Category: Stock Market News

Financial stocks were set up for a selloff Tuesday, amid concerns over the continued drop in Treasury yields. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF shed 0.6% in premarket trade. Among the sector tracker’s most heavily-weighted components, shares of Bank of America Corp. shed 0.8%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. lost 0.8%, Citigroup Inc. dropped 0.7%, Wells Fargo & Co. lost 0.4% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gave up 0.6%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped 0.037 percentage points to 2.147%, the lowest level seen since Nov. 11, as geopolitical jitters helped drive investors into safe haven investments. Lower long-term interest rates can reduce bank profits, as it reduces the spread between what banks earn on longer-term assets, such as loans, and the shorter-term rates they pay to fund those assets. The financial ETF has edged up 1% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.

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Burberry Group PLC was downgraded to reduce from hold at HSBC on the luxury brands top-line underperformance. HSBC cut the target price to 1,580 pence sterling (or $20.39) from 1,630 pence sterling (or $21.04). Analysts highlight the various measures that the company has taken, including a new stock buyback program and millions of pounds in cost savings. But, “all in, every shareholder-friendly initiative seems to have been looked at to enable Burberry shares to be protected in the absence of what, in our view, would be the only real solid booster: a sustainable rebound in sales growth,” the Tuesday note said. Analysts believe Burberry will underperform its competition for longer than the market expects, and both the sales and earnings performance won’t sustain the stock’s valuation. Burberry shares are down more than 3% in Tuesday trading, but up 62.6% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 15.5% for the last 12 months.

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JA Solar Holdings Co. said Tuesday it has received a non-binding takeover offer from its Chief Executive Baofang Jin, and Jinglong Group Co. Ltd., a British Virgin Islands company of which Mr. Baofang Jin is the sole director. The offer is for $6.80 in cash per American depositary share, which represents five ordinary shares, or $1.36 per ordinary share. A special committee of the board will review the offer with financial and legal advisers. “The special committee cautions the company’s shareholders and others considering trading in the company’s securities that no decision has been made by the special committee or the board with respect to the revised proposal,” the company said in a statement. JA Solar shares have gained 34% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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Shares of Francesca’s Holdings Corp. plunged 13% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the specialty apparel and accessories retailer missed fiscal first-quarter profit and sales expectations and provided a downbeat outlook. Net profit for the quarter to April 29 fell to $4.3 million, or 12 cents a share, from $7.1 million, or 18 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. That missed the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 14 cents. Sales rose 1% to $107.7 million from $106.1 million, but was below the FactSet consensus of $113.2 million, as improved sales trends in April wasn’t enough to offset soft sales in February and March. Same-store sales declined 5.0%, due primarily to a decline in boutique traffic and conversion rates, compared with the FactSet consensus for a 0.5% decline. For the second quarter, the company expects EPS of 13 cents to 18 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 28 cents. Sales are expected to be $120 million to $124 million for the current quarter, below the FactSet consensus of $126.2 million, while same-store sales guidance of down 3% to up 1% compares with the FactSet consensus of up 1.5%. The stock has plunged 33% year to date through Monday, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 6.3% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.

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G-III Apparel Inc. shares jumped 28% premarket, after the owner of brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter and raised guidance for the full year. G-III said it had a net loss of $10.4 million, or 21 cents a share, for the quarter, after earnings of $2.8 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges related to the acquisition of Donna Karan, the company had a loss of 18 cents a share, compared with a Factset consensus for a loss per share of 40 cents. Sales rose 16% to $529 million, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $498 million. The company said the Donna Karan business has reached an inflection point and is expected to turn profitable in the second half. “We are reducing operating costs in our retail business, closing and repurposing stores and enhancing our store product offerings, all which are intended to help us significantly reduce the losses in our retail operations,” Chief Executive Morris Goldfarb said in a statement. The company said it now expects full-year sales of about $2.76 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.20 to $1.30. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $1.01 and sales of $2.72 billion. Shares have fallen 32% in 2017 through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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Albany Molecular Research Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to be acquired by private-equity firms The Carlyle Group and GTCR LLC for $21.75 a share in cash, equal to a 42% premium over its 60-day weighted average closing stock price. The deal has been approved by AMRI’s board and must now be approved by shareholders. The deal will be financed with a mixture of debt and equity financing, the sponsors said. AMRI shares were halted in premarket trade for the news, but have gained 5% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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G-III Apparel Inc. shares jumped 10% premarket, after the owner of brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter and raised guidance for the full year. G-III said it had a net loss of $10.4 million, or 21 cents a share, for the quarter, after earnings of $2.8 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges related to the acquisition of Donna Karan, the company had a loss of 18 cents a share, compared with a Factset consensus for a loss per share of 40 cents. Sales rose 16% to $529 million, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $498 million. The company said the Donna Karan business has reached an inflection point and is expected to turn profitable in the second half. “We are reducing operating costs in our retail business, closing and repurposing stores and enhancing our store product offerings, all which are intended to help us significantly reduce the losses in our retail operations,” Chief Executive Morris Goldfarb said in a statement. The company said it now expects full-year sales of about $2.76 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.20 to $1.30. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $1.01 and sales of $2.72 billion. Shares have fallen 32% in 2017 through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

G-III Apparel Inc. shares jumped 10% premarket, after the owner of brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Donna Karan posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the first quarter and raised guidance for the full year. G-III said it had a net loss of $10.4 million, or 21 cents a share, for the quarter, after earnings of $2.8 million, or 6 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges related to the acquisition of Donna Karan, the company had a loss of 18 cents a share, compared with a Factset consensus for a loss per share of 40 cents. Sales rose 16% to $529 million, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $498 million. The company said the Donna Karan business has reached an inflection point and is expected to turn profitable in the second half. “We are reducing operating costs in our retail business, closing and repurposing stores and enhancing our store product offerings, all which are intended to help us significantly reduce the losses in our retail operations,” Chief Executive Morris Goldfarb said in a statement. The company said it now expects full-year sales of about $2.76 billion and adjusted EPS of $1.20 to $1.30. The FactSet consensus is for full-year EPS of $1.01 and sales of $2.72 billion. Shares have fallen 32% in 2017 through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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A contractor was arrested for allegedly sending classified material to a news outlet, the Justice Department said Monday. Reality Leigh Winner, a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation assigned to a U.S. government agency facility in Georgia, was accused of removing classified defense material on or about May 9 and sending it to an online news outlet. The Intercept, separately, said it received a classified intelligence document dated May 5 that Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local officials. Neither the Justice Department nor the Intercept said the two cases are connected.

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Thor Industries Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Monday after the recreation-vehicle maker topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. Thor shares surged 12% to $105.85 after hours. The company reported third-quarter earnings of $2.11 a share on revenue of $2.02 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.86 a share on revenue of $1.96 billion.

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