Category: Stock Market News

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer on Wednesday requested that Republicans agree to hold separate “all-senators” closed-door briefings with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to explain the circumstances that led to the firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey. “We need to hear from this administration about what happened and why and what is going to happen next,” Schumer said. The Senate Democratic leader repeated his request for a special counsel to lead the inquiry into possible links between President Donald Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.

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Sandwich shop Pret A Manger may be hitting the public market in the U.S., according to a Bloomberg report Wednesday. Pret A Manger is currently owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint Advisers, after the firm bought it from the founders and McDonald’s Corp. . It has locations in the United Kingdom and in New York. Bridgepoint is working with advisers and mulling a potential offering, but has also been approached by bidders, Bloomberg reported.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday rejected Democrats’ calls for a special prosecutor to lead an investigation into Russia’s meddling in the presidential election, following President Donald Trump’s firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey. “Today we’ll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done,” McConnell said on the Senate floor. Trump fired Comey on Tuesday night, prompting Democrats to call for a special prosecutor.

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Shares of Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. surged 6.7% in morning trade Wednesday, after Wedbush Securities turned bullish on the wood-flooring seller on the belief that improving fundamentals have created a positive risk-versus-reward scenario for investors. Analyst Seth Basham raised his rating to outperform, after being at neutral since February 2015. He raised his stock price target to $27, which is 18% above current levels, from $22. “New CEO Dennis Knowles and his team have stabilized [Lumber Liquidators], and the company is set to grow again,” Basham wrote in a note to clients. “With comps and underlying margins improving, we expect EPS to inflect positively as LL distances itself from negative publicity, improves its assortment, enhances its Pro offering and rolls out installation services.” The stock at closed at a two-year high $24.55 on April 28, then plunged 14% on May 2 after the company reported a wider-than-expected first-quarter loss. The stock was up 47% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday traded lower, with shares of Walt Disney Inc. serving as the biggest weight on the blue-chip gauge. At the open, Disney’s shares, off 2.9%, were cutting 22 points from the Dow , down 52 points, or 0.3% at 20,922. The S&P 500 index was off 0.1% at 2,394 and Nasdaq Composite Index traded off 0.1% at 6,113. Disney’s slump comes after it reported earnings late Tuesday that missed analysts’ estimates, although the entertainment giant topped estimates for profit. U.S. equity were also under pressure in the wake of President Donald Trump’s surprise firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey late Tuesday, citing his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama.

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The Nasdaq Composite Index opened flat Wednesday, even as the other two main benchmarks saw modest declines, following President Donald Trump’s abrupt firing late Tuesday of FBI Director James Comey. The S&P 500 index slid 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,394, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 54 points, or 0.1%, to 20,926. The Nasdaq was off 2 points points, or less than 0.1%, at 6,118. Trump fired Comey late Tuesday on the advice of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Sessions’ deputy, Rod Rosenstein. Among individual stocks, shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. soared after Reuters reported that the retailer was fielding buyout interest. Fossil Group Inc. skidded following a disappointing earnings report.

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Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. slumped 2.1% toward a six-month low in premarket trade Wednesday, after the steel maker was downgraded at Cowen & Co., citing an increased risk profile given uncertainty over the earnings outlook. Analyst Novid Rassouli cut his rating to market perform, about 2 1/2 months after upgrading it to outperform. He slashed his stock price target to $21, which is just 1% above Tuesday’s closing price of $20.79, from $60. Rassouli said that when he upgraded U.S. Steel, it was predicated on an improvement for the tubular operations, but operational issues at the flat-rolled segment has forced the company to undertake “a dramatic revitalization” at one of the most profitable points in the cycle. And given the lack of earnings visibility, in the wake of disappointing first-quarter results, Rassouli said the historical multiple “should receive a full turn discount” because of the higher risk profile. The stock has plunged 37% year to date through Tuesday, while the VanEck Vectors Steel ETF has lost 3.9% and the S&P 500 has gained 7.1%.

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Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. soared 13% in premarket trade Wednesday, putting them on track to open at 5-month high, after Reuters reported the teen apparel retailer was fielding takeover interest from other retailers. The report, which cited people familiar with the situation, said Abercrombie had hired investment bank Perella Weinberg Partners to field the approaches. “We do not comment on market rumors,” Abercrombie said in an emailed statement to MarketWatch. Abercrombie has reported same-store sales declines for the past four quarters, and for at least 19 of the past 20 quarter, according to available data from FactSet. The stock has surged 19% since closing at a 17-year low in early April, to be up 5.6% year to date through Tuesday. That compares with a 0.6% decline in the SPDR S&P Retail ETF and a 7.1% gain for the S&P 500 over the same time.

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Iconix Brand Group Inc. shares soared 10.7% in Wednesday premarket trading after the company reported first-quarter sales that beat consensus and announced a deal to sell the Peanuts and Strawberry Shortcake brands. Iconix’s portfolio includes clothing and shoe brands Rampage, Mossimo, London Fog and Candie’s. Net loss was $4.3 million, or 9 cents per share, after net income of $18.6 million, or 37 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 34 cents per share, beating the 22-cent FactSet consensus. Sales were $58.7 million, down from $66.1 million and below the $89.3 million FactSet consensus. Last year’s sales included the Sharper Image brand, worth about $1.4 million in revenue, and Badgley Mischka, worth sales of $0.2 million, which were both sold in 2016. Iconix announced Wednesday that it has entered an agreement to sell the Peanuts and Strawberry Shortcake brands to DHX Media Ltd. for $435 million in cash. Peanuts was acquired in 2010 and Strawberry Shortcake in 2015 for a total cost of $246 million. Going forward, the entertainment segment will be reported as a discontinued operation. Iconix expects full-year 2017 sales in the range of $235.0 million and $245.0 million, below the $355.6 million FactSet consensus. EPS expectations were revised down to 29 cents to 44 cents from 43 cents to 58 cents, and adjusted EPS is expected to be 70 cents to 85 cents. The FactSet consensus is 80 cents. Iconix shares are down 27.4% for the last three months while the S&P 500 index is up 3.5% for the period.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday was set to open modestly lower, with stock in Walt Disney Inc. on track to be the biggest weight on the blue-chips gauge. In premarket trade, Disney’s shares were cutting nearly 20 points from the Dow , with futures for the benchmark down 32 points, or 0.2% at 20,875. Futures for the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq-100 were tipping in the red in premarket trade as well. Disney’s slump comes after it reported earnings late Tuesday that missed analysts’ estimates, although the entertainment giant topped estimates for profit. U.S. equity were also under pressure in the wake of President Donald Trump’s surprise firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey late Tuesday, citing his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails as Secretary of State under former President Barack Obama.

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