Category: Stock Market News

Technology stocks suddenly dropped around noon Eastern time on Friday, sending the Nasdaq composite index down nearly 1% in less than an hour. Popular tech stocks including Apple Inc. , Facebook Inc. , Alphabet Inc. , Netflix Inc. , Salesforce.com Inc. , Microsoft Corp. and Twitter Inc. suffered swings at roughly the same time, pushing all those stocks down more than 1.5% for the session by 1 p.m. The SPDR Technology Select Sector exchange-traded fund also dropped by about 1% between noon and 1 p.m., showing a broad and sudden decline for technology stocks.

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Nvidia Corp. stock turned lower in Friday’s session after short-seller Citron Research predicted shares would drop to $130 and advised investors to target Alphabet Inc. instead. Nvidia jumped to record prices earlier Friday after price target increases, but Citron’s note suggests that the raised targets could be “an example of analysts chasing stock price.” In particular, Citron targets Citi’s Street-high price target of $180 that was established Thursday, calling it “irresponsibly bullish.” Citron also targeted Nvidia at the end of last year, predicting shares would fall to $90 while they were trading near $120. The stock did drop to almost $95 a share earlier this year, but spiked in May after quarterly earnings showed big gains for the company’s server business and led to loud praise from investment analysts for Nvidia’s artificial-intelligence advances. In midday trading, Nvidia shares were selling for about $155, a daily decline of about 3%.

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The CBOE Volatility Index fell on Friday, dropping to its lowest level in over two decades as stocks traded at records despite the failure of U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party to maintain a majority in parliament. The VIX, the so-called fear gauge, slid 6.5% to 9.50. The last time it was that low was Dec. 22, 1993 when it closed at 9.31, according to FactSet. Major U.S. indexes earlier hit intraday highs with the S&P 500 up 12 points, or 0.5%, to 2,445, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 115 points, or 0.6%, to 21,298. The Nasdaq added 14 points, or 0.2%, to 6,336. “The result wasn’t a complete shock. Bookmakers’ odds pointed to a 15%-20% chance of a hung parliament ahead of polling day compared to virtually zero when the election was called,” said John Higgins, chief markets economist at Capital Economics, in a note.

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Shares of Citigroup Inc. shot up 2.1% in morning trade Friday to an 8 1/2-year high, after the moneycenter bank was upgraded at UBS on the belief that the previous bearish case had become less likely. Analyst Saul Martinez raised his rating to neutral from sell, and lifted his stock price target to $64–1% below current levels–from $58. Martinez said his bearish case was based on Citi having less leverage than its peers to the potential positives of lower corporate taxes, faster economic growth and higher interest rates, and greater exposure to potential downside from protectionist policies and other geopolitical risks. Only 43.1% of Citi’s revenue over the last 12 months came from the U.S., according to the a FactSet analysis, compared with 77.1% for J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and 86.5% for Bank of America Corp. . “This argument is harder to make today,” Martinez wrote in a note to clients. “Global growth looks resilient, starkly protectionist policies have not emerged, and importantly, the path forward for structural reforms in the U.S. is not as clear.” The stock, which was on course for the highest close since Jan. 9, 2009, has gained 8.6% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF has tacked on 0.9% the S&P 500 has gained 9.2%.

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Shares of Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. shot up 10% in active morning trade Friday, amid expectations that the pain treatment maker will get a big boost from rival Endo International PLC’s misfortune. Late Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration asked Endo to “voluntarily” stop selling its opioid pain medication Opana ER, citing concerns that the drug’s benefits may not outweigh the risks, as opioid abuse has reached “crisis” levels. That sent Endo’s stock plunging 15%. Janney analyst Ken Trbovich said the removal of Opana ER means the near-500,000 prescriptions filled for the drug in the past year will be transferred to other products like Collegium’s Xtampsa. “This provides meaningful potential upside to [Collegium’s stock] and it should also help [Collegium’s] messaging about Xtampza’s superior abuse deterrent features because it highlights the unique nature of each product in the market,” Trbovich wrote in a note to clients. Collegium’s stock has shed 29.4% year to date, while Endo shares have slumped 28.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.2%.

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Banks shares are on track to log their best weekly gains since the week President Donald Trump was voted into the White House. Popular funds that track the financial sector, including the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF , the SPDR S&P Bank ETF , and the regionally focused SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF are all on pace to post their best weekly percentage gains since Nov. 11, according to FactSet data. Weekly gains for the XLF were more than 3%, while the other ETFs were on pace to show a gain of more than 5% over the past five trading sessions. Banks had been among the best performers in the wake of Trump’s victory, which Wall Street welcomed with his pledge of deregulated markets, tax cuts and a plan to spend some $1 trillion on improving roadways, tunnels and bridges. However, financials had pulled back as Trump’s pro-Wall Street agenda looked stalled by White House drama centered on Russia’s ties with members of Trump’s administration and his firing of ex-FBI Director James Comey, who was investigating those relationships. This week, however, banks have gotten a bid partially on the back of expectations that the Federal Reserve will lift interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on June 14. A slight reflation of benchmark Treasury yields [BX:TMUBMUSD10Y], which are still at very low levels, also has helped to stoke some hope that financials may see improved profitability, with higher rates viewed as supportive to their business models. Also on Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a bill to roll back so-called Dodd-Frank rules, intended to rein in bank activities after the 2008-’09 financial crisis. In Friday trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was being led higher by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , boasting its best week since the week ended Nov. 11, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. , which were contributing near 40 points to the price-weighted blue-chip gauge. Banks were the best performer in the S&P 500 index , up 1.4%. Helping both indexes trade in record territory. Dick Bove, prominent bank analyst at Rafferty Capital, said investors should approach the bank rally with caution because he sees few signs that economic activity is picking up sufficiently to justify buying banks. “People believe there’s going to be a surge in economic activity and that is going to increase bank earnings, but I don’t see that happening yet,” he said.

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Nvidia Corp. stock, which closed at a record high Thursday, jumped more than 5% in Friday’s session after another price target increase. Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland boosted his target on Nvidia stock from $110 to $140 after finding that the average selling prices for Nvidia’s graphics-processing units increased in the second quarter, which “can help reinvigorate growth in their largest end markets,” he wrote. Nvidia gained more than 7% on Thursday after Citi raised its price target on the stock to a Street-high $180. The average price target on Nvidia — $127.27, according to FactSet — trails the going price by more than 30%, though a slight majority of analysts who follow the company rate the stock the equivalent of a buy. Nvidia jumped to an intraday record of $168.50 early in Friday’s session, 5.4% higher than Thursday’s close.

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Pandora Media Inc. announced Friday a $200 million deal to sell its Ticketfly business to Eventbrite, which includes $150 million in cash and a $50 million note payable to Pandora. The announcement comes after Sirius XM Holdings Inc. announced a deal to make a $480 million investment in Pandora, through the purchase of Series A preferred stock. Pandora said it expects the Ticketfly deal to close in the third-quarter of 2017. Separately, Pandora affirmed its second-quarter revenue outlook of $360 million to $375 million and its 2017 outlook of $1.50 billion to $1.65 billion. “Pandora is now poised to advance to the next stage of the company’s lifecycle,” said Pandora Director Tim Leiweke. “We are pleased that the conclusion of our strategic review resulted in a major investment by a world class company like SiriusXM, and with the sale of Ticketfly, we will now redouble our focus on execution supported by a strong balance sheet.” The stock surged 3.9% in morning trade, but has tumbled 33% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Nasdaq Composite traded in record territory after modest opening gains as investors shifted their focus to the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting next week. The main indexes were on track to finish the week roughly where they started as geopolitical events this week kept investors mostly on the sidelines. The S&P 500 opened 4 points, or 0.2%, higher at 2,438, a few points below its all-time high set last week. The Nasdaq Composite was up 10 points, or 0.2%, to 6,332 at the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session up 42 points, or 0.2%, at 21,225, trading above its previous record close set last week. Nvidia Corp. [s:NVDA] was among the top performers in early trade and traded in record territory on the back of a price target upgrade by Citi, to $180.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Pandora Media Inc. ran up 2.6% in premarket trade Friday, after Sirius XM Holdings Inc. said it will make a $480 million cash investment in the internet radio and music streaming company. Sirius’s stock edged up 0.6% ahead of the open. Under terms of the deal, Sirius had bought $172.5 million of Series A preferred stock, and will buy the balance of the Series A preferred stock at a second closing. The Series A shares purchased will represent a stake of 19% of the Pandora’s common shares outstanding. The preferred stock will be convertible to common stock at $10.50 a share, which is 25% above Thursday’s closing price of $8.42. As part of the deal, Pandora will terminate the $150 million investment agreement with Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts, and will pay KKR a termination fee of $22.5 million. Pandora’s stock has plunged 35.4% year to date through Thursday, while Sirius shares have run up 21.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.

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From:: Stock Market News