Category: Stock Market News

Kraft Heinz Co. said Friday it has appointed 29-year old David Knopf to the role of chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1. Knopf is currently vice president and category head of the Planters business. Knopf is replacing current CFO Paulo Basilio, 42, who will become zone president of the U.S. business. George Zoghbi, who is currently chief operating officer of the U.S. business, will transition to a strategic adviser role, but will remain a full-time employee. Knopf joined the food company in July 2015, as part of the merger of the former Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Company, and initially held the role of vice president of finance, head of global budget and business planning, zero-based budgeting and financial and strategic planning, the company said. He previously had various roles at private-equity firm 3G Capital, where he worked on big deals, including of Burger King and Heinz. Before that, he did stints at private-equity firm Onex Partners and Goldman Sachs . Kraft Heinz shares were not yet active premarket, but are down 6.7% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

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Kroger Co. shares sank 4.7% in Friday premarket trading after the grocer confirmed its full-year guidance, which doesn’t take the impact of hurricanes Harvey or Irma into account. Net income for the quarter totaled $353.0 million, or 39 cents per share, down from $383.0 million, or 40 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 47 cents, ahead of the 39-cent FactSet consensus. Sales were $27.6 billion, up from $26.6 billion last year and ahead of the $27.5 billion FactSet consensus. Same-supermarket sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.7%, ahead of the FactSet consensus for 0.4% rise. Kroger confirmed its full-year earnings guidance of $1.74 to $1.79 and adjusted EPS guidance in the range of $2.00 to $2.05. Same-supermarket growth, excluding fuel, is expected to rise between 0.5% and 1%. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $1.98 and same-supermarket sales growth of 0.8%. Kroger shares are down 34% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 10.1% for the period.

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Shares of Equifax Inc., on Friday were set to see their steepest daily drop in nearly 20 years after the credit-monitoring company late Thursday revealed a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of 143 million people in the U.S. and elsewhere. The breach ranks among the largest in history, with Equifax’s shares on track to tumble by about 16% when trading opens later Friday. That would mark its worst daily decline, if it holds, since Dec. 23. 1998, according to FactSet data. The Atlanta-based company has only seen eight–not including Friday’s potential fall–double-digit drops in its 40 years as a publicly traded company. Equifax, which is one of the big three credit-reporting firms in the U.S., including TransUnion and Experian PLC, maintains credit reports on more than 200 million people, became a publicly traded company in 1978. Shares of TransUnion and Experian were both trading, or set to trade, lower on Friday in sympathy. For the year, Equifax has enjoyed a healthy runup, gaining more than 21%. By comparison, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index are up about 10% year to date, while the Nasdaq Composite Index is on pace for a year-to-date return of 19%.

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Shares of Kura Oncology Inc. rocketed 26% in premarket trade Friday, after the biopharmaceutical company announced positive results from a phase 2 study of its cancer treatment. The company said late Thursday that its lead product candidate, tipifarnib, for the treatment of HRAS mutant relapsed or refractory squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (HNSCC) achieved its primary endpoint. “We have observed rapid and, in some cases, dramatic responses in patients with relapsed and/or refractory HNSCC who do not appear to benefit from other therapies,” said Chief Medical Officer Antonio Gualberto. “Based on these very encouraging results, we are exploring available options to advance the development of tipifarnib in this patient population as quickly as possible.” The stock had tumbled 18% over the past three months through Thursday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF had soared 14% and the S&P 500 had gained 1.3%.

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Eli Lilly & Co. said early Friday that its migraine prevention drug had positive results in a late-stage, 12-month open-label study. The therapy, galcanezumab, showed a positive safety and tolerability profile in patients, the company said, and was associated with a statistically significant reduction in monthly migraine headache days (5.6 days for the lower dose and 6.5 days for the higher dose). Eli Lilly plans to file for approval in the second half of this year, and will then submit to other regulatory agencies around the world. Galcanezumab is one of a class of drugs being developed by several pharmaceutical companies to prevent migraine, a chronic and severe condition with sometimes disabling symptoms. Eli Lilly shares were not yet active in premarket trade. Shares have risen 1.8% over the last three months, compared with a 1.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Southwest Airlines Co. said Friday that August load factor increased to 84.9% from 84.6% a year ago, but trimmed its outlook for RASM in the aftermatch of Hurricane Harvey. The Dallas-based air carrier said traffic for the month rose 5.3% to 10.7 billion revenue passenger miles while capacity increased 4.9% to 13.3 billion available seat miles. Based on August results and the estimated impact of Hurricane Harvey, the company expects third-quarter operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) in the range of down 1% to slightly up, compared with the previously provided guidance of up about 1%. The stock, which was inactive in premarket trade, has slumped 12% over the past three months, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has lost 10% and the S&P 500 has gained 1.3%.

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A powerful earthquake has struck off in the Pacific off the southern coast of Mexico, reportedly killing at least two and triggering a tsunami threatening several countries. The temblor, initially estimated at magnitude 8.0 but now rated 8.2, occurred off the coast of Chiapas about 10 minutes before midnight local time, NOAA’s National Weather Service said Friday. A tsunami warning has been issued for Mexico, where a wave as large as 0.7 meters in height has already been confirmed. Also at risk, but from less hazardous waves, are Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras. The shock from the temblor was felt in Mexico City, where tremors rattled buildings for up to a mintue, the BBC reported. At least two people have died in the state of Chiapas, Reuters reported, citing the Mexican interior minister. There is currently no tsunami threat to Hawaii, Guam or American Samoa, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said on Twitter.

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We know an American woman will win the U.S. Open, but it won’t be the most famous of the final four. Two-time U.S. Open winner Venus Williams, who was vying for an appearance in her third Gland Slam final this year, was upset Thursday night in New York by unseeded Sloane Stephens, 6-1, 0-6, 7-5. It will be Stephens’ first time playing in a Grand Slam final, and she is only the fourth unseeded woman to reach the U.S. Open finals since 1968. On Saturday, Stephens will face either No. 15 Madison Keys or No. 20 CoCo Vandeweghe, who were playing later Thursday night. It was the first time in 36 years that all four women in the tournament’s semifinals were American.

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A federal appeals court upheld an injunction against President Donald Trump’s travel ban late Thursday. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, rejected the federal government’s appeal entirely, supporting a district court’s March ruling in favor of the state of Hawaii. Thursday’s ruling blocks enforcement of a ban against certain family members, finding grandparents and cousins are close family relations who should be allowed into the country, and limits the scope of the ban on refugees.

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Hackers exploited an Equifax website vulnerability that may impact 143 million U.S. customers–nearly two-thirds of the adult U.S. population–the company disclosed late Thursday. Shares are down more than 13% after-hours. The intruders gained entrance to the company’s data from May until July of this year, and were able to retrieve Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers and credit card numbers, among other data. According to the company about 209,000 credit card numbers were exposed as well as “dispute documents with personal identifying information” for 182,000 Americans, according to Equifax. The company has not found evidence core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases were hacked. In addition to the U.S. data, criminals accessed data for Canadian and U.K. residents. Equifax detected the breach on July 29 and hired an unnamed cybersecurity firm to determine what specific data the hackers accessed. Chief Executive Richard Smith apologized to Equifax’s customers in prepared remarks, and the company has set up a website that will determine if customers have been affected. It will also mail notices to customers whose credit card numbers or dispute documents were accessed.

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