Category: Stock Market News

The Senate confirmation hearing for Donald Trump’s labor secretary nominee, Andrew Puzder, has been delayed, according to published reports. Puzder’s hearing in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was scheduled for Feb. 2 but has been pushed back to Feb. 7. The fast-food executive has faced intense criticism from Democrats for his opposition to a $15 federal minimum wage, among other issues.

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Celgene Corp. shares, which declined 2.4% in morning trade, may be sliding because investors hoped the company would raise its 2020 guidance today, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Schoenebaum said Thursday. Celgene officially reported fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, but the company had announced guidance earlier this month. Based on “bullish” statements by company management at the J.P. Morgan Health Care conference in mid-January, “some folks thought that CELG might officially raise their 2020 guidance today,” Schoenebaum said, cautioning that he can’t be sure that contributed to the decline. But “this is classic CELG stock behavior around quarterly results,” he said. “There seems to always be a pre-call thesis out there that they’ll raise guidance.” The company may have said it can grow EPS every year from 2020 to 2030 but that “would be a remarkable accomplishment,” he said. Celgene shares have risen 13.3% over the last three months, compared with a 7.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Natural-gas futures continued to climb Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of natural gas fell by 119 billion cubic feet for the week ended Jan. 20. That matched the decline expected by analyst polled by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 2.798 trillion cubic feet, down 348 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 20 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. February natural gas rose 12.2 cents, or 3.7%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $3.454 per million British thermal units. It traded at $3.447 before the data.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission has named Michael Piwowar its acting chairman, according to the agency’s website. Piwowar, currently serving as a commissioner, is the only Republican. Former chairwoman Mary Jo White’s resignation in December was effective January 20. The SEC has been operating with two additional vacancies. The only other commissioner at the moment is Democrat Kara Stein. The two-member SEC is able to approve enforcement actions or new rules as long as the vote of the two members is unanimous. Jay Clayton, a lawyer in private practice, was nominated by President Trump to be the next chairman in early January, but a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee has not yet been scheduled.

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TaylorMade Golf Company has announced a multi-year contract with golf superstar Tiger Woods. According to TaylorMade, Woods will play with the brand’s driver, fairway woods, irons and wedges, with specific models to be determined. Woods will also have a role in the design and development of a new iron model. Woods, who turned pro in 1996 and has won 14 major championships, has had a long relationship with Nike Inc. . Nike announced in August that it would stop selling golf equipment like clubs and balls.

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U.S. stocks opened slightly higher Thursday, with the main indexes trading in record territory as investors continued to bet on fiscal stimulus promised by the Trump administration and sifted through another heavy round of earnings. The S&P 500 opened flat at 2,298. The Nasdaq Composite began the session up 9 points, or 0.2% higher at 5,665. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 18 points or 0.1%, to 20,084 at the open.

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Verizon Communications Inc. is exploring the possibility of combining with Charter Communications Inc. , according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Shares of Charter, popped as much as 10% after the news broke. Verizon has been shopping for a company to help build its media and content businesses, as the competitive environment in the industry intensifies. AT&T Inc. has proposed an $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc.. Verizon has been in negotiations with Yahoo! Inc. to acquire the company’s core internet business, though, talks have been complicated by the revelation of email hacks at Yahoo. Charter Communications last year bought Time Warner Cable. Shares of Verizon are up 3% in the trailing 12-month period, while Charter shares have gained nearly 63% and the S&P 500 Index is up nearly 21% during the same time frame.

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Shares of MoneyGram International Inc. soared 10% in premarket trade Thursday, after the provider of money transfer services agreed to be acquired by Ant Financial Services Group, which is an affiliate of China-based Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. for $880 million. Under terms of the deal, Ant Financial will pay $13.25 for each MoneyGram share outstanding, which is 14% above Wednesday’s closing price of $11.88. The deal connects MoneyGram’s network of 2.4 billion bank and mobile accounts with Ant Financial’s users. “The combination of Ant Financial and MoneyGram will provide greater access, security and simplicity for people around the world to remit funds, especially in major economies such as the United States, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines,” said Ant Financial Chief Executive Eric Jing. MoneyGram’s stock has more than doubled over the past 12 months, while Alibaba shares have run up 49% and the S&P 500 has climbed 21%.

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Shares of Qualcomm Inc. plunged 4% in premarket trade Thursday after analysts reacted to the chipmaker’s weak quarterly outlook provided late Wednesday, in which it blamed legal costs associated with anti-monopoly lawsuits filed against it by Apple Inc. and the U.S. FTC. Nomura cut its 12-month stock target on Qualcomm t $65 from $70 and reiterated a neutral rating, saying earnings estimates are at risk despite management denying wrongdoing related to Apple, whose mobile devices comprise roughly 20% of Qualcomm’s revenue. SIG Susquehanna lowered its price target to $70 from $82. The average rating on the stock is the equivalent to buy, while the average price target is $71.19. Its shares have declined by 16.5% in the past three months, versus a 7.5% improvement for the S&P 500 .

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Sequential Brands Group Inc. said Thursday that it will launch a line of men’s and women’s footwear and intimate apparel in 2017 under the Joe’s lifestyle brand. Joe’s, which is known for the Joe’s Jeans label, is available in department stores like Nordstrom Inc. and Neiman Marcus, and in 18 boutiques across the U.S. The footwear collections will be created in partnership with ACI International and will be available in the spring. The intimate collections will include underwear, sleepwear and loungewear created with ESP Group Ltd. and will be available in the fall. Sequential Brands shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and down 28.6% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 20.7% for the last 12 months.

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