Category: Stock Market News

Twitter Inc. continued to drop 11% in premarket trade Thursday after the company issued a weak outlook and revealed relatively flat fourth-quarter growth in the U.S. Twitter touted its live-video streaming services, saying live-streaming of the inauguration had 8.6 million unique viewers, the biggest election numbers for the platform, followed by 7.5 million on election night and 4.2 million for the final presidential debate. Still, Twitter posted flat sequential growth in U.S. monthly active users, with 67 million for the third and fourth quarter. Twitter saw a slight boost in international MAUs which were at 252 million for the quarter, up from 250 million in the previous quarter. Overall, Twitter reported 319 monthly active users, a 0.6% increase from the previous quarter. Analysts had said that the election should give Twitter a boost in users, given President Donald Trump’s proclivity for tweeting. International growth also drove Twitter’s revenue growth, with U.S. decreasing 5% year-over-year and international revenue increasing 12% year-over-year. Shares of Twitter have fallen 2% in the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained of 6%.

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Tobacco company Reynolds American Inc. shares lifted 1.1% after the company reported a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat early Thursday. Earnings for the latest quarter rose to $851 million, or 60 cents per share, from $279 million, or 19 cents per share in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings per share were 62 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 60 cents. Revenue rose to $3.19 billion from $3.05 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.15 billion. Reynolds shares have risen 11.0% over the last three months, compared with a 6.1% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Viacom Inc. class A voting shares jumped 3% in premarket trade Thursday, after the media company blew past earnings estimates and outlined a five-point strategic plan. The company’s nonvoting class B shares were inactive. Viacom said it had net income of $396 million, or $1.00 per share during its fiscal first quarter, compared with $449 million, or $1.13 during the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings were $1.04 per share, well above FactSet’s 83 cents consensus. Revenue for the quarter hit $3.32 billion, improved compared with $3.15 billion last year and above the FactSet consensus of $3.18 billion. Revenue at Viacom’s media networks rose 5%, with affiliate revenue growing 2%, but advertising revenue seeing a 2% decline. The company’s struggling MTV network showed its first ratings growth since 2014 during the quarter. And revenue at Viacom’s film studio grew 24%. As part of Chief Executive Bob Bakish’s much anticipated turnaround plan, Viacom plans to put it’s full capabilities behind its six flagship brands: BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. and Paramount Pictures. Viacom also laid out plans to revitalize and elevate its approach to content and talent, deepen partnerships to drive traditional revenue, make big moves in the digital and physical world and to continue to optimize and energize the organization. Shares of Viacom have gained nearly 22% in the trailing 12-month period, while the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 24%

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Shares of Coca-Cola Co. slipped 0.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the beverage giant matched profit expectations, but provided a downbeat outlook for this year. Net earnings for the quarter to Dec. 31 fell to $550 million, or 13 cents a share, from $1.24 billion, or 28 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 37 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 6% to $9.4 billion from $10.0 billion, but beat the FactSet consensus of $9.1 billion. Total unit case volume declines 1% for the quarter, as growth in developed markets was offset by continued challenges in Latin America. For 2017, Coke expects adjusted EPS to decline 1% to 4% from $1.91 in 2016, while the FactSet consensus is for an increase to $1.95. The stock has lost 3% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 25%.

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Shares of Twitter Inc. fell 9% in premarket trade after the company missed fourth-quarter revenue expectations and posted flat sequential user growth. The company reported a net loss of $167 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to a loss of $90.2 million, or a loss of 13 cents in the year-earlier period. It reported adjusted earnings per share of 16 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 12 cents. Revenue was $717 million, up 1% from the year-earlier period, but below the FactSet consensus of $739.7 million. Twitter reported 319 million monthly active users for the quarter, an increase of 0.6% from the 317 million in the previous quarter, and up 4% year-over-year. The company said daily active users had grown 11% year-over-year for the quarter, compared to an increase of 7% in the previous quarter. For the first quarter of 2017, Twitter said it expected adjusted EBITDA between $75 million and $95 million and stock based compensation expense between $125 million and $135 million. For the full-year 2017, Twitter expects non-GAAP expenses to be about 5%, which is flat compared to 2016. Shares of Twitter have fallen 2% in the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained of 6%.

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Tesla Inc. will produce test versions of its Model 3 vehicle this month, Reuters reported Wednesday afternoon, ahead of a mid-year deadline to start production of the new car. Anonymous sources told Reuters that the electric-car company plans to begin test-building the sedans at its Fremont, Calif., factory on Feb. 20, two days before Tesla details fourth-quarter earnings. Tesla has already disclosed disappointing fourth-quarter deliveries, though that hasn’t hurt its stock price, which is up 22.6% so far in 2017. Chief Executive Elon Musk has framed the Model 3 as his attempt to offer an electric car for the masses, with a targeted starting price of around $35,000, and an important piece of his plan for the company. After revealing the car at an event last April, Tesla reported more than 370,000 reservations were taken to purchase one, a move that required customers to put up $1,000. Musk has promised to reach a production rate of 500,000 cars by the end of 2018 to meet that demand, though the company failed to deliver its stated goal of at least 80,000 cars in 2016.

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PayPal Holdings Inc. shares declined in the extended session Wednesday after the payment-services company said it received a subpoena from the Department of Justice over a money-laundering probe. PayPal shares fell 2.2% to $39.99 after hours. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday, the company said it received subpoenas “seeking the production of certain information related to our historical anti-money laundering program.” PayPal said it is cooperating with the investigation and that it is unable to predict the government’s response.

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Zendesk Inc. shares rose in the extended session Wednesday after the enterprise software company reported a narrower-than-expected loss for the quarter. Zendesk shares rose 6% to $26.01 after hours. The company reported an adjusted fourth-quarter loss of 4 cents a share on revenue of $88.6 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of 6 cents a share on revenue of $87.3 million. Zendesk expects an adjusted first-quarter loss between $6 million and $7 million on revenue of $91 million and $93 million. Analysts expects a loss of $5.4 million on revenue of $91.9 million.

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A federal appeals court temporarily stopped another judge’s decision that would have forced Regeneron and Sanofi to stop selling cholesterol drug Praluent. The Tuesday decision, though expected, “means that Praluent will not come off the market by Feb. 21,” and could even stay on the market through the rest of the year, said Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum. The previous judge’s decision in favor of Amgen Inc. was a key victory for Amgen, and sent its shares up on Jan. 7, the day the decision emerged. Praluent and Amgen’s drug Repatha are part of an expensive class of drugs that cost upward of $14,000 a year. Regeneron shares, which were halted on the news, have slumped 4.0% over the last three months, compared with a 7.3% rise in the S&P 500 .

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iRobot Corp. shares fell late Wednesday despite an earnings and sales beat for the maker of Roomba, the robotic vacuum cleaner. iRobot said it earned $13.7 million, or 49 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with $19.3 million, or 65 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales reached $212.5 million, compared with $206.4 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected iRobot to report earnings of 41 cents a share on sales of $206 million. The company said it was expecting revenue of $770 million to $785 million this year. Shares ended the regular trading session down 1.1%.

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