Category: Stock Market News

Shares of DineEquity Inc. , which owns the Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar and IHOP restaurants, plunged 12% toward a 4 1/2-year low in afternoon trade Wednesday, after the restaurant operator announced the resignation of its chief financial officer and reported disappointing fourth-quarter results. CFO Thomas Emrey’s resignation–he’s leaving to be CFO of Munchkin Inc.–will be effective March 15, after 5 1/2 years in the role. His resignation comes less than two weeks after Chairman and Chief Executive Julia Stewart said she would resign effective March 1. The company named Corporate Controller Greggory Kalvin as interim CFO until a permanent replacement is found. Separately, DineEquity reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.37 and revenue of $154.2 million, compared with the FactSet consensus for EPS of $1.39 and for revenue of $159.2 million. Same-store sales for Applebee’s declined 7.2%, compared with the FactSet consensus for a decline of 4.9%, while IHOP same-store sales declined 2.1% versus expectations of 1.2% growth. The stock has plunged 39% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.5%

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Dynavax Technologies Corp. shares surged 54.4% in afternoon trade Wednesday after the company said the Food and Drug Administration would again review its Hepatitis B vaccine, after the regulator decided not to approve it last fall. Dynavax said it has responded to the additional information requested by the FDA, and that the FDA plans to make the decision by August 10. The surge may also be in part attributable to comments made by President Donald Trump during his first Congressional address late Tuesday, in which he said the FDA’s approval process was “slow and burdensome” and that restraints needed to be removed. Dynavax shares have surged 58.0% over the last three months, compared with a 9.6% rise in the S&P 500 .

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General Dynamics Corp. said Wednesday that it will increase its quarterly dividend by 10.5% to 84 cents a share from 76 cents a share. The new dividend will be payable May 5 to shareholders of record on April 7. Based on current share prices, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.74%, compared with the aggregate dividend yield of the S&P 500 of 1.99%. Separately, the defense contractor said it authorized the buyback of 10 million shares. The stock, which climbed 1.5% in afternoon trade, has rallied 9.2% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 9.5%.

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Gold futures settled lower Wednesday for a second straight session. Strength in the dollar, a rally in U.S. equities and rising expectations for an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve combined to push prices for the metal to their lowest finish in a week. April gold lost $3.90, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,250 an ounce. That was the lowest finish for a most-active settlement since Feb. 22, according to FactSet data.

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Oprah Winfrey could be making over $30 million on her Weight Watchers International Inc. shares on Wednesday, and could be making more than double that if she decides to exercise her options. Winfrey owned 6,367,673 Weight Watchers shares, or about 10% of the shares outstanding, according to January filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the stock soaring $4.92, or 34%, to a 14-month high in midday trade, on the heels of better-than-expected earnings and an upbeat outlook, Winfrey’s investment could be worth $31.3 million more than it was on Tuesday. And keep in mind that when the company disclosed in October 2015 that Winfrey bought about 6.4 million shares at $6.79 a share, the company also said it granted her options to buy another 3.5 million shares at an exercise price of $6.97. Based on current share prices, and if she exercised the options, she could be up over $123 million on her investment, including over $43 million on the options alone. Weight Watchers stock has run up 62% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 21%.

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The lifting of the trading halt in McDonald’s Corp.’s stock has given an 6-point boost to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s price. When the fast-food giant’s stock had been halted for news, it was up 42 cents, or 0.3%, at $128.07, which added about 3 points to the Dow’s price. After McDonald’s announced a new growth strategy midday Wednesday, the stock resumed trade to be up $1.37, or 1.1%, at $129.02, which tacked about 9 points on the Dow’s price. The Dow was up 319 points in record territory.

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McDonald’s Corp. unveiled a global growth plan at its investor day event on Wednesday that includes delivery and digital enhancements. The company is testing delivery methods, including third-party partnerships for ordering and fulfillment around the world. McDonald’s said nearly 75% of the population in its top five markets – U.S., France, the U.K., Germany and Canada – live within three miles of a McDonald’s. The fast-food giant is also accelerating its “Experience of the Future” restaurant upgrades, which include kiosks to place orders, mobile ordering and table service. McDonald’s will launch mobile order-and-pay in 20,000 restaurants in some of their largest markets, including the U.S. by the end of 2017. McDonald’s is on the path to refranchise 4,000 restaurants by the end of 2017, a year ahead of schedule. And the board has approved a new three-year cash return target of $22 billion to $24 billion. McDonald’s sees systemwide sales growth of 3% to 5% on an average annual constant-currency basis beginning in 2019, and earnings per share growth in the high-single digits. McDonald’s shares are up 1.4% in Wednesday trading after resuming trade, and are up 8.8% for the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 23.4% for the last 12 months.

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Shares of CarMax Inc. took an intraday dive, after a media report that a famed short-seller had made a bearish bet on the used-car retailer. The stock was trading up 2.4% at $66.07 at about 11:15 a.m. ET. CNBC’s Scott Wapner tweeted a few minutes later that Jim Chanos, founder of short-selling firm Kynikos Associates, had recently taken a short position in CarMax’s stock. The stock pulled a sharp U-turn, to trade down as much as 2.9% at an intraday low of $62.64, before bouncing. The stock was recently up 0.6% on volume of 4.2 million shares, which is more than double the full-day average. The stock has now gained 9.6% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has advanced 9.3%.

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Shares of McDonald’s Corp. have been halted, as investors await news from the company. The stock, halted as of 10:55 a.m. ET, was up 0.3% at $128.07 prior to the halt. The fast-food giant’s stock has rallied 8.1% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.8%.

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Ray Dalio said he is stepping down from day-to-day management at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, but will stay on as a co-chief investment officer with two other senior employees, according to a letter published Wednesday on Dalio’s LinkedIn page. Dalio said he stepped back into the co-CEO role 10 months ago to help with a management transition, adding that his management role was always meant to be temporary. In his stead, David McCormick will step up to join Eileen Murray as co-CEO. Dalio also announced a slew of other management changes, including that co-CEO Jon Rubenstein would leave Bridgewater after serving as co-CEO with Dalio for the past 10 months because Rubenstein “is not a cultural fit for Bridgewater,” Dalio said. Carsten Stendevad, the former CEO of a large Danish pension fund, will join Bridgewater as part of its new senior fellowship program, which will allow outside investing professionals to work at Bridgewater for a year to ” to explore what our culture is like and lend their expertise and insights to our organization.” Dalio founded Bridgewater in his apartment four decades ago. It now manages $150 billion in assets. His transition out of management will be complete by April 15, Dalio said

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