Category: Stock Market News

The U.S. stock market opened slightly higher, with the Nasdaq Composite setting a fresh intraday high shortly after the opening bell. Gains were modest, however, as investors refrained from big bets ahead of earnings from Apple Inc. and the start of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. Apple is scheduled to report earnings after the market close. The S&P 500 rose 3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,392. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 7 points, or 0.1%, to 6,102 at the open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average began the session up 39 points, or 0.2%, at 20,953.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. said Tuesday that it launched a customized Bachelor’s degree in business for its workers. The degree, available through Bellevue University, a private, non-profit university, includes study that will accelerate career growth within Chipotle, and is open exclusively to the company’s employees. The program is designed around a Chipotle worker’s schedule. When combined with credits earned through the company’s internal training, students can earn a degree in 18 months. The degree is one of 30 offered through Chipotle’s education assistance program. Students who enroll in the new business program are eligible for up to $5,250 in tuition aid from Chipotle and other benefits, including a personal success coach who can help with financial aid. Chipotle shares are down 0.4% in Tuesday premarket trading and up 26.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 6.7% for 2017 to date.

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Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. activist investor Marcato Capital Management said in a letter to shareholders that voting to add its recommendations to the board could lift the stock to over $400 by 2021. That would be about 2 1/2-times Monday’s closing price of $159.20. Marcato, which owns 6.1% of the casual dining chain’s outstanding shares, urged shareholders to “hold the board and management accountable for unacceptable, persistent underperformance” of the stock. “We invested in Buffalo Wild Wings…because we believed that the shares were significantly undervalued with the potential to increase meaningfully over a multi-year investment horizon,” the letter said. “After BWLD’s management team and board repeatedly refused to engage in productive discussions with us regarding these opportunities, the company–once again–delivered disappointing financial results for the first quarter of 2017.” Through Monday, the stock has shed 2% since the company reported first-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations. The stock has gained 3.1% year to date, while the SPDR Consumer Discretionary Select Sector ETF has rallied 11% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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In a pair of tweets, President Donald Trump lamented the blocking ability of Democrats in the Senate as he called for a government shutdown in September. “The reason for the plan negotiated between the Republicans and Democrats is that we need 60 votes in the Senate which are not there! We either elect more Republican Senators in 2018 or change the rules now to 51%. Our country needs a good “shutdown” in September to fix mess!” The government’s fiscal year ends in September, as Congress is expected to vote Wednesday to keep the government open by voting for a spending bill.

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YayYo, Inc., an app that provides metasearch applications for ridesharing services, said Tuesday that it had qualified its Regulation A+ offering at $8 a share to raise proceeds of $50 million. Under Regulation A+ offerings, known as a “mini-IPO,” private companies can raise up to $50 million from the general public, not just accredited investors. The company says it provides a “Kayak-style” metasearch service and allows consumers to compare prices across different ridesharing services. YayYo started in June and the founder Ramy El-Batrawi said he anticipates the app launching in the next few months.

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The Czech Republic’s government will resign, reports said Tuesday, with the move stemming from a rift between Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka and his finance minister, who’s been surrounded by questions about his financial dealings. Sobotka, head of the Social Democratic Party, announced the move and said he will hand the resignation motion to Czech President Milos Zeman this week. Finance Minister and billionaire Andrej Babis has faced questions from Sobotka and other government officials about his income and possible tax avoidance. The resignation would come ahead of parliamentary elections in October and Babis’s centrist ANO party is holding a lead over Sobotka’s party in polls, reports said. The dollar was up fractionally against the Czech currency, buying 24.641 koruna, after the resignation news.

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HCA Holdings Inc. reported a first-quarter revenue miss early Tuesday. Earnings for the latest quarter declined to $659 million, or $1.74 per share, from $694 million, or $1.69 per share in the year-earlier period. EPS included 2 cents per diluted share in legal claim costs, the company said, compared with the FactSet consensus of $1.76 per share. Revenue rose to $10.62 billion from $10.26 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $10.69 billion. The company reaffirmed its 2017 guidance of $43 billion to $44 billion in revenue and $7.20 per share to $7.60 per share in EPS, compared with the FactSet consensus of $43.26 billion and $7.35 per share, respectively. HCA Holdings shares were not yet active in premarket trade. Shares have risen 1.9% over the last three months, compared with a 4.7% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Shares of Angie’s List Inc. soared 55% in premarket trade Tuesday toward a 4 1/2-month high, after the home services website agreed to be acquired by IAC Corp. in a deal that valued Angie’s List at about $505 million. The stock changed hands at $9.11, or 7.2% above the per-share buyout bid of $8.50. The bid of $8.50 a share represent’s a 44% premium to Monday’s closing price of $5.89, but is 35% below the Nov. 17, 2011 initial-public-offering price of $13, and is less than a third of the July 5, 2013 record closing price of $28. No less than three law firms announced Tuesday investigations into the sale of Angie’s List, to question whether the company’s board breached its fiduciary responsibility by agreeing to sell the company at that price. Meanwhile, Susquehanna Financial analyst Shyam Patil said he believed the deal was “positive” for IAC, especially since synergies could total $100 million to $250 million annualized by the end of 2018. Angie’s List’s stock had tumbled 28% year to date through Monday, while IAC shares had run up 30% and the S&P 500 had rallied 6.7%.

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Shares of engine maker Cummins Inc. surged 6% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company beat earnings forecasts for the first quarter and raised its full-year outlook. Cummins said it had net income of $396 million, or $2.36 a share, in the first quarter, up from $321 million, or $1.87 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 7% to $4.6 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.80 and revenue of $4.1 billion. “Stronger demand from construction and mining customers and higher sales from a distributor acquisition in the fourth quarter of last year, more than offset the impact of weaker truck production in North America,” the company said in a statement. Cummins is now expecting full-year revenue to climb 4% to 7%, up from prior guidance of flat to down 5%. Shares have gained 10.7% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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Shares of Mastercard Inc. rose 2% in premarket trade Tuesday after the credit card company beat first-quarter earnings expectations. It reported net income of $1.1 billion, of $1 per share, up from $1 billion, or 86 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.01, above the FactSet consensus of 95 cents. Revenue was $2.7 billion, up from $2.4 billion and in line with the FactSet consensus of $2.7 billion. Shares of Mastercard have gained 11% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 5%.

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From:: Stock Market News