Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices fell nearly 4% in premarket trade Thursday after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on the stock with a sell rating. Analyst Toshiya Hari slapped an $11 12-month price target on the stock, which implies 22% downside from Wednesday’s close price of $14.17. While Hari acknowledged the strides AMD has made under Chief Executive Officer Lisa Su since she was appointed in 2012, he said the stock seems to have already priced in a sharp improvement in its competitive and financial position. He finds current valuation metrics difficult to justify and expects shares to underperform the market after AMD’s analyst day in May. Among the problems facing AMD is competition from Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp. , which Hari said will likely offset any meaningful traction AMD gets with new products. Shares of AMD have increased 25% in the past three months and more than 400%in the past year, vastly outperforming the S&P 500 , up 3% and 14%, respectively.

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Constellation Brands reported stronger fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, which it attributed to gains in high-end whiskey sales. The wine and spirits seller reported net income of $452 million, or $2.26 a share, compared with $296 million, or $1.48 a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales came in at $1.63 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. The company issued at outlook for fiscal 2018; with earnings per share of $7.65 to $7.95 and comparable-basis EPS of $7.70 to $8.

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Pacific Crest Securities said Thursday it expects Netflix Inc. to deliver strong long-term returns, but views the stock as more neutral at current levels as it awaits first-quarter earning scheduled for April 17. Analysts led by Andy Hargreaves wrote in a note that they expect the first-quarter results to be solid, but there is a risk that international expectations for the second quarter may disappoint. “A broader strategic effort may be necessary to drive appreciation beyond our $170 price target, said Hargreaves. Netflix shares closed Wednesday at $143.62. “Although we believe Netflix is extremely well positioned to expand into a variety of areas, timing of potential catalysts related to this is uncertain and seems unlikely to come in the near term,” said the note. Netflix shares have gained 16% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.

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Amazon.com Inc. plans to hire more than 5,000 part-time workers in the next year to work from home as customer service agents. The new roles are part of the company’s plan to hire 30,000 part-timers in the U.S. over the next 12 months. The employees will work 20 or more hours a week and receive benefits. The rest of the 25,000 part-time jobs it is looking to fill over the next year will be in its fulfillment centers. Shares of Amazon gained 0.2% to $911.55 in premarket trade. They’ve increased 51% in the past 12 months, outperforming the S&P 500 , up 14%.

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Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he has ordered troops to deploy on the unoccupied and disputed South China Sea islands, Agence France-Press reported, based on a press briefing by Duterte. Boosting the military presence there could provoke rival claimants, including Beijing. China asserts sovereignty over almost all of the resource-rich South China Sea despite rival claims from Southeast Asian neighbors and has built reefs into artificial islands capable of hosting military planes. Duterte has previously sought to improve his nation’s relations with China by adopting a non-confrontational approach, but that may be changing. “I have ordered the armed forces to occupy all,” Duterte reportedly said. Asian regional peace is expected to be among the topics when U.S. President Donald Trump meets with China’s President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

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Cardinal Health Inc. is close to a $6 billion deal to acquire Medtronic PLC’s medical supplies business, according to a report late Wednesday. Medtronic, which specializes in high-tech medical devices like heart stents and implantable heart defibrillators, acquired a large portfolio of products like syringes and surgical instruments from its $43 billion acquisition of Covidien in 2014. Medtronic and Cardinal are engaged in exclusive talks over the medical supplies business in a deal that could be announced later this month, according to Reuters. Medtronic shares advanced 1% to $81.05 after hours, while Cardinal shares were flat at $80.53.

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MGM has agreed to buy a 80.91% stake on pay-television channel Epix for $1.032 billion, buying out partners Viacom Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. . The transaction gives MGM control over Epix’s four pay television channels and is expected to close later this month, the companies said. Epix is the “fastest-growing premium network over the past 5 years,” with approximately $4 billion in box-office hits, according to the statement. As part of the deal, Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate will continue to provide their first-run theatrical releases to Epix under multi-year agreements. The Wall Street Journal reported about the potential deal last month.

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Winnebago Industries Inc. shares slipped in the extended session Wednesday after the recreation-vehicle maker said a major shareholder is looking to liquidate its position. Winnebago shares declined 4.6% to $26.10 after hours. The company said that funds affiliated with Summit Partners LP intend to sell 2.3 million shares with Morgan Stanley as the underwriter. That represents Summit’s entire 7.3% stake in Winnebago’s outstanding shares, according to FactSet data. The company said it will not receive proceeds from the sale.

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Shares of Yum China Holdings Inc. rallied in Wednesday’s extended session after the fast-food chain company posted better-than-expected quarterly results. The operator of KFC and Pizza Hut in China reported its first-quarter earnings rose to $175 million, or 44 cents a share, from $145 million, or 40 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue, however, slipped to $1.28 billion from $1.3 billion while same-stores sales grew 1%. Yum China had spun off from Yum Brands late last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of 38 cents on revenue of $1.27 billion. Yum China shares jumped 11% while Yum rose 1.5% after hours.

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Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer said on Wednesday it’s reached an agreement with Viacom Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. to acquire full ownership of Epix. The premium entertainment network was jointly owned by the three companies and MGM bought Lions Gate and Viacom’s 80.9% aggregate interest for about $1.03 billion. “The addition of Epix provides MGM with a premier distribution platform that complements our strong stable of new and library content in both film and television,” said MGM Chief Executive Gary Barber in a statement. “The acquisition creates increased revenue diversity, new opportunities for growth and earnings accretion.” MGM is home to the Emmy’s, the Golden Globes, the highly-anticipated Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale” and award-winning show “Fargo”. The deal gives MGM control over the pay TV channels operated by Epix and under the deal Lions Gate and Viacom’s Paramount Pictures have multi-year agreements to bring first-run theatrical output to Epix.

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