high, especially since Gocovri hadn’t been shown to be better than the generic drug in clinical trials. Adamas shares have dropped 17.2% over the last three months, compared with a nearly 5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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