Category: Stock Market News

Swiss chocolate and snacks giant Nestle S.A. said Tuesday it will buy back up to 20 billion Swiss francs–the equivalent of about $20.78 billion–worth of its common stock starting July 4, 2017 through the end of June 2020. The buyback announcement follows the initiation of a review of the company’s capital structure and priorities to support its “value creation model,” which includes the recent announcement that it was exploring alternatives for its U.S. confectionery business. The company said if any “sizeable” acquisitions are made, the buyback program will be changed accordingly. The stock’s U.S.-listed shares were up 1% in midday trade, while the Swiss-based shares closed down 1.6%. Nestle’s U.S.-listed shares have run up 24% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.9%.

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Shares of Potlatch Corp. dropped 1.7% in morning trade Tuesday, after the real estate investment trust which owns timberlands was downgraded at Raymond James, which cited valuation in the wake of underwhelming regulatory announcement regarding tariffs on Canadian lumber. Analyst Colin Mings cut his rating to market perform from outperform and removed his stock price target. The stock closed Monday at a four-year high of $48.20, above Mings’ previous price target of $48. Late Monday, the Commerce Department announced it was considering additional fees on Canadian lumber imports that would mean some products could face duties as high as 30.88%. The announcement comes two months after the Trump administration moved to impose a 20% tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber. Mings said that while protectionist trade policies are a positive for the timber REIT sector, the preliminary duty rates were within expectations. “However, there was no upside surprise in yesterday’s announcement relative to our forecast, and we believe the preliminary finding will underwhelm some investors expecting a more aggressive stance on the issue,” Mings wrote in a note to clients. July lumber futures tumbled 1.8%. Among other timber REITs, shares of CatchMark Timber Trust Inc. slipped 0.3%, Deltic Timber Corp. lost 0.7% and Rayonier Inc. edged up 0.1%. Potlatch’s stock has climbed 14% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.

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Alder BioPharmaceuticals Inc. stock dropped 19.5% in extremely heavy morning trade Tuesday after the company released positive results for its late-stage migraine prevention drug. The drug, eptinezumab, met the primary and key secondary endpoints in a phase 3 trial, and the company plans to file with the Food and Drug Administration for approval in the second half of next year. Patients on eptinezumab had on average 4.3 fewer monthly migraine days on a higher dose of the drug and 3.9 fewer days on a lower dose, compared with 3.2 fewer days on average for patients on the placebo. However, investors noted that while the drug showed a statistically significant reduction in migraine days, the results did not appear much better than those for the placebo. Moreover, Alder — a clinical-stage biotech company — faces some stiff competition from Amgen Inc. , Eli Lilly & Co. and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Co. , large pharmaceutical companies developing other migraine prevention drugs, all of whom have either already filed for approval or have plans to do so this year. Alder shares have dropped 29.9% over the last three months to $15.10, compared with a 4.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Pandora Media Inc. fell nearly 2% after the market opened on Tuesday following news that Founder and Chief Executive Tim Westergren is officially stepping down. Westergren will also no longer sit on the company’s board. Reports over the weekend had said Westergren was expected to exit the company. The internet radio company said the board of directors will begin the search for a new CEO immediately. Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra will serve as CEO in the interim. Pandora said it will fill Westergren’s seat on the board with Jason Hirschhorn. “Tim stepped in to be CEO at a critical time for the company and was quickly able to reset relations with the major labels, launch our on-demand service, reconstitute the management team and refortify our balance sheet by securing an investment from Sirius XM,” said board member Tim Leiweke. Pandora recently secured a $480 million investment from Liberty Media Corp.-owned satellite radio company Sirius XM Holdings Inc. , while also selling its Ticketfly business to Eventbrite for $200 million. Pandora has been struggling to compete with other on-demand music streaming services, like Apple Inc.’s Apple Music and Spotify. Its recent moves give it the cash necessary to move forward with its new subscription-based on demand service, but some analysts believe that might not be best opportunity for Pandora. Shares of Pandora are down more than 36% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 9%.

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U.S. stocks opened modestly lower on Tuesday, as a renewed selling of technology shares weighed on the main indexes. Investors were also cautious ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen this afternoon, hoping for any clues about the timing of the next interest rate increase. The Nasdaq Composite was down 30 points, or 0.5%, to 6,215. The S&P 500 declined 4 points, or 0.2%, to 2,434. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session slightly lower, down 17 points, or less than 0.1%, at 21,396. Among biggest decliners, Alphabet Inc , parent of Google, was down more than 1% shortly after the opening bell.

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Pandora Media Inc. said on Tuesday that Founder and Chief Executive Tim Westergren is officially stepping down. Westergren will also no longer sit on the company’s board. Pandora shares were up more than 2% following the news. Reports over the weekend had said Westergren was expected to exit the company. The internet radio company said the board of directors will begin the search for a new CEO immediately. Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra will serve as CEO in the interim. Pandora said it will fill Westergren’s seat on the board with Jason Hirschhorn. Shares of Pandora are down more than 35% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 9%.

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Visa Inc. announced Tuesday an agreement to invest in Europe-based online payments company Klarna, and plans to develop a future strategic partnership, to accelerate online and mobile commerce in Europe. Details of the investment were not disclosed. Klarna serves 60 million consumers and 70,000 retailers. “Klarna has demonstrated an expertise in consumer credit and online purchasing and together, we share a vision for how today’s online and mobile commerce experiences can be as simple as they are in the real world,” said Visa EVP Jim McCarthy. Visa’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 22% year to date through Monday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 8.3%.

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Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd. shares plummeted 92.3% to 5 cents per share in Tuesday trade after the company said its mid-stage clinical trial for a multiple sclerosis drug “did not show clinically meaningful or statistically significant differences in measures of neuromuscular function or patient reported outcomes.” The drug, MIS416, was the company’s lead drug candidate, and the company said it is evaluating its next steps. The small Australian biotech company has boasted several members of Congress among its investors, including Rep. Chris Collins, who is its largest stockholder and sits on the company’s board. Until he took office, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was also a stockholder. Company shares have dropped 92.7% over the last three months, compared with a 4.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

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The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday said there were “larger than usual” risks to the U.S. economy, given policy uncertainties. In its so-called Article IV consultation which it does with every member state, the IMF largely backed the Trump administration’s plans to reform individual and corporate taxes, although the IMF also recommended a consumption tax. The IMF did add that even with an “ideal constellation of pro-growth policies,” the Trump administration’s forecast that it would boost GDP by 1 percentage point is “unlikely.” The IMF said the U.S. dollar is moderately overvalued, by 10% to 20%, and said the Federal Reserve should continue to gradually increase interest rates and unwind the balance sheet. It projected GDP growth of 2.1% in 2017 and 2018, 1.9% growth in 2019 and 1.8% growth in 2020.

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Shares of Impinj Inc. slumped 4.8% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company, which makes retail ID tags and uses high-frequency waves to deliver information about the tagged items, was downgraded at Pacific Crest primarily because of valuation concerns. The stock has more than doubled the past three months to a record close Monday, and has more than tripled since its first-day of trade on July 21, 2016. In comparison, the S&P 500 is up 4.2% over the past three months. Pacific Crest analyst Brad Erickson cut his rating to sector weight, after being at overweight since he started covering the company on Aug. 15, 2016. He said that while recent conversations with management leads him to believe the pipeline of potential customers “is as strong as ever,” but the risk-versus-reward profile for the stock is “no long favorable” after the recent price gains. “If the party gets much louder, someone may call the cops; downgrading to sector weight,” Erickson wrote in a note to clients.

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