Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Vera Bradley Inc. plummeted more than 14% in premarket trade on Wednesday after the clothing retailer reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue that was below Wall Street expectations and shrinking same-store sales. Net income for the quarter was $3.5 million, or 9 cents per share, compared with $15.7 million, or 41 cents during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 28 cents, above FactSet’s consensus of 23 cents. Revenue hit $134.8 million in the quarter, down from last year’s $154.1 million and below FactSet’s $137.0 million. Vera Bradley’s same-store sales fell 9.5% during the fourth quarter, while FactSet had forecast for a 5.1% decline. Vera Bradley sees revenue for 2018 coming in between $460.0 million to $480.0 million, below last year and below FactSet’s $503.1 million consensus. Vera Bradley’s stock is on track to open at a record low and shares have declined nearly 47% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 19%.

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

Private-sector employment increased by 298,000, ADP reported Thursday. That gain suggests a much better than forecast reading for the payrolls report due Friday, where expectations are for 200,000 jobs added.

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

Bob Evans Farms Inc. said Wednesday it had net income of 48.2 million, or 41 cents a share, in its fiscal third quarter to Jan. 27, down from $12.9 million, or 62 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 75 cents, just below the FactSet consensus of 76 cents. Sales fell to $335.9 million from $346.5 million and were also below the FactSet consensus of $345 million. The company, which in January agreed to sell its Bob Evans Restaurants business to private-equity firm Golden Gate Capital, said it gained market share and pounds sold growth in its key markets in the quarter. “Retail channel pounds sold increased nearly 8 percent, with retail side-dish and sausage gains of approximately 13 percent and 3 percent, respectively, driving market share gains in core and national markets,” Chief Executive Saed Mohseni said in a statement. The company is now expecting fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS of $2.22 to $2.32, up from a prior range of $2.15 to $2.30. The current FactSet consensus is for EPS of $2.44. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 23% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 20%.

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 Express Inc. tumbled 8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the apparel retailer provided a downbeat outlook for the fiscal first quarter along declines fourth-quarter profit and sales. For the quarter to Jan. 28, earnings fell to $22.8 million, or 29 cents a share, from $56.1 million, or 67 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for earnings per share of 29 cents. Revenue fell to $678.8 million from $765.6 million, but topped the FactSet consensus of $676 million. Same-store sales dropped 13%, compared with expectations of a 12.2% decline. “As expected, our store performance continued to be impacted by challenging mall traffic and a promotional retail environment,” said Chief Executive David Kornberg. Looking ahead, Express expects first-quarter same-store sales to be in the “negative high single-digits” percentage range, compared with expectations of negative 5.3%. The company expects a per-share loss of 4 cents to breakeven for the quarter, compared with the FactSet EPS consensus of 15 cents. The stock has lost 12% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has declined 13% and the S&P 500 has gained 5.4%.

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

The U.S. government ran a deficit of $192 billion in February, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday. That’s down $1 billion, or 0.6%, from last year. Individual income tax refunds declined by $8 billion, or 11%, due to law that delayed processing returns using the Earned Income Tax Credit and Additional Child Tax Credit as a safeguard against identity theft and tax fraud. For the fiscal year ending February, the U.S. has a $348 billion deficit, slightly narrower than last year’s $353 billion.

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

Extreme Networks Inc. rose nearly 8% in late trading Tuesday after the company set an initial bid of $100 million for the networking business of bankrupt Avaya Inc. “We expect the Avaya business to generate over $200 million in annual revenue, increase our market share and offer new opportunities for our customers,” Extreme Networks Chief Executive Ed Meyercord said in Tuesday’s announcement. Extreme’s $100 million agreement with Avaya is known as a “stalking horse” bid, which sets the price other companies will have to beat if they want to acquire the business. Extreme noted that it will receive a break-up fee and expense reimbursement if it does not succeed in purchasing the business. Avaya filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, which scuttled its plans for an initial public offering. Extreme Networks stock, which closed at $6.10, increased to $6.58 in the after-hours session, within striking distance of the company’s 52-week intraday high of $6.63.

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

The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a whopping climb of 11.6 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended March 3, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a rise of 1.6 million barrels for the week. The API data also showed a drop of 5 million barrels in gasoline supplies and a decline of 2.9 million barrels in distillates, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. April crude was at $52.79 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the contract’s settlement of $53.14 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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 H&R Block Inc. rose more than 8% late Tuesday after the tax preparer and tax software maker reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss and beat revenue expectations. H&R Block reported a net loss of $101 million, or 49 cents a share, compared with a loss of 34 cents a share in the same period last year. Revenue fell to $452 million from $475 million a year ago, primarily on fewer clients in the assisted and do-it-yourself tax preparation businesses resulting from the delay in the overall tax season, and the pricing impact of early-season promotions. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected H&R Block to report a loss of 52 cents a share on revenue of $427 million in the quarter. The company typically reports a fiscal third-quarter operating loss due to the seasonality of its tax business. Shares ended the regular session down 0.6%.

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

Facebook Inc. has named Susan Taylor as chief accounting officer to replace Jas Athwal, who resigned on Feb. 17, the social media company said in a regulatory disclosure on Tuesday. Taylor is currently controller and CAO at LinkedIn Corp. and will start in her new position on April 17. She will receive an annual base salary of $400,000 and a one-time signing bonus of $400,000. Shares of Facebook were mostly unchanged after hours.

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

Snap Inc. announced Tuesday that its underwriting banks had sold 30 million additional shares available in its initial public offering, pushing the total take to $3.91 billion. Snapchat’s parent company last week sold 200 million shares at $17 apiece in the largest U.S. IPO since 2014 , with shares soaring in the first two days of public trading before heading back down in the last two sessions. The company announced Tuesday afternoon that the underwriters had sold an additional 30 million shares, known as a “green shoe” or “overallotment,” with those shares coming from both the company and selling stockholders. The stock reached its lowest prices in four days of trading Tuesday before closing with a 9.8% decline at $21.44; shares ticked up slightly in late trading to about $21.55.

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