Category: Stock Market News

Charter Communications Inc. reported second-quarter earnings that declined sharply as revenue fell short of Wall Street expectations. Shares were down slightly on light volume in premarket trade. The company reported net income of $139 million, or 52 cents per share, compared with $248 million, or 91 cents during the same period a year ago. FactSet’s consensus for per-share earnings was 79 cents. Revenue for the quarter hit $10.36 billion, compared with $9.97 billion on a pro forma basis in the same quarter a year ago. Revenue was just below FactSet’s consensus of $10.38 billion. Charter lost 90,000 video subscribers in the quarter, compared with a larger loss of 152,000 a year ago, but reported net customer adds of 155,000 thanks to its internet business. Revenue in the video segment, $4.12 billion, remained relatively unchanged year-over-year despite the loss in subscribers. Shares of Charter have gained more than 21% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 11%.

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Mastercard Inc. shares rose 2% in Thursday premarket trading after the financial services company reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat estimates. Net income for the quarter totaled $1.2 billion, or $1.10 per share, up from $1.0 billion, or 89 cents per share for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was $1.04 per share. Revenue was $3.1 billion for the quarter, up from $2.7 billion last year and ahead of the $2.98 billion FactSet consensus. Mastercard reported a 17% increase in switched transactions to 16 billion, and a 9% increase in gross dollar volume on a local currency basis. Mastercard shares are up 27% for the year-to-date while the S&P 500 index is up 10.7% for the period.

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AstraZeneca PLC shares plummeted as much as 16% in premarket trade Thursday after the company said its cancer drug combination failed to meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial. In the AstraZeneca late-stage trial, the combination of the drugs Imfinzi and tremelimumab — intended for previously-untreated patients with metastatic first-line non-small cell lung cancer — did not improve progression-free survival compared to the standard of care. The results could have implications for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s cancer drug combination, and the company’s shares dropped 6.2% in premarket trade. Meanwhile, shares of cancer drug rival Merck & Co. — which has a key position in the first-line lung cancer market with cancer drug Keytruda — rose 5% in premarket trade. For AstraZeneca, “this is a clear disappointment given the large market opportunity,” said Leerink Research analyst Seamus Fernandez. “The read-through is an obvious negative read-through for BMY’s combo of Opdivo and Yervoy in the ongoing CheckMate-227 trial… While there are several key differences in trial design between MYSTIC and CM-227, they are unlikely to result in meaningfully different outcomes.” However, EvercoreISI analyst Umer Raffat was slightly more optimistic, noting that the AstraZeneca trial isn’t over yet and also has overall survival as a primary endpoint, with results expected in the first half of next year. “It will be unreasonable to pretend as if nothing has changed on MYSTIC… but I also acknowledge that we shouldn’t forget about several [immuno-oncology] trials which have delivered [overall survival] benefit despite not having any [progression-free survival] benefit,” Raffat said. AstraZeneca shares have surged 10% over the last three months, Bristol-Myers shares have lifted 0.6% and Merck shares have dropped 1.3%, compared with a 3.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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McKesson Corp. reported Thursday a fiscal first-quarter net profit of $309 million, or $1.45 a share, down from $542 million, or $2.38 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.46, below the FactSet consensus of $2.83. The health care supply company said revenue rose to $51.05 billion from $49.73 billion but was below the FactSet consensus of $51.23 billion. “First-quarter results included the lapping effect of the lower profit contribution from increased price competition in our independent pharmacy business in Fiscal 2017 and weaker pharmaceutical manufacturer pricing trends in our U.S. Pharmaceutical business within our Distribution Solutions segment, and lower profit in our Technology Solutions segment driven primarily by the contribution of the majority of the businesses to Change Healthcare,” the company said in a statement. McKesson raises its fiscal 2018 adjusted EPS outlook to $11.80 to $12.50 from $11.75 to $12.45. Separately, the company raised its quarterly dividend by 21% to 34 cents a share from 28 cents a share. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has run up 18.4% year to date, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has climbed 16.2% and the S&P 500 has gained 10.7%.

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Celgene Corp. shares surged 1.6% in premarket trade Thursday after the company reported second-quarter profit and revenue beats. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $1.06 billion, or $1.31 per share, from $598 million, or 75 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings-per-share were $1.82, above the FactSet consensus of $1.78. Revenue rose to $3.27 billion from $2.75 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.23 billion. Revenue for chemotherapy drug Revlimid came in at $2.03 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $2.01 billion. Revenue for cancer drug Pomalyst came in at $391 million, below the FactSet consensus of $393 million. Revenue for psoriasis drug Otezla came in at $358 million, above the FactSet consensus of $347 million. Chemotherapy drug Abraxane’s revenue came to $254 million, above the FactSet consensus of $252 million. And revenue for chemotherapy drug Vidaza came to $156 million, below the FactSet consensus of $157 million. Celgene lowered its 2017 EPS guidance to $5.36 to $5.62 from $5.95 to $6.29 and raised its adjusted EPS guidance to $7.25 to $7.35 from $7.15 to $7.30. Celgene shares have surged 11.1% over the last three months, compared with a 3.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Best Buy Co Inc. said Thursday that it will add Dyson shops to 90 U.S. stores starting next month. The Dyson Demo Experiences spaces will allow customers to test Dyson products and seek help from Dyson experts. The shops will range in size from 40 square feet to 400 square feet, and there will be a Dyson section on Best Buy’s website. Items available to demo include the Supersonic hair dryer, a cord-free vacuum and Dyson air purifiers. Best Buy shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and up 30.2% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 10.7% for 2017 so far.

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Shares of Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. were up more than 3% in premarket trade on Thursday, while Discovery Communication Inc. shares fell more than 2% following media reports Wednesday evening that Viacom Inc. is no longer in the hunt to acquire Scripps. That makes Discovery the leading contender for a potential deal to buy Scripps. According to a report in Variety, Viacom had made an all-cash bid for Scripps, which would have likely knocked the company to junk status. Shares of Viacom were inactive in premarket trade. Scripps shares have gained nearly 18% in the year to date, while shares of Discovery are down 3% and the S&P 500 index is up nearly 11% in the year.

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Altria Group Inc. reported second-quarter net income of $1.99 billion, or $1.03 per share, up from $1.65 billion, 84 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 85 cents, missing the 86-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue totaled $6.66 billion, up from $6.52 billion and ahead of the $6.65 billion FactSet consensus. “The smokeable products segment generated strong income growth despite a large cigarette excise tax increase in California, and the smokeless products segment has largely rebounded from its first-quarter voluntary product recall,” said Chief Executive Marty Barrington in a statement. Smokeable products sales were $5.92 billion, up from $5.83 billion last year. And sales of smokeless products totaled $564 million, up from $523 million the previous year. Altria reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance in the range of $3.26 to $3.32. The FactSet consensus is $3.29. Altria shares are nearly flat in Thursday premarket trading, and up 6.1% for the year-to-date. The S&P 500 index is up 10.7% for the year so far.

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Facebook Inc. could be the second tech giant to hit a market cap of half a trillion dollars in two days if its post-earnings gains hold into Thursday’s trading session. Facebook stock increased more than 4% at times in Wednesday’s after-hours session following an earnings beat, which would put it near a $500 billion market cap. Facebook’s market cap ended Tuesday’s session at $479.9 billion, according to FactSet, so a flat 4% gain would put it at more than $499 billion. Amazon.com Inc. joined the $500 billion club Wednesday, a select group that only includes tech companies: Apple Inc. , Google parent company Alphabet Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are the others.

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Global index provider FTSE Russell said Wednesday it plans to require companies on its indexes to have a minimum of 5% of voting rights in the hands of unrestricted shareholders, specifically citing Snapchat parent Snap Inc. in reaching that decision. The proposal represents “a pragmatic compromise” between those that believe Snap’s IPO “set a dangerous precedent for companies to come to the market with few, if any, voting rights attached to their securities, and those respondents who believe the role of the index provider is to represent the investable opportunity set as comprehensively as possible,” FTSE Russell said in a document. “The proposal set out here effectively draws a principled line in the sand,” and changes, subject to potential further feedback, will be published on Aug. 25. Eligibility rules will become effective at the September quarterly and semi-annual index reviews, the company said. Snap raised more than $3 billion in its market debut in March; shares opened at $24 and on Wednesday closed at $13.40. Snap did not offer voting rights when it IPO’ed. The shares rose 0.2% late Wednesday.

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