Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Walt Disney Co. rose slightly in early trade Monday before erasing their gains, after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight and said distribution renewals for ESPN, new streaming bundles and a strong line-up of films should spur earnings growth. Analysts led by Benjamin Swinburne expect ESPN revenue growth to improve from 2017 to 2020, pushing their estimates above current consensus. The move will be helped by new streaming bundles, which are cheaper than existing ones and should end the roughly 2% subscriber erosion at the service over the last three years. “Film success remains the base case, and perhaps it should be,” they wrote in a note. Morgan Stanley is expecting Disney to rebound from the roughly 20% decline in earnings before interest and taxes caused by the comparisons in 2016 with the latest Star War’s installment and to post EBIT levels of $2.95 billion in 2018. “Demand for Disney-branded IP remains robust and the FY18 slate includes 4 Marvel films, 2 Star Wars films, and 2 Pixar films,” said the note. Disney shares have gained 14% in the last 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500 , which has gained about 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

The U.S. athletic footwear industry grew 3% to $17.5 billion in 2016, according to The NPD Group, below the average 4% growth the industry has experienced over the past 10 years. “The Sports Authority and Sports Chalet bankruptcies certainly shook the industry, with the greatest impact hitting in the fourth quarter, when both retailers were fighting for their survival,” said Matt Powell, sport industry analyst at NPD Group, in a statement. “It is likely that we will still see the impact continue through the first quarter, but after that the drag should be over and trend should return to normal.” The average selling price for the industry was flat at $60.81. The industry grew for the first three quarters of the year, with a”slight” decline during the fourth-quarter holiday season. The Classics category, worth $4.4 billion, drove the industry, with a 26% increase in dollar sales. Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. was upgraded at Goldman Sachs on market share gains from The Sports Authority bankruptcy. Dick’s shares are up 0.7% in Monday trading, and up 32.3% for the last year, while the S&P 500 index is up 17.2% for the past 12 months.

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

Goldman Sachs has upgraded Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. and Hibbett Sports Inc. on market share gains from The Sports Authority bankruptcy. Dick’s was moved to buy from neutral, though its price target remains at $62. And Hibbett was moved to neutral from sell, though the price target has been cut to $34 from $37. Analysts say Dick’s is the top sporting goods retailer, and the company will accelerate earnings growth in 2017 due to the Sports Authority gains. The company should also see improved profitability from its e-commerce channel, which will entirely be under the company’s control in fiscal 2017. Goldman says Hibbett will also benefit from The Sports Authority bankruptcy, but to a lesser degree. Analysts say they expect to report “tough results” in the near-to-intermediate term, but investors are aware of the issues facing the company. “[W]e see the stock’s current valuation as fair, and we have absolute downside to other sell-rated stocks in our coverage universe versus the 4% upside we see in Hibbett looking out 12 months,” the Monday note said. Dick’s shares are nearly flat in Monday trading, but up 31.4% for the past year. Hibbett shares are up 2.1% in Monday trading, and up nearly 4% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 17.6% for the last 12 months.

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

Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, on Monday sent an internal message denouncing the immigration ban President Donald Trump enacted last Friday, reports The Wall Street Journal. “This is not a policy we support,” Blankfein wrote, according to The Journal. Protests and backlash erupted over the weekend following Trump’s executive order that barred Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., blocked citizens of seven Muslim countries from entering the country for 90 days and suspended all refugee admission for 120 days. Trump has tapped a number of former Goldman Sachs executives to his cabinet, including President Gary Cohn to to lead his Council of Economic Advisors and former Goldman Sachs partner Steve Mnuchin to head the Treasury Department.

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

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, putting the Dow on track to retreat below the 20,000 milestone, as President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban rattled markets and investors braced for a flurry of earnings as well a policy announcement from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 index retreated eight points, or 0.3%, to 2,287. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 74 points, or 0.4%, to 20,018. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 27 points, or 0.5%, to 5,634. Among individual stocks, Rite Aid Corp.’s stock plunged after Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. agreed to lower its per-share acquisition price. Airline stocks, including JetBlue Airways , Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines all fell. Delta said domestic flights were resuming after a computer glitch led to widespread cancellations on Sunday.

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

Movie theater chain AMC Entertainment on Monday offered guidance for full-year 2016 that topped consensus estimates, following its acquisition of two other theater chains. The company said it expects EPS of $1.13 to $1.21, compared with $1.06 for 2015. The current FactSet consensus is for 2016 EPS of $1.02. Revenue is expected to range from $3.226 billion to $3.236 billion, up from $2.947 billion in 2015. The FactSet consensus is for revenue of $3.145 billion. “Industry wide, U.S. box office revenue for 2016 increased approximately 2% compared to 2015, while industry box office for the fourth quarter of 2016, impacted by challenging comparisons related to last year’s opening of the largest grossing film of all time, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, declined approximately 4%,” the company said in a statement. The numbers include the results of Odeon for the 32-deay period from the completion of its acquisition on Nov. 30, as well as for Carmike for the 11-day period from the closure of that deal on Dec. 21. AMC is expecting to report final numbers on Feb. 28. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but have gained 56% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 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

Macy’s Inc. said Monday that it has entered into an agreement with Garrett Brands to sell its Frango premium chocolate business. Garrett Brands, the owner of Garrett Popcorn Shops, will develop, create, sell and distribute Frango products. And Macy’s will continue to sell the products in the Frango Cafe in the Macy’s State Street store in Chicago, at more than 350 other locations, and online. Macy’s shares are inactive in premarket trading, and down 28% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 18.3% for the last 12 months.

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

Office Depot Inc. named on Monday Gerry Smith as its chief executive officer, effective Feb. 27. Smith will succeed current Chief Executive Roland Smith, who announced his plan to retire in August 2016. Smith is currently the chief operating officer at technology company Lenovo Group . Office Depot’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 16% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has run up 18%.

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 Tempur Sealy International Inc. plunged 29% toward a three-year low in premarket trade Monday, after the mattress seller said Mattress Firm Holdings Corp. will terminate all contracts with the company in the U.S. unless significant changes weren’t made to agreements. With the companies unable to reach agreement, Tempur Sealy issued termination notices for all its brands to Mattress Firm as of Jan. 27, and expects to cease doing business with Mattress Firm during the first quarter of 2017. Tempur Sealy said sales to Mattress Firm, which were approximately 21% worldwide, had declined by 11% since 2015. Tempur Sealy said it expects to report 2016 sales of $3.13 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $3.10 billion. “Ultimately, we concluded that it was in the long-term interest of all of our stakeholders to terminate our contracts with Mattress Firm,” said Tempur Sealy Chief Executive Scott Thompson. “This enables us to immediately reorient our employees and resources to support retail partners that exhibit a long-term commitment to Tempur Sealy’s brands.” The stock had gained 4.7% over the past 12 months through Friday, while the S&P 500 had climbed 18%.

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

Delta Air Lines Inc. said Monday that its domestic flights have resumed after a computer glitch grounded flights in the U.S. on Sunday.”Delta flights are departing and a ground stop has been lifted as IT systems begin to return to normal after a systems outage,” the company said via Twitter. Delta said roughly 150 flights were cancelled, but that more were expected. The ground stop for all Delta-branded flights, as well as its regional partner carriers, meant that no flights were allowed to take off.

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