Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Avis Budget Group Inc. rose more than 10% late Wednesday as the rental-car company swung to a profit in the fourth quarter and sales beat forecasts. Avis said it earned $220 million, or $2.65 a share, in the quarter, versus a loss of $31 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company said it earned 45 cents a share, compared with 15 cents a share a year ago. Revenue rose to $2.02 billion, from $1.88 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 22 cents a share on sales of $1.99 billion. Avis called for revenue between $9.2 billion and $9.5 billion for 2018, and adjusted per-share earnings between $2.90 and $3.75 for the year.

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Shares of Pandora Media Inc. gained 8.6% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the company reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter. Pandora reported a net loss of $44.7 million, compared to $90 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the company lost 21 cents, whereas it lost 38 cents a year ago. The adjusted net loss was 21 cents, compared to 13 cents a year ago and expectations for a 7-cent loss. Pandora posted revenue of $395.3 million, up from $392.6 million a year ago and ahead of expectations for $375.8 million. Listener hours fell to 5.03 billion during the quarter, from $5.38 billion a year earlier. The company said it had a combined total of 5.48 million paying subscribers for its Pandora Plus and Premium products. “From launching on-demand for our ad-supported listeners to expanding multiple device partnerships in the last quarter alone, we’re building a strong foundation for audience growth and improved monetization,” CEO Roger Lynch said in a release. Shares fell 8.6% during the regular session Wednesday and they’re down 63% over the past 12 months. The S&P 500 Index has gained 14% in that time.

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BitFunder, an unregistered online bitcoin exchange, and its founder Jon E. Montroll were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday with allegedly operating unregistered online securities and defrauding customers by misappropriating their bitcoins. BitFunder also to disclose a cyberattack on its system that resulted in the theft of more than 6,000 bitcoins. The SEC also charged Montroll with making false and misleading statements in connection with an unregistered offering of securities. In a parallel criminal case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York filed a complaint against Montroll for perjury and obstruction of justice during the SEC’s investigation. The SEC seeks permanent injunctions and disgorgement plus interest and penalties.

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A afternoon rally for the Dow Jones Industrial Average melted on Wednesday as Wall Street struggled to interpret minutes from the Federal Reserve’s January meeting. The Dow was up 18 points, or less than 0.1%, at 24,995, eroding what had been a nearly 300-point rally in the wake of the release of minutes at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The S&P 500 index was up 5 points, or 0.2%, but had been up more than 1% earlier in the session, while the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.5% at 7,265. A deflation of the brisker rise for stocks following meeting minutes from the late-January gathering of the Federal Open Market Committee was attributed in part a climb in yields for the 10-year Treasury note to a session high at 2.95%, while the dollar, as measured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index also picked up steam up 0.4% at 90.09. Minutes from the Jan. 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that officials saw a stronger economy than at the end of 2017 and that more rate hikes were in the offing. The strengthening “increased the likelihood that a gradual upward trajectory of the federal funds rate would be appropriate.” To convey this message, officials altered their statement to point to “further gradual increases,” according to the minutes. However, the Fed minutes don’t incorporate recent signs of rapidly rising inflation, which could make the Fed more inclined to hike rates faster than the three that Wall Street is forecasting, some market participants speculated.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average Wednesday afternoon was rallying after the market digested minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy gathering. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 190 points, or 0.8%, to 25,151, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.7% at 2,736, while the technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index , a proxy for risk appetite on Wall Street, climbed 1.1% to 7,308. Minutes from the Jan. 30-31 Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed that officials saw a stronger economy than at the end of 2017 and that more rate hikes were in the offing. The strengthening “increased the likelihood that a gradual upward trajectory of the federal funds rate would be appropriate.” To convey this message, officials altered their statement to point to “further gradual increases,” according to the minutes. However, the Fed minutes don’t incorporate recent signs of rapidly rising inflation, which could make the Fed more inclined to hike rates faster than the three that Wall Street is forecasting, some market participants speculated.

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U.S. electricity utility Xcel Energy Inc. said Wednesday its board has approved an increase in its quarterly dividend to 38 cents a share from 36 cents. The new dividend will be payable April 20 to shareholders of record as of March 15. Shares were slightly higher, and are up 4% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Shares of furniture maker La-Z-Boy Inc. soared more than 8% Wednesday, after the company posted better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal third quarter to Jan. 27. The company’s adjusted per-share earnings came to 51 cents, as GAAP EPS of 25 cents included a 20 cents charge related to tax reform and a 5 cents charge for a legal settlement. That was ahead of the FactSet consensus of 46 cents. Sales rose 6% to $413.6 million, ahead of the $401 million consensus. “Margins were negatively impacted by rising raw material costs in November and December before a price increase began offsetting the inflation for January deliveries,” said analysts at Stifel. “The price increase is expected to offset the inflation moving forward and the company does not expect additional margin pressure.” Shares have gained 6% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk is leaving the board of OpenAI, a nonprofit focusing on artificial-intelligence research he helped co-found in 2015. In a blog post at OpenAI’s website, the nonprofit said Musk will continue to donate to and to advise the organization. “As Tesla continues to become more focused on AI, this will eliminate a potential future conflict for Elon,” it said. In the same post, OpenAI said Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, was “significantly” increasing his contribution to the organization. Musk has expressed concern that AI could end up being harmful to society, once calling it humanity’s “biggest existential threat.”

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Conservative users of Twitter Inc. are claiming that the company has suspended or deleted accounts belonging to thousands of their followers, according to multiple media reports Wednesday. Investors sent Twitter stock up nearly 2% to $33.40 in early afternoon trading. The hashtag “#TwitterLockOut” was trending in the U.S., because thousands of accounts were tweeting about it. A Twitter spokeswoman said in an emailed statement that the company enforces its rules “without political bias” and that the company is engaged in ongoing enforcement of its policies. Other users also reported Wednesday that Twitter was asking them to confirm that they were real people before being allowed to login to the service. “We also take action on any accounts we find that violate our terms of service, including asking account owners to confirm a phone number so we can confirm a human is behind it,” the spokeswoman wrote. “That’s why some people may be experiencing suspensions or locks. Note that when an account is locked and being challenged to provide a phone number, it is removed from follower counts until it provides a phone number.” Bots that are linked to Russian disinformation and propaganda campaigns have been an ongoing issue for the social media platform, and allegedly released hundreds of posts related to the gun-control debate in the wake of the recent school shooting in Florida. Twitter stock has gained 35% in the past year, and showed a profit for the first time when it reported fourth-quarter earnings. The S&P 500 index has gained 15% in the past 12 months.

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Gold prices settled fractionally higher Wednesday with the U.S. dollar remaining firm after logging its biggest daily decline in more than a year a day earlier. April gold rose 90 cents to end at $1,332.10 an ounce. The ICE dollar index edged up 0.1%. Investors are awaiting the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting in January which could provide additional insight into the Fed’s stance on the monetary policy.

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