Category: Stock Market News

Exact Sciences Corp. stock surged 9.5% in premarket trade after UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it plans to cover the company’s colon cancer test starting on July 1. Exact Sciences Corp. was targeted by short-seller Citron Research earlier this month, and one of the short-seller’s allegations was that UnitedHealth Group wouldn’t ever cover the test. UnitedHealth will cover the Cologuard test on an interval of once every three years, adding about 30 million lives for the test, “another major win for EXAS, a coverage decision that comes in nearly a year before we expected,” said Canaccord Genuity analyst Mark Massaro, who maintained a buy rating and raised his price target to $40 from $38. The decision adds UnitedHealth Group to a list of health insurers covering Cologuard including Aetna , Humana , Cigna and more, Massaro said. Exact Sciences shares have skyrocketed 51.7% over the last three months, compared with a 2.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Take-Two Interactive Software has acquired Kerbal Space Program, a space simulation game, the company said Wednesday. Kerbal Space Program was created by Squad, an independent developer, and has sold more than two million units since it was released in April 2015. Take-Two did not disclose the price of the acquisition or timing around the deal. Shares of Take-Two have gained 21% in the past month, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 1.2%.

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Shares of Analog Devices, Inc. were up 7% in premarket trade Wednesday after the company beat second-quarter earning expectations. The company reported net income of $93.6 million, or 27 cents per share, down from $170.6 million, or 55 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.03, above the FactSet consensus of 85 cents. Revenue was $1.1 billion, up from $778 million in the year-earlier period and in line with the FactSet consensus of $1.1 billion. The company expects revenue between $1.34 billion and $142 billion for the third quarter on a GAAP basis. The FactSet consensus was for revenue of $1.35 billion. Shares of Analog Devices have gained 11.3% in the past month, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 1.2%.

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Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. said Wednesday that it will close 100 to 125 full-price stores over the next two years. As a result, the company expects to incur about $100 million to $125 million in one-time charges. Ultimately, the company expects annual savings of $60 million. In the fourth-quarter of 2017, the company recorded impairment charges totaling $193.8 million related to underperforming stores. Michael Kors shares are down 6.8% in Wednesday premarket trading, and shares are down 15.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 7.8% for 2017 to date.

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Vera Bradley Inc. reported a first-quarter net loss of $4.05 million, or 11 cents per share, after net income of $2.41 million, or 6 cents per share, for the same period last year. The adjusted loss was 9 cents per share, versus a FactSet consensus for a 13-cent loss. Revenue was $96.1 million, down from $105.2 million and below the FactSet consensus of $96.6 million. Same-store sales, including e-commerce, were down 12.5%, which reflects a 7.8% decline in comparable-store sales and a 22% decrease in e-commerce sales. The company maintained its guidance, forecasting second quarter revenue of $111.0 million to $115.0 million, EPS of 9 cents to 11 cents. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of 13 cents and revenue of $113.0 million. For the full-year, the company expects revenue of $460.0 million to $480.0 million and EPS of 40 cents to 50 cents. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $467.1 million and EPS of 44 cents. Vera Bradley shares are up 1.2% in Wednesday premarket trading and down 44.5% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 15.1% for the last 12 months.

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Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares rose 1.5% in premarket trade Wednesday after the Food and Drug Administration gave its drug a “breakthrough therapy” designation, which is intended to get new drugs for serious conditions developed and approved faster. The drug, givosiran, is intended to prevent life-threatening attacks with serious abdominal pain that are one of the symptoms of a family of rare diseases called acute hepatic porphyria. No treatments have been approved to prevent attacks, the company said, and other symptoms can include neuropsychiatric manifestations and possibly paralysis and death. The drug showed promising results in ongoing early-stage clinical trials, Alnylam said. Alnylam will present updated results from the phase 1 trial in late June, and now expects to start late-stage clinical trials in late 2017. Alnylam shares have risen 24.1% over the last three months, compared with a 2.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Acacia Communications Inc. said Wednesday it has identified a quality issue that is affecting some of its roughly 1,300 AC400 units and 5,000 CFP units made by one of its three contract manufacturers over a four-month period. The company develops transreceivers for optical networking applications. “The company believes the root cause of this quality issue has been identified as a circuit board cleaning process that has since been eliminated, and manufacturing at this contract manufacturer has resumed,” it said in a regulatory filing. Acacia is now working with customers to resolve the issue, and working to determine the cost of the issue and to evaluate its impact on its manufacturing capacity. Shares are down 25% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. said early Wednesday that Kate Jaspon has been named its new CFO. Jaspon started as interim CFO last month after the company’s prior CFO left for a position at a specialty retail chain. Jaspon has been at Dunkin’ Brands for 11 years and previously served as the company’s vice president, finance and treasurer. Dennis McCarthy, vice president, financial management, will become vice president, finance and treasury, reporting to Jaspon. Dunkin’ Brands shares were not active in premarket trade. Shares have risen 6% over the last three months, compared with a 2.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Eli Lilly & Co. said premarket Wednesday that its urothelial carcinoma drug met the primary endpoint in a phase 3 clinical trial. The drug, Cyramza, showed a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival, Eli Lilly said, but the company expects data on overall survival — expected in mid-2018 — will be needed for global regulatory submissions. Urothelial carcinoma involves the urothelial cells that line parts of the urinary tract, though the majority of cases are bladder cancer. Urothelial carcinoma is the ninth most common cancer globally and is typically an aggressive disease, Eli Lilly said. Eli Lilly’s late-stage clinical trial enrolled 531 patients globally. Company shares were not active in premarket trade. Shares have declined 5.4% over the last three months, compared with a 2.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. shares slid 7% premarket after the maker of high-end accessories and clothing posted a loss for its fiscal fourth quarter and said it is still being challenged by discounting and a weak market. The company said it had a loss of $26.8 million, or 17 cents a share, for its fiscal fourth quarter, after earnings of $177 million, or 98 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Earnings were weighed down by $193.8 million of non-cash impairment charges related to underperforming retail stores. Excluding those charges, the company had EPS of 73 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 70 cents. Revenue fell to $1.06 billion from $1.20 billion, but was ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.05 billion. “Fiscal 2017 was a challenging year, as we continued to operate in a difficult retail environment with elevated promotional levels,” Chief Executive John Idol said in a statement. “In addition, our product and store experience did not sufficiently engage and excite consumers.” The company is now expecting first-quarter revenue of $910 million to $930 million, and a same-store sales decline in the high-single digit range. EPS is expected to range from 60 cents to 64 cents. The current FactSet consensus is for EPS of 79 cents and revenue of $923 million. The company’s board has approved a fresh $1 billion share buyback program. Shares are down about 16% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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