Category: Stock Market News

General Motors Co. is “serious” about capital discipline and is likely to “significantly” return cash to shareholders, analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note Wednesday as they made GM stock their top pick among car-maker shares. They also raised their price target on the shares by 5% to $42 a share, which represents an 11% upside from Wednesday’s prices. The analysts raised their 2017 per-share earnings forecast to $6.32, from $6.09. The company estimates EPS between $6 and $6.50 for the year. Shares of GM have gained nearly 30% in the last 12 months, which compares with gains of 22% for the S&P 500 index in the same period.

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‘Star Wars,’ a Walt Disney Co. brand, was the top toy property of 2016, with sales of nearly $760 million, according to the latest data from The NPD Group. Sales in 2016 exceeded those in 2015, when it was also the top property, the organization said. U.S. toy sales grew 5% to $20.4 billion in 2016, according to the latest data from the NPD Group. Outdoor sports and toys, including summer seasonal toys, was the largest contributing category at $328 million. Games and puzzles was the fastest growing category, up 18% year-over-year in sales. Toy sales were up 28% the week before Christmas, “but it is likely this happened at the expense of other weeks in Q4,” according to NPD, which called the holiday season overall “mixed.” The toy industry was up 16% between 2016 and 2013, a compounded annual growth rate of 5%.

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Consumers will spend an average of $75, or $14.1 billion total, on Super Bowl LI-related activities, down from an average of $82, or $15.5 billion total, last year, according to the latest Super Bowl Spending Survey from the National Retail Federation. An estimated 188.5 million are expected to watch the game on Feb. 5. Of the 76% of those surveyed who said they would watch the game, 80% said they’ll buy food and beverages, 11% said they’d buy team apparel and accessories, and 8% said they’d by a new television to watch at home. The survey found that 45 million people will host a Super Bowl party. More than three-quarters (78%) of viewers said they watch the commercials for entertainment, and only 10% said the spots influence a purchase. The NRF surveyed 7,591 consumers for the study.

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Oil futures extended losses on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 2.8 million barrels in domestic crude-oil supplies for the week ended Jan. 20. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a rise of 2.9 million barrels, according to sources, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 1.9 million barrels. Gasoline supplies jumped by 6.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were “virtually unchanged” last week, according to the EIA. March crude fell 41 cents, or 0.8%, at $52.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Macy’s Inc. said Wednesday that it has extended the Ideology brand of activewear to men. The new ID Ideology collection is available at 250 Macy’s stores and online. It includes tees, training shorts and leggings. Items are priced between $25 and $70. Macy’s shares are up 1% in Wednesday trading, but down 23% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 22% for the last 12 months.

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Shares of Caterpillar Inc. rallied 1.4% in morning trade toward a 2-year high, after the maker of earth-moving equipment reported that the pace of decline in retail sales has slowed across industries. For the rolling three-month period through December, global total machines sales fell 10%, compared with a 17% decline through November. The decline in North America slowed to 14% from 19% through November, while the increase in Asia/Pacific sales improved to 19% from 11%. In resource industries, the global sales decline was 10%, compared with 24% through November, while the fall in construction industries sales was 12%, compared with 15% through November. The total decline in energy and transportation retail sales was 22%, but better than the 25% through November. The stock has soared 68% over the past 12 months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 26%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday kicked off trade above the psychologically significant threshold of 20,000, representing a milestone for the blue-chip gauge and highlighting a relatively speedy path higher for the Dow (42 days–marking the second fastest 1,000-point move in history) in the wake of Donald Trump’s election win in November. He took the oath of office Jan. 20. Trump has promised a raft of pro-business policies which have driven equity values higher and a batch of corporate results, for some investors, have added to the enthusiasm for U.S. equities. The Dow rose 113 points, or 0.6%, at 20,024, the S&P 500 gained 7 points, or 0.4%, to 2,288, while the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 34 points, or 0.6%, to 5,634. Both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq ended at records Tuesday and are on track to finish at all-time highs, along with the Dow, if trading holds at current lofty levels. Although the pace of gains had tapered somewhat, since Trump’s Nov. 8 election the Dow is up nearly 9%, the S&P 500 index has gained 7% and the Nasdaq Composite Index has advanced about 8%. In corporate news, Dow component Boeing Inc. posted better-than-expecting earnings, while United Technologies Corp. reported lackluster fourth-quarter results. Meanwhile, the dollar was trading flat at 100.2800, as measured by the U.S. ICE Dollar Index and the benchmark 10-year Treasury yields extended their gains, adding 3.4 points at 2.50%.

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The Food and Drug Administration has approved a 2mg formulation of the opioid overdose treatment Narcan manufactured by Adapt Pharma, the company said early Wednesday. The privately-held company’s Narcan Nasal Spray already comes in a 4mg formulation, which has been available since Feb. 2016. The new 2mg dose is intended for patients expected to be at risk for serious opioid withdrawal who have a low chance of continued opioid exposure, the company said. The product is intended for emergency use, and patients who overdose still require emergency care afterward. Opioid overdose deaths have spiked over the last two decades in America.

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Meridian Bioscience Inc. shares dropped 8.8% in pre-market trade Wednesday after the company reported a first-quarter earnings and revenue miss, along with guidance cuts for the 2017 fiscal year and a reduction to its cash dividend. Chief Executive Officer John Kraeutler attributed the negative first-quarter earnings results to revenue declines in the company’s Americas diagnostic business — the company’s largest profit driver — across all major product categories, declines that occurred “in part due to customer buying patterns and general weakness overall.” The company expects stabilization measures implemented in late 2016 to return the unit to growth later this fiscal year, though the recovery “is proceeding more slowly than planned,” he said. Earnings for the latest quarter fell to $6.3 million, or 15 cents per share, from $8.9 million, or 21 cents per share in the same period a year ago. First-quarter revenue fell to $46.8 million, compared with $47.2 million in the year-earlier period, and below the FactSet consensus of $51.1 million. For 2017, the company has reduced its net revenue guidance to $193 million to $199 million and per share diluted earnings to between 64 cents per share and 69 cents per share, down from prior guidance of $205 million to $210 million and 81 cents per share to 85 cents per share, respectively. The company said it has reduced its fiscal 2017 annual indicated dividend rate from 80 cents per share to 50 cents per share, and its regular quarterly cash dividend will be about 13 cents per share for the first quarter “based on current business trends.” Meridian shares were valued at $16.45 as of Tuesday’s close. Shares have declined 3.0% over the last three months, compared with a 6.4% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. shares fell more than 3% in premarket trade on Wednesday after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that fell short Wall Street expectations. Net income for the quarter was $292 million, or 21 cents per share, after a loss of $4.1 billion, or $3.47 per share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted earnings per share for the quarter were 25 cents, which was below FactSet’s 35 cents consensus. Revenue hit $4.37 billion, improved from last year’s $3.52 billion during the same quarter, but below the FactSet consensus of $4.44 billion. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan up nearly 332% in the trailing 12-month period, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 21%.

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