Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Equifax Inc. dropped 4.3% in midday trade Friday, extending their recent plunge to a 2 1/2-year low, after Morgan Stanley said there was a risk that prices could fall to nearly half their current value in the aftermath of last week’s massive data breach. Analyst Toni Kaplan cut the “base case” price target on the credit-reporting company’s stock to $127, which is 37% above current levels, from $140, citing increased breach-related expenses from free offerings given higher-than-expected signups and a sharp reduction in direct-to-consumer-related revenue. But Kaplan cut the “bear case” target to $50, which is 46% below current levels, and a price the shares haven’t seen since November 2012, in light of risks of greater impairment to the consumer solutions business, potential for breach-related weakness to bleed into other businesses, increased regulation and higher-than-anticipated fees. The stock, which has plummeted 35% since the breach was unveiled after the Sept. 7 close, has now lost 21.8% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.6%.

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The airline sector took a hit Friday, after J.P. Morgan downgraded some key players on concerns that rising fuel prices and continued pricing weakness make current earnings expectations unachievable. Shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. dropped 3.0%, Spirit Airlines Inc. fell 2.4% and American Airlines Group Inc. shed 0.8%, after analyst Jamie Baker downgraded all three air carriers to neutral from overweight. Elsewhere, shares of Alaska Air Group Inc. lost 2.7% and Delta Air Lines Inc. eased 0.2%. Bucking the trend, Southwest Airlines Co.’s stock , inched up less than 0.1%, after Baker upgraded the carrier to overweight from neutral, saying the recent selloff–down 15% over the past two months–makes the risk-versus-reward profile attractive for investors. JetBlue Airways Corp.’s stock tacked on 0.1%, after Baker raised his price target to $29 from $26, citing easier unit revenue comparisons and moderated capacity growth. The NYSE Arca Airline Index fell 0.7%. The sector tracker has shed 6.1% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.

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Semiconductor stocks rallied on Friday, with the sector climbing in its fifth straight daily advance and on track for its best week since July. The iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF added 1.7% to $155.50, putting it on track for a record close and within points of an intraday record hit in June. Thus far this year, the fund is up nearly 27%, with 4.6% of that coming this week. Among the fund’s components, all but one were in positive territory on Friday, with Nvidia Corp. the biggest percentage gainer, up 5.2% after Evercore ISI raised its price target on the company to $250 from $180. Among others, ON Semiconductor Corp rose 3.1% while Advanced Micro Devices was up 2.9%.

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Shop Apotheke Europe N.V. said it’s not currently in talks with Amazon.com Inc. about being bought out, after the Netherlands-based online pharmacy’s stock rose by as much as 31% on Friday. “Regarding current market rumors about a potential takeover of Shop Apotheke Europe N.V. by Amazon, Shop Apotheke clarifies that currently there are no talks or negotiations with Amazon,” the Dutch company said in a statement. Shares were recently 11% higher.

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U.S. stock-market indexes opened nearly unchanged as investors remained cautious in the wake of North Korea firing another missile over Japan and softer-than-expected economic data. Monthly retail sales fell unexpectedly last month. All three main indexes were on track to book solid gains over the week, however. The S&P 500 opened flat at 2,495. The Nasdaq Composite index was unchanged at 6,430. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 28 points, or 0.1%, to 22,233 at the open. Among the worst performers on Wall Street, Equifax continued to decline, dropping more than 2%.

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Nucor Corp.’s stock dropped 1.0% in premarket trade Friday, after the steel maker lowered its profit outlook for the third quarter, citing continued import pressure and unplanned outages, as well as “tepid” demand in plate end use markets. The company expects earnings per share for the current quarter of 70 cents to 80 cents, down from $1.00 in the second quarter and below previous guidance that EPS was expected to be “similar” to the first half of the year. The FactSet EPS consensus was $1.04. Nucor said finished steel imports, which accounts for about a 28% share of the U.S. market, has not allowed pricing to keep pace with increasing raw material costs. The company said Nucor Steel Louisiana experienced an unplanned production halt in late July to make repairs to its materials handling systems, and isn’t expected to resume operation until early October. The stock had shed 1.2% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 had gained 2.6%.

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Shares T2 Biosystems Inc. sank 33% in active premarket trade Friday, after the developer of in vitro diagnostics products took advantage a recent price surge to sell more stock to the public. Trading volume topped 400,000 shares about 45 minutes before the open, already more than double the full-day average of about 181,300 shares. The company said Friday that it priced a public offering of 4.375 million shares at $4 a share, which was 34% below Thursday’s closing price of $6.08, for gross proceeds of $17.5 million. The offering, before options granted to underwriters to buy additional shares, would boost shares outstanding by about 14%. The offering comes after the stock had more than doubled since the end of July. It has rallied 15.6% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.5%.

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Shares of Mirati Therapeutics Inc. rocketed 82% toward a 15-month high in active premarket trade Friday, after the biotechnology company announced positive data from two trials of its lung cancer treatment. Volume topped 550,000 shares about an hour before the open, which was already more than four times the full-day average of about 131,700 shares. The company said an ongoing phase 2 trial of sitravatinib in combination with nivolumab in non-small cell lung cancer patients demonstrated confirmed some partial responses in evaluable patients. “We are evaluating sitravatinib in combination with nivolumab in this checkpoint resistant population and are very encouraged by the responses observed, since responses would not be expected from re-treatment with a checkpoint inhibitor alone,” said Chief Executive Charles Baum. The stock, which is on track to open at the highest level seen during regular session hours since June 10, 2016, was unchanged year to date through Thursday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has rallied 25.1% and the S&P 500 has gained 11.5%.

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Social Finance Inc., also known as SoFi, said it has accepted co-Founder and Chief Executive Mike Cagney’s resignation, effective immediately, in the wake of sexual harassment allegations revealed earlier this week. The fintech startup named Executive Chairman Tom Hutton interim CEO, and said it would accelerate its search for a new CEO. “For now, there is no more important work than paving the way for future success by building a transparent, respectful and accountable culture,” Hutton said. Cagney had said Monday that he would step down by year end. On Tuesday,the New York Times reported that Cagney sent sexually explicit text messages to a female subordinate and bragged openly about his sexual conquests, as well as made misstatements regarding student loan products.

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Teekay Tankers Ltd. said Friday it has launched a $45 million stock repurchase program. At Thursday’s stock closing price of $1.44, the program would allow the company to buy back 31.25 million shares, which represents 19% of the shares outstanding. “This program is being put in place as another lever to create shareholder value, allowing us to opportunistically take advantage of dislocations in the capital markets when we have excess capital,” said Chief Executive Kevin Mackay. The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 36.3% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11.5%. Separately, the tanker operator has entered into an agreement with its second largest shareholder, Huber Capital Management LLC, in which Huber will vote its shares in favor of increasing the authorized number of shares outstanding to permit more issuance so the company can complete its proposed merger with Tanker Investments Ltd.

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