Category: Stock Market News

Shares of high-end hotel and casino operator Wynn Resorts Ltd. slumped 2% Monday, after the latest gaming revenue numbers from Macau fell short of expectations. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau of Macao said June revenue rose 26% at the Chinese enclave, home of Wynn’s most expensive property, the Wynn Palace, opened in 2016 to much fanfare. Instinet analyst Harry Curtis said that was well below the low end of his 30% to 35% estimate. The 22% gain for the second quarter was also below his 24% estimate, as gross gaming revenue fell sharply at the end of June, which the analyst attributed to tensions surrounding China’s President Xi Jinping’s visit to Macau’s neighbor Hong Kong. “While it’s too early to determine what, if any, impact the KYC and AML regulations are having on mass and VIP GGR, respectively, this issue will gain increased focus by investors given the June GGR shortfall,” he wrote in a note, referring to Know Your Customer anti-money laundering rules. “That said, our view is that Xi’s visit (and not KYC/AML regulations) explains most of the end-of-month deceleration.” Macau had struggled through several years of declining revenue, after a Chinese government crackdown on corruption that spooked some of the high-rollers that had flocked to its casinos from the mainland. Gaming revenue has Wynn shares have gained 52% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.9%.

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Shares of Walt Disney Co. climbed 1.7% Monday, after the New York Post said a rumor circulated last week that Verizon Communications Inc. is eyeing a purchase of Disney. The paper cited an unnamed well-placed banker as saying not to count Verizon out. Verizon has just completed its acquisition of Yahoo Inc., and its rival AT&T Inc. is in the midst of a deal for Time Warner Inc. . Verizon shares were flat in early trade, but have fallen 16% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.

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U.S. stocks opened firmly higher Monday, putting the main benchmarks on track to climb to start July, the third quarter, and the first half’s first trading day. The U.S. stock market is slated to wrap at 1 p.m. Eastern and the bond market is slated to close an hour later in observance of the July 4 holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial rose 0.4% at 21,431, the S&P 500 index advanced at 0.4% at 2,434, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5% at 6,174. The shortened holiday sessions is expected to result in lower-than-average trading volume, but the day won’t be absent key economic reports. At 10 a.m. Eastern, an ISM manufacturing piece is due., with economists polled by MarketWatch expecting a reading of 55.5% for the key manufacturing gauge. A May report on construction spending also is due to arrive at that hour, with growth of 0.3% anticipated. June data on vehicle sales will be posted throughout the session. In corporate news, shares of Tesla Inc. were trading higher after CEO Elon Musk said production for its Model 3 electric car should start this Friday. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was at 2.30% and crude-oil futures were firmly higher, up 0.9% in early trade.

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NCI Inc. , which offer IT services to federal government agencies, said Monday it has agreed to be acquired by funds managed by a unit of private-equity firm H.I.G. Capital for about $283 million in cash. Under the terms of the deal, H.I.G. will commence a tender offer no later than July 17 to acquire all outstanding shares for $20 a share in cash. The board has approved the deal, including chairman Charles Narang, a shareholder of the company. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. NCI shares were halted for the news, but have gained 51% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Iconix Brand Group Inc. , owner of brands including Candie’s, Joe Boxer, and Mudd among others, said Monday it has reduced its debt by $362 million after completing the sale of its entertainment business for $345 million in cash. The sale included the company’s 80% interest in the Peanuts brand and 100% stake in the Strawberry Shortcake brand. The company used the proceeds of the deal plus cash on hand to pay off the $210 million outstanding balance of its senior secured term loan and mandatory payment of about $152 million of senior secured notes issued under its securitization facility. Iconix now has debt of about $828 million. “In a little more than one year, we have reduced our debt by over $650 million and improved our leverage by approximately two turns,” Chief Executive John Haugh said in a statement. Shares were not yet active premarket, but are down 26% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Watsco Inc. said Monday it’s board has approved an increase in its annual dividend rate to $5 a share, or $1.25 a share per quarter. The maker of air conditioning and heating systems said the new quarterly payment will be made July 31 to shareholders of record as of July 17. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 4% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Bankrate , an online publisher of personal finance content, said Monday that it has entered a deal with Red Ventures to be acquired in an all-cash deal values Bankrate at an enterprise value of about $1.4 billion. Red Ventures is a data company that connects financial services, home services and healthcare businesses to consumers. Bankrate shareholders will receive $14 per share, about 31% above Bankrate’s average closing share price for the past three months. The transaction is expected to close in 2017. Bankrate is up 66% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 15.2% for the period.

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AK Steel Holding Corp. said Monday it has agreed to acquire Precision Partners Holding Co. for $360 million in cash. Precision Partners is based in Ontario and offers engineering, tooling, die design and hot and cold stamped steel parts. AK Steel said the deal will expand the company’s presence in the high-growth automotive market as well as in advanced high strength steels. “Precision Partners has a highly experienced leadership team and is an innovator in the markets they serve,” AK Steel Chief Executive Roger Newport said in a statement. AK Steel will finance the deal with debt and equity and expects it to close in the third quarter. AK Steel shares were not yet active premarket, but are down 36% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Tesla Inc.’s [s:tsla] Model 3 electric car should begin production on Friday, the company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, said Monday. In a series of posts to Twitter, Musk said the $35,000 vehicle has “passed all regulatory requirements for production two weeks ahead of schedule,” and that 30 cars should go to owners by July 28. In August, the production total should be 100, rising to 1,500 in September. Musk said he expects the production rate to be 20,000 per month by December. The Model 3 is part of Musk’s strategy to boost production next year to 500,000 from about 84,000 last year.

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SpaceX scrubbed a planned rocket launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Sunday, with just 9 seconds remaining on the countdown. The Southern California company, founded and run by Elon Musk, said a computer triggered the order to abort, but did not immediately give the reason. The next launch window is for Monday evening. The Falcon 9 rocket was supposed to have launched a communications satellite into orbit. Unlike recent launches, the rocket will not land and be reused after it blasts off, since the heavier payload will require it to use all its fuel for the launch itself.

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