Category: Stock Market News

The J.M. Smucker Co. said Tuesday that it has signed an agreement with Conagra Brands Inc. to acquire the century-old Wesson oil brand for about $285 million excluding an expected tax benefit of about $45 million. The all-cash transaction will be funded primarily with debt. Smucker expects annual net sales of $230 million and additional adjusted earnings of 10 cents per share in the first full year after closing. Annual cost synergies of about $20 million should be realized within two years after closing. Conagra will continue to manufacture Wesson brand products and provide other services for up to a year following the close of the transaction, at which point Smucker expects to consolidate Wesson production into its existing oil manufacturing facility in Cincinnati. Smucker shares are down 0.5% in Tuesday trading, and down 10% for the last three months. Conagra shares are down 1.3% in Tuesday trading, and down 6.5% for the past three months. The S&P 500 index is up 2% for the last three months.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, with the main indexes retreating from record levels set last week. The moves for equity benchmarks come as a pair of economic reports came in stronger than expected, including housing and inflation. The S&P 500 opened 5 points, or 0.2%, lower at 2,410. A drop in oil prices put pressure on the energy sector. Energy companies such as Noble Energy, Inc and Kinder Morgan Inc were among the worst performers in early trade, falling more than 2%. The Nasdaq Composite was down 7 points, or 0.1%, to 6,202 at the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session down 45 points, or 0.2%, at 21,032.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. was downgraded to underperform from neutral at Wedbush based on the belief that the upcoming proxy vote is a “lose-lose” for shareholders. Wedbush cut the price target to $115 from $150. “We view the outcome… as irrelevant given our view that neither alternative offers a viable solution to the company’s ongoing deterioration in fundamentals,” the Tuesday note said. Analysts believe same-store sales growth from management’s strategy will be driven by promotions, which will hurt the average check size and drive margin deleverage. And there is additional risk to earnings guidance because the expected seasonal decline of wing costs won’t happen. And analysts believe the alternative proposed by activist investors Marcato Capital Management, which includes refranchising, “makes less sense given recent fundamental deterioration.” Marcato, which owns about 9.9% of Buffalo Wild Wings shares, issued an open letter to shareholders on Tuesday urging shareholders to vote for its director nominees and laying out its plan for the company, which includes a transition to a 90% franchised model. Buffalo Wild Wings’ Chief Executive Sally Smith issued her own letter on Tuesday highlighting the positive same-store sales the company posted in the first quarter of 2017 and the changes the company is making to drive growth. “It is critical that we maintain institutional knowledge and memory on the board and it would be unwise, in my view, to jostle the careful balance we have achieved between fresh perspective and intimate knowledge of our operating model, company history and culture,” Smith’s letter said. Buffalo Wild Wings’ annual meeting will take place on Friday. The company’s shares are down 2.2% in Tuesday premarket trading, and down 2.2% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 8% for 2017 to date.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Exelon Corp. said Tuesday it will prematurely retire its Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on or around Sept. 30, 2019, absent needed policy reforms. The company said it has started informing key stakeholders, including the PJM, a regional transmission organization. The company will book charges of $65 million to $110 million in 2017 and accelerate about $1 billion to $1.1 billion in depreciation and amortization charges through the announced shutdown date. Exelon has further terminated capital investment projects for the plant and is canceling 2019 fuel purchases and outage planning that will impact roughly 1,500 outage workers. “Absent policy reforms, the loss of Pennsylvania nuclear plants would increase air pollution, compromise the resiliency of the electric grid, raise energy prices for consumers, eliminate thousands of good-paying local jobs and weaken the state’s economy,” the company said in a statement. The Three Mile Island plant has 675 full-time workers and about another 1,500 contract workers. Exelon shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but had gained 0.9% in 2017 through Friday, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Zynga Inc. climbed 2.3% in premarket trade Tuesday after the stock was upgraded to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray. Though the analysts still see mobile games companies as high risk, they say Zynga’s attention to live services and the company’s focus on cost containment, meaning maintaining existing games, rather than depending on producing new “mega-hits,” lower the risk of the investment. Additionally, the analysts say they have confidence in the company’s management team, most of whom came from Electronic Arts Inc. . The analysts see the executives following the same strategy as Electronic Arts, which they say was successfully able to turn its business around. The analysts increased their price target to $4 from $3. Shares of Zynga have gained 21% month-to-date, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 1.3%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said late on Monday it is partnering with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), X-Games and concert and live entertainment company Live Nation for virtual reality broadcasts of live events through its VR Live Pass on the Gear VR headset. Samsung will stream select live events in virtual reality. The VR Live Pass will be available via the Samsung VR app in early June, according to a news release. Virtual reality has been heralded for years as the future of content engagement. Major League Baseball recently announced a new virtual reality experience for games as well. Shares of Samsung have gained nearly 24% in the year to date.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Xactly Corp. shares jumped 16.0% in pre-market trade Tuesday on news that the company will be acquired by the private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners. Vista Equity Partners affiliates will acquire all outstanding shares of Xactly stock for about $564 million, with the transaction expected to close in the third quarter. Shareholders will receive $15.65 in cash per share, compared with a share price of $13.40 as of Friday’s close. Vista Equity Partners, which focuses on investing in software, data and technology-enabled businesses, said that Xactly’s “market leadership in cloud incentive compensation solutions makes it an ideal addition to the Vista family of companies,” according to Co-Founder and President Brian Sheth. Xactly shares have risen 8.1% over the last three months, compared with a 2.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Ensco PLC shares surged 3% in pre-market trade Tuesday after the company said that it plans to buy Atwood Oceanics Inc. in an all-stock deal, with the combined company valued at $6.9 billion. Atwood Oceanics shares skyrocketed 25% in pre-market trade. Under the deal, which could close as soon as the third quarter, Atwood shareholders will receive 1.6 shares of Ensco, valued at $10.72 per Atwood share. Both companies are offshore drillers, and the deal will “strengthen Ensco’s position as the leading offshore driller with exposure to deep- and shallow-water markets that span six continents,” Ensco said. Ensco expects annual expense savings of $65 million in full year 2019 and beyond, and 2018 cost synergies are expected to be more than $45 million. Ensco shares have plummeted 31.2% over the last three months, and Atwood Oceanics shares have dropped 23.1%, compared with a 2.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. fell 1.6% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company was downgraded to market perform from outperform at Raymond James. The analysts say they are just “tapping the brakes,” as Blackberry shares have gained 42% since the analysts had upgraded Blackberry in August 2016 and now they see “limited return to target.” On Friday, Blackberry announced that it would receive $940 million from Qualcomm as part of an arbitration settlement, which the analysts believe Blackberry can use in acquisitions to accelerate its goal of $1 billion in software revenue. The analysts raised their price target to $11 from $9 partly based on the money award. Shares of Blackberry have gained 61% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 2.2%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Xactly Corp. shares were halted in pre-market trade Tuesday for news that the company will be acquired by the private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners. Vista Equity Partners affiliates will acquire all outstanding shares of Xactly stock for about $564 million, with the transaction expected to close in the third quarter. Shareholders will receive $15.65 in cash per share, compared with a share price of $13.40 as of Friday’s close. Vista Equity Partners, which focuses on investing in software, data and technology-enabled businesses, said that Xactly’s “market leadership in cloud incentive compensation solutions makes it an ideal addition to the Vista family of companies,” according to Co-Founder and President Brian Sheth. Xactly shares have risen 8.1% over the last three months, compared with a 2.2% rise in the S&P 500 .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News