Category: Stock Market News

Defense and aerospace stocks extended an early rally in premarket trade Monday, after Saudia Arabia and other Gulf states signed arms deals worth $350 billion with the U.S. over the weekend. President Donald Trump and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia signed some of the deals during Trump’s visit to Riyadh on Saturday. “The package of defense equipment and services supports the long term security of Saudi Arabia and the entire Gulf region in particular in the face of malign Iranian influence and Iranian-related threats, which exists on Saudi Arabia’s borders on all sides,” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters, The Wall Street Journal reported. Lockheed Martin Corp. shares jumped 3.1%, Raytheon Corp. climbed 3.4% and Boeing Co. was up 1.9%. General Dynamics Corp. was up 1.8% and Northrop Grumman Corp. rose 2%.

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Apple Inc. has “multiple levers” that could propel the technology giant above $1 trillion in market capitalization in the next 12 to 18 months, said RBC Capital analyst Amit Daryanani. He raised his stock price target to $168, which is 9.8% above Friday’s closing price, from $157 while reiterating his outperform rating. At Friday’s close, Apple’s market cap was $798.03 billion, according to FactSet. Among the potential upside catalysts, Daryanani sees potential for increased revenue growth and margin expansion, driven by higher average selling prices with the launch of a premium-priced iPhone 8 later this year. He said expanded share repurchases cold reduce share count by 400 million to 500 million shares, which could boost earnings per share by $1.30 to $1.35. Share count reduction could accelerate if tax policy changes leads to repatriation of profits held overseas. Apple’s stock rose 0.4% in premarket trade Monday. It has soared 32% year to date, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has climbed 14% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.3%.

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Ford Motor Co. confirmed that Chief Executive Mark Fields will retire after 28 years with the auto maker. Fields will succeeded by Jim Hackett, who was the executive chairman of Ford Smart Mobility for the past 14 months. Hackett was previously the CEO of Steelcase Inc. . Hackett will report to Executive Chairman Bill Ford. “We’re moving from a position of strength to transform Ford for the future,” said Ford. “Jim Hackett is the right CEO to lead Ford during this transformative period for the auto industry and the broader mobility space.” The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Monday that Hackett would replace Fields, amid a declining share price and pressure on profit. Ford’s stock, which rallied 1.8% in premarket trade, has dropped 10.4% year to date through Friday, while shares of rival General Motors Co. have lost 6.1% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.4%.

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Saudi Arabian oil minister Khalid al-Falih flew to Baghdad on Monday in an effort to convince Iraq to go along with a nine-month extension of oil output curbs ahead of a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries later this week, The Wall Street Journal reported. OPEC officials say Iraq has supported extending the agreement for six months instead of the nine months sought by the Saudis, according to the report. “All producers agree on the idea of extending the deal but the duration will be decided during the meeting,” OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said at a news conference Monday. Oil futures remained higher, with West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange up 65 cents, or 1.3%, at $51.32 a barrel. OPEC and major non-OPEC producers, including Russia, have been widely expected to agree to extend an agreement struck last year that cut production by 1.8 million barrels a day.

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Universal Secure Registry LLC said Monday that it filed complaints against Apple Inc. and Visa Inc. for infringing on its patents for electronic payments and identity authentication. USR seeks unspecified damages. USR’s complaint states that Chief Executive Kenneth Weiss was “the first in the space, and the secure payment technology that he developed goes right to the core of Apple Pay.” Weiss said that he had approached Apple and Visa in 2010 about a partnership utilizing his technology, and made detail presentations of his patented technology. “USR has set forth facts in the complaint which we believe will lead to discovery that will support claims of willful infringement against both Apple and Visa,” Weiss said. Apple’s stock has rallied 32% year to date through Friday, while Visa shares have climbed 19% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 5.3%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Defense and aerospace stocks rose across the board in premarket trade Monday, after Saudia Arabia and other Gulf states signed arms deals worth $350 billion with the U.S. over the weekend. President Donald Trump and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia signed some of the deals during Trump’s visit to Riyadh on Saturday. “The package of defense equipment and services supports the long term security of Saudi Arabia and the entire Gulf region in particular in the face of malign Iranian influence and Iranian-related threats, which exists on Saudi Arabia’s borders on all sides,” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters, The Wall Street Journal reported. Lockheed Martin Corp. shares jumped 3%, Raytheon Corp. climbed 2.6% and Boeing Co. was up 1.9%. General Dynamics Corp. was up 1.1% and Northrop Grumman Corp. rose 0.8%.

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Eyegate Pharmaceuticals Inc. stock surged 11% in premarket trade Monday after the company said it had received its first milestone payment from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. resulting from a February licensing deal for Eyegate’s EyeGate II Delivery System and its EGP-437 combination product. The delivery system is an alternative to eye drops and ocular injections, and EGP-437 is being developed for post-operative pain and inflammation in patients who have had ocular surgery. Valeant shares surged 1.6% in premarket trade. The companies did not specify the amount of the milestone payment or what it was paid specifically for. Under the agreement, Valeant paid Eyegate $4 million, with up to about $34 million for certain development and regulatory milestones and up to $65 million for certain sales-based milestones and royalties. Eyegate shares have plummeted 28.1% over the last three months and Valeant shares have dropped 17.3%, compared with a 0.8% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Qualcomm Inc. rallied 1.4% in premarket trade Monday, after the wireless technology and chip maker was upgraded to at J.P. Morgan, which cited improved valuation and optimism over the upcoming closure of the NXP Semiconductors NV acquisition. Analyst Rod Hall raised his rating back to overweight, after being at neutral since for the past five months, and established a $68 stock price target, which is 18% above Friday’s closing price. He said that while he expects more negative news regarding the dispute with Apple Inc. , he views the stoppage of royalty payments by Apple contract manufacturers as a major milestone. “Though volatility in the shares could remain high through the summer we see the valuation gap as too large to continue to ignore with the [NXP Semiconductors] closure approaching,” Hall wrote in a note to clients. “We advise investors to add to positions at current levels.” The stock had rallied 9.8% since closing at a 9 1/2-month low of $52.50 on April 21 through Friday, but was still down 11.6% year to date. In comparison, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has run up 17.0% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.4%.

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Germany’s central bank on Monday said President Trump’s tax plans may provide a short term boost but would likely hurt the U.S. economy and lead to a 30 percentage-point increase U.S. debt-to-gross domestic product ratio within a decade. The comments, published in the Bundesbank’s monthly report, are a rare commentary by the German central bank specifically on U.S. economic policy. They come amid tensions between Berlin and the new U.S. administration over German trade surpluses. In a rough blueprint published last month, the Trump administration pushed for cutting the corporate tax rate to 15% from 35% and reducing some income and estate taxes. The plans face a tough battle in Congress, where some lawmakers are worried about adding to large budget deficits.

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Nutraceutical International Corp. agreed Monday to be acquired by private equity firm HGGC LLC in a deal valued at $446 million, including debt. Under terms of the deal, Nutraceutical shareholders will get $41.80 in cash for each Nutraceutical share they own, representing a 49% premium to Friday’s closing price of $28.00, and 16% above the Jan. 17, 2017 record close of $36.15. The bid would give the maker and seller of branded nutritional supplements a market value of $386.7 million. Nutraceutical said it expects the deal to close in the second half of the year, but will undertake a 60-day “go shop” period to field potential other bids. “We are pleased to announce this transaction, which delivers significant value to our stockholders, many of whom have been with us since our initial IPO in 1998,” said Nutraceutical Chief Executive Bill Gay. The stock is currently halted for news, and is set to resume trade at 7:30 a.m. ET. It has tumbled 20% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News