Category: Stock Market News

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is planning to testify before Congress, according to a report from CNN that cited unnamed sources at the company. The report said Facebook is currently planning the strategy for his testimony. If Zuckerberg testifies, there may be pressure on Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to do likewise. All three were invited to appear before a Senate Judiciary panel on April 10.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission said it’s charging an energy store company and a former executive with inflating financial results. The SEC said Maxwell Technologies prematurely recognized $19 million in revenue between Dec. 2011 and Jan. 2013 from the sale of ultracapacitors, and that a former sales executive, Van Andrews, allegedly inflated the company’s revenues by entering into secret side deals with customers and by falsifying records. Maxwell’s former CEO David Schramm and former controller James DeWitt also were charged for failing adequately to respond to red flags, the SEC said. Both Maxwell and Andrews consented to the SEC’s order without admitting or denying the allegations, and Maxwell agreed to pay a $2.8 million penalty and Andrews agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and a five-year bar from serving as an officer or director of a public company. Without admitting or denying the findings that they caused certain violations by Maxwell, Schramm agreed to pay a total of nearly $80,000 in disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and penalty and DeWitt agreed to pay a $20,000 penalty, the SEC said. Maxwell has previously restated results.

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Shares of General Electric Co. jumped on Tuesday, recovering after a spate of weakness that took it to its lowest level since 2009. The stock jumped 3.8%; it was on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 23. The industrial conglomerate was by far the biggest percentage gainer among components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, this comes after a session where it was the only one of the 30 Dow stocks to end negative on the day, despite a massive rally in the overall market. GE is coming off three straight days of declines, and it has fallen in eight of the past 11 sessions. Thus far this year, it is down 23%, and it has shed more than half its value over the past 12 months amid a myriad of issues, including weak a profit outlook and a 50% reduction in its dividend. The Dow rose 0.3% on Tuesday while the S&P 500 was up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.2%.

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Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo self-driving car unit announced a premium electric fully self-driving car at a New York event Tuesday, which the company said was the first of its kind. The new SUV, called the I-Pace, will be done in a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover. The company said it would be adding 20,000 I-Pace vehicles to its fleet within the first two years of production. Waymo also said that it would launch a fully self-driving service in Phoenix this year, through which members of the public will be able to take the company’s fully self-driving cars anywhere in the company’s service area. The initial business model will be ride-hailing. Waymo also has self-driving sedans, minivans, and Class 8 semi trucks. Alphabet shares slipped 0.2% in morning trading, while the S&P 500 was down less than 0.1%.

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J.P. Morgan upgraded on Tuesday the technology sector to neutral, citing strong earnings growth and potential increased shareholder payouts. The SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF is little changed in morning trade, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was up less than 0.1% and the S&P 500 eased 0.1%. U.S. equity strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas said the tech sector should continue to deliver year-over-year double-digit percentage growth in earnings, and should benefit from strong demand globally, a weaker U.S. dollar and more favorable chart patterns. Lakos-Bujas said the sector holds a total of about $765 billion in cash overseas, “which we believe will be increasingly used for shareholder payouts,” especially during market selloffs. He said the rating remains neutral (not bullish), because government policy, such as lower taxes, deregulation and potential infrastructure spending, is more favorable for domestic companies. Over the past three months, the tech-sector ETF has gained 4.0%, while the Nasdaq 100 has tacked on 5.0% and the S&P 500 has slipped 0.9%.

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Exchange-traded funds that track the home-building sector fell on Tuesday, following the most recent data on home prices. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF fell 0.4% while the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF was down 0.6%. The PowerShares Dynamic Building & Construction Portfolio slid 0.6%. The S&P/Case-Shiller national index rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in the three-month period ending in January, and was up 6.2% compared with a year before. Among specific companies, D.R. Horton Inc. fell 0.9% while Toll Brothers Inc. was off 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped less than 0.1% while the S&P 500 was down 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was unchanged.

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Allegheny Technologies Inc. , the Pittsburgh-based maker of materials and components for the aerospace and defense industry, said it filed for an exclusion from steel tariffs on behalf of its recently formed joint venture with China-based Tsingshan Holding. Allegheny said the Allegheny & Tsingshan Stainless JV imports stainless slap products from Indonesia which are currently subject to 25% tariffs. “This innovative JV is a great example of a capital efficient, globally competitive supply chain–one that leverages ATI’s world class Hot Rolling and Processing Facility (HRPF) located in Brackenridge, Penn., the JV’s Direct Roll Anneal and Pickle (DRAP) Facility in Midland, Penn. and Tsingshan’s extensive Indonesian resources and capabilities,” said ATI Chief Executive Rich Harshman. ATI’s stock was little changed in morning trade. It has lost 3.9% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.7%.

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Starbucks Corp.’s latest limited-time drink offer, the Crystal Ball Frappuccino, may have fallen short on social media mentions, according to Stifel analysts. The Crystal Ball Frappuccino, which was offered in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from March 22 through March 26, was creme based, made with peach flavor and turquoise sparkles. The colorful beverage drove about an incremental 0.4% of the social media mentions for the quarter, compared with an incremental 6.5% of social media mentions for the Unicorn Frappuccino during the third quarter of 2017.”Inclement weather in several U.S. cities likely contributed to some of the softness, but limited-time offer frappuccinos appear to be losing some of their appeal as well,” analysts led by Chris O’Cull wrote in a note. “The chilly reception of the Crustal Ball demonstrates the need for hte company to revamp the frappuccino happy hour promotion.” Stifel rates Starbucks shares hold with a $58 price target. Starbucks shares are up 1% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 13.5% for the period.

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U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher on Tuesday, extending sharp gains from the previous session, as concerns about global trade policy continued to fade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points, or 0.2%, to 24,260. The S&P 500 index gained 5 points, or 0.2% to 2,663. Meanwhile the Nasdaq Composite advanced 25 points, or 0.3% to 7,244. Among the best performers on the S&P 500, Red Hat Inc.’s stock jumped after the software company posted better-than-expected quarterly results late Monday.

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Aetna Inc. will automatically pass along drug rebates to a portion its members starting in 2019, benefiting an estimated three million individuals, the company said on Tuesday. The policy, which will be applied to Aetna’s commercial fully insured plan members, follows a similar move by UnitedHealth Group Inc. earlier this month. Aetna said it had previously passed “the majority of rebates” to plan sponsors and their employees through lower premiums, but is making the change in the hope that “additional transparency will encourage [drug] companies to rationalize their prices and end the practice of annual double-digit price increases,” Chief Executive Mark Bertolini said. Drug rebates have become a focus of criticism in light of reports and research showing that health insurers and pharmacy middlemen don’t always pass those savings along to consumers, especially consumers with high-deductible health plans. Aetna shares rose 0.5% in premarket trade Tuesday. Shares have dropped 5.6% over the last three months, compared with a 0.9% decline in the S&P 500 .

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