Category: Stock Market News

Stifel analyst Scott Devitt has downgraded Netflix Inc. stock to a hold from a buy rating due to the current valuation of the stock, according to a research note late Tuesday. “We are attracted to Netflix’s business and competitive position but believe share price may have sprinted ahead of fundamentals in the short-term,” Devitt wrote. The note says that Netflix stock has reached the analyst’s new $325 price target and that shares are up nearly 70% year-to-date compared with the S&P 500 index , which has gained 2%. This follows a 55% gain in 2017, the analyst wrote. Netflix stock is down 2.5% after hours amid broad market uncertainty following the late Tuesday resignation of Gary Cohn, the head of President Donald Trump’s National Economic Council.

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U.S. stocks look poised to tumble in coming trade following news late Tuesday that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is resigning from President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming weeks. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, was seen as a level head within the administration and one of the chief architects of Wall Street-friendly corporate tax cuts rolled out late last year. Speculation about Cohn’s plans to exit the White House in August similarly roiled markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 381 points, or 1.5%, at 24,464 late Tuesday, while those for the S&P 500 were down 1.3% at 2,688. Cohn’s sudden departure comes amid turmoil in the White House over Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which Cohn has opposed, arguing that it could undercut the Trump’s economic achievements, according to reports. The loss of Cohn may be viewed by viewed by Wall Street as a headwind to the president’s pro-business agenda and underlines ongoing turmoil in the White House, highlighted by a parade of departing officials.

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U.S. stocks look poised to tumble in coming trade following news late Tuesday that National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is resigning from President Donald Trump’s administration in the coming weeks. Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. executive, was seen as a level head within the administration and one of the chief architects of Wall Street-friendly corporate tax cuts rolled out late last year. Speculation about Cohn’s plans to exit the White House in August similarly roiled markets. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down about 340 points,r or 1.3%, at 24,521 late Tuesday, while those for the S&P 500 were down 1.1% at 2,694. Cohn’s sudden departure comes amid turmoil in the White House over Trump’s plan to implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, which Cohn has opposed, arguing that it could undercut the Trump’s economic achievements, according to reports. The loss of Cohn may be viewed by viewed by Wall Street as a headwind to the president’s pro-business agenda and underlines ongoing turmoil in the White House, highlighted by a parade of departing officials.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Coinbase’s President & Chief Operating Officer Asiff Hirji late Tuesday said the popular digital-currency platform would kick off a crypto-focused index fund. Hirji told CNBC during an interview on its “Fast Money” segment that the planned index fund is intended to give retail investors broad exposure to virtual currencies. The COO said the fund is still in the works and would be targeted to accredited investors, with a specified net worth. Hirji said the index fund would be market-cap weighted but didn’t offer more details.

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National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn is resigning, the New York Times reported, citing a statement given to the newspaper from President Donald Trump. Cohn, previously the president of Goldman Sachs, was known to disagree over key White House economic decisions, including the new push for aluminum and steel tariffs. “Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again,” Trump said in a statement to the New York Times. “He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.” Cohn is expected to leave in the coming weeks, the report says.

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Shares of drone maker AeroVironment Inc. fell more than 8% late Tuesday after the company swung to a surprise fiscal 2018 third-quarter loss. AeroVironment said it lost $800,000, or 4 cents a share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2018, compared with a net loss of $2.2 million, or 9 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 20% to $64 million, compared with $53.2 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 2 cents a share on sales of $63 million. In a separate press release, AeroVironment said it had been awarded a $44.5 million contract to provide drones for the ground forces of an unnamed Middle East “regional power,” it said. That was the company’s largest international order, AeroVironment said. AeroVironment shares ended the regular trading session up 0.8%.

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Shares of Carvana Co. fell more than 7% late Tuesday after the company reported a wider-than-expected fourth-quarter loss and revenue that also missed expectations. Carvana, a platform for buying used cars online, said it lost $47 million in the quarter, or 45 cents a share, compared with a loss of $36 million, or 26 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose to $265 million, from $107 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected the company to report a loss of 39 cents a share on sales of $270 million. Carvana shares ended the regular trading session up 0.3%.

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Shares of Sunrun Inc. fell in Tuesday’s extended session after the solar energy company posted a quarterly loss. Sunrun reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $68.2 million, compared with a loss of $85.8 million a year ago. Its net income available to common stockholders rose to $58.9 million, or 55 cents a share, from $29 million, or 28 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew to $146.4 million versus $120.6 million. Sunrun shares slid more than 2% after hours.

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Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday agreed to a $500 million settlement linked to charges that it sold faulty residential mortgage-backed securities to investors in the lead up to the financial crisis in 2007-08, according to New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. The settlement includes some $100 million cash to to New York State and $400 million in consumer relief for homeowners throughout the Empire state, according to a statement. Royal Bank of Scotland’s shares trading in Europe finished the day off 0.6% and have been down 6.4% so far in 2018. Comparatively, the S&P 500 index maintains a year-to-date gain of 2% after finishing Tuesday’s session up by 0.3%. Compared against its peers, RBS trails, with a exchange-traded fund of large banks, the SPDR S&P Bank ETF , up 7.9% so far this year. RBS reported its first annual profit in a decade, warning investors that legacy issues related to its sale and packaging of residential mortgage backed securities lingered.

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J.M. Smucker Co. said Tuesday that it was ending its bid for the Wesson cooking-oil unit of Conagra Brands Inc. after the Federal Trade Commission filed an administrative complaint challenging the action. Smucker stock was down a fraction after hours, and Conagra stock fell less than 1%. The FTC had charged that combining the Wesson oil brand with Smucker’s Crisco oil unit would allow Smucker to drive up the price of cooking oil in the U.S, and control 70% of the market. In a statement late Tuesday, Smucker Chief Executive Mark Smucker said, “While we disagree with the FTC’s conclusion, we have mutually determined with Conagra that it is not in the best interest of either party to expend the anticipated significant additional time and resources to challenge the FTC’s administrative complaint. We believe the FTC underestimated the significant role that private label brands play in the oils category, which account for approximately 50 percent of all cooking oil sales and hold significantly higher market share at some retailers.” Smucker stock has dropped 7.4% in the past 12 months, as the S&P 500 index has gained 15%. Conagra stock has dropped 7.2% in the past year.

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