Category: Stock Market News

Oil prices settled modestly lower on Monday as lower economic growth forecasts in China and signs of further growth in U.S. crude production sparked concerns over excess supplies. Uncertainty surrounding output in Libya, on the heels of reported conflicts near major oil terminals among rival groups, as well as ongoing production cuts among members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries provided some support. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell 13 cents, or 0.2%, to settle $53.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Airline stocks fell in tandem Monday after Delta Air Lines Inc. lowered its forecast operating margins for the year at the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference in Orlando, Fla. In a presentation, Delta said margins would likely contract as cost increases outpaces revenue growth with the worst of it occurring in the March quarter, calling 2017 “a transition year.” Delta said fuel prices have jumped 55% for the quarter. Shares of Delta fell 3.3%, while United Continental Holding Inc. shares declined 4.2%, American Airlines Group Inc. shares shed 4.7%, Southwest Airlines Co. fell 2.4%, and Alaska Air Group Inc. shares declined 2.5%.

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Nvidia Corp.’s stock sank briefly into bear market territory in midday trade Monday, before bouncing back out of it, but was still on course to close at a three-month low. The stock dropped as much as 3.3% to an intraday low of $95.17, which was 20.1% below the Feb. 7 record close of $119.13. Many on Wall Street define a bear market as a 20% decline on a closing bases from a significant peak, that followed a rally of at least 20% off a previous significant low. The stock was down 2.8% at $95.65, or 19.7% below its record close. If it closed at or below $95.30, it would trigger the stock’s first bear market in 13 months. Back then, the stock had closed at an 8-year high of $33.75 on Dec. 4, 2015, then dropped 25% to a closing low of $25.22 on Feb. 8, 2016. That bear market ended Feb. 19, when it closed at $30.44, or 20.6% above the Feb. 8 low. Despite the stock’s recent weakness and bearish commentary from analysts, investor sentiment remains relatively high, as the latest data shows short interest, or bets that the stock will fall, had dropped to a four-year low through mid February. The stock had still nearly tripled over the past 12 months, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index had rallied 48% and the S&P 500 had gained 19%.

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Analysts at Nomura on Monday upgraded General Motors Co. to buy from neutral, saying the car maker’s exit “from long-struggling Europe is a major positive,” one that will simplify GM’s business structure and improve profitability. GM earlier Monday agreed to sell its European business to Peugeot maker’s PSA Group for $2.3 billion. The European sale frees up resources, which GM could redeploy to develop next-generation powertrains and autonomous driving technologies “to maintain its competitive edge in the crucial North American market over the long term,” the Nomura analysts said in a note. Shares of GM have gained more than 19% in the past 12 months, compared with gains of more than 18% for the S&P 500 index in the same period.

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President Donald Trump signed a revised executive order banning entry to the U.S. for travelers from six Muslim-majority nations on Monday. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the ban, which lasts for 90 days, “will bolster the security of the United States” and its allies. Trump’s original order, in January, was the subject of court challenges and the new order is expected to be challenged as well. The new order exempts citizens of Iraq.

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Shares of Expedia Inc. ran up 1.5% Monday, bucking the losses seen in rival online travel company stocks and the broader stock market, after Macquarie Securities turned bullish, citing accelerating hotel room night growth. Analyst Tom White raised his rating to outperform, after being at neutral for at least 2 1/2 years. He boosted his stock price target to $144, which is 18% above current levels, from $123. White said the hotel room night growth, tempered expectations for its HomeAway business and the stock’s relative weakness since it reported quarterly results on Feb. 10, “provide the attractive entry point we’ve been waiting for to get more constructive on shares.” The stock had lost 2.1% from Feb. 10 through Friday, compared with a 2.9% rally in the S&P 500 . Meanwhile, shares of rivals Travelzoo Inc. shed 1.1% in morning trade Monday, of Priceline Group Inc. gave up 0.2% and of Sabre Corp. lost 1%, while the S&P 500 slid 0.6%.

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Shares of Snap Inc. fell 7% in volatile morning trade Monday, following another bearish initiation on Wall Street from an analyst who thinks the stock is overvalued. Needham analyst Laura Martin initiated coverage on the stock with an underperform rating, which is the equivalent to sell, and a fair value price target range of $19 to $23 a share, indicating declines from recent trading prices. The stock closed at $27.09 on Friday after pricing in its market debut at $17 on Thursday. It traded down around $25.28 on Monday. Martin referred to Snap as a “lottery-like stock,” saying that on first look it may look like a good buy but that close scrutiny of Snap’s fundamentals uncover a number of risks, such as a total addressable market that is 80% smaller than Facebook Inc.’s , a social media rival whose Instagram Stories mirror a similar service offered by Snapchat, and a revenue forecast issued by Snap that Martin believes may be difficult to meet. This adds to a number of other bearish initiations that have hit Snap since its Thursday IPO. The average rating on the stock among a poll of six analysts surveyed by FactSet is the equivalent to sell, while the average price target is $16.50, below Snap’s IPO price.

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Analysts at UBS downgraded shares of Time Warner Inc. to neutral from buy on Monday. The media and entertainment company is well positioned within the media sector, thanks to its film and TV businesses and position in premium cable, but there’s limited upside potential from current trading levels given the terms of AT&T Inc.’s proposed $85.4 billion merger, according to lead analyst Doug Mitchelson. He wrote that the stock’s risk/reward is balanced since it is trading at a less than 10% spread to the offer value. Mitchelson laid out two pivotal questions: Will the deal garner regulatory approval? And, will Time Warner hit its operating budget in 2017? Newly appointed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said last week he didn’t think it was likely the commission would review the deal. “We continue to expect successful regulatory approvals and a deal closing around the end of 2017,” Mitchelson wrote in a note to clients. “Given the AT&T merger has a modest breakup fee, it remains crucial that Time Warner performs reasonably close to its budgets.” He said Time Warner is on track to hit its operating budgets, thanks to low-teens affiliate growth at Turner, and expected strong acceleration in HBO affiliate revenue. Shares of Time Warner have gained nearly 43% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 18% during the same time frame.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Factory orders climbed by 1.2% in January, meeting the MarketWatch-compiled economist forecast. The Commerce Department said orders have climbed for 6 of the last 7 months and rose 0.3% when transportation was excluded. Industrial machinery orders climbed by 6.6%, while photographic equipment orders dropped by 15%.

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Shares of Dynavax Technologies Corp. reversed premarket losses to trade flat at the open Monday, after the biotech reported findings from an early-stage trial of its SD-101 treatment for metastatic melanoma in combination with Merck & Co.’s Keytruda. Dynavax said the trial produced results for efficacy in 17 patients and safety in 22 patients. “In patients naïve to anti-PD-1 treatment, responses were observed in six out of seven patients, for an Overall Response Rate (ORR) of 86%,” the company said in a statement. “This includes two (29%) complete responses (CR) and four (57%) partial responses (PR). Target tumor shrinkage was observed in all 7 evaluable patients.” Dynavax Chief Medical Officer Robert Janssen said the results allow the company explore higher doses of the drug. Shares have fallen 63% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 19%.

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