Category: Stock Market News

General Electric Co. said Wednesday it has won over $1.4 billion in power generation orders from Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity. The orders are for setting up power plants and to provide technology upgrades and maintenance services. “Using GE’s expanded portfolio of technologies and solutions, this project will provide more reliable and sustainable electricity for the country to help achieve better operations and higher levels of efficiency,” said Steve Bolze, chief executive of GE Power. GE’s stock, which was up 0.1% in premarket trade, has rallied 7.9% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has run up 9.2%.

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Shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. slumped 1.3% in active premarket trade Wednesday, after Credit Suisse turned bearish on the department store chain, citing expectations of limited sales growth amid store closures and stagnant apparel and accessories merchandising. Analyst Christian Buss cut his rating to underperform from neutral. He also downgraded fellow discount department store chain Kohl’s Corp. to underperform from neutral on concerns over deteriorating store margins, sending the stock down 1.8% in premarket trade. Separately, Nordstrom Inc.’s stock surged 1.6% premarket, after Buss upgraded the high-end department store chain to outperform from neutral, citing expectations of relatively strong earnings growth as a result of investments in speed of execution and ecommerce. He raised his stock price target to $58, which is 31% above Tuesday’s closing price of $44.38, from $48. J.C. Penney’s stock had tumbled 18% over the past three months through Tuesday, while Kohl’s shares have slipped 3.9% and Nordstrom’s stock has dropped 17% and the S&P 500 has gained 6%. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF has tacked on 3.8% over the past three months.

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Citigroup Inc. said Wednesday it had net income of $3.57 billion, or $1.14 a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $3.34 billion, or $1.02 a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $17.0 billion from $18.5 billion a year ago. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of $1.12 and revenue of $17.3 billion. Shares were slightly higher premarket, but have gained 37% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 20.6%.

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Shares of SoftBank Group Corp. , the Japanese software service provider responsible for Pepper the robot, were upgraded to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank on Wednesday. Analyst Peter Milliken said the upgrade reflected the company’s new $100 billion Vision Fund, an international tech fund the telecom giant established with a Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund last October that includes a $1 billion contribution from Apple Inc. . Should the fund receive fees of 1% of committed capital, it’d immediately become “a significant profit contributor” to SoftBank, he said. Once all $100 billion is committed, the fund would have the potential to lift earnings by an estimated 9%, according to the Deutsche Bank analysis. The brokerage raised its price target on the stock to 9,200 yen from 7,000. Shares of SoftBank traded up 0.8% to 8242 yen on Wednesday. They’ve risen 24% in the past three months and 61% in the past year.

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Target Corp. shares slid about 5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the retailer cut its fourth-quarter sales and profit guidance following weaker-than-expected holiday sales. The company said same-store sales fell 1.3% in the November to December holiday period. Total sales fell 4.9%, including the impact of the Dec. 2015 sale of the company’s pharmacy and clinic business. “While we were pleased with Black Friday sales, December digital sales growth of more than 40 percent and continued strength in our signature categories, these results were offset by early season sales softness and disappointing traffic and sales trends in our stores,” said Brian Cornell, chairman and CEO of Target. The company is now expecting GAAP per-share earnings from continuing operations of $1.45 to $1.55, down from prior guidance of $1.55 to $1.75. Full-year EPS is forecast at $4.57 to $4.67, compared with prior guidance of $4.67 to $4.87. Same-store sales are expected to decline 1.5% to 1.0% for the quarter. Shares have gained 1.2% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 20.6%.

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Shares of CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Inc. soared 31% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the developer treatments for acute migraines agreed to be acquired by Eli Lilly & Co. for $960 million in cash. Under terms of the deal, Eli Lilly will pay $46.50 for each CoLucid share outstanding, representing a 33% premium to Tuesday’s closing price of $34.90. Eli Lilly expects to record a charge of $850 million, or 80 cents a share, in the first quarter of 2017, as an acquired in-process research and development charge. The deal is expected to close by the end of the first quarter. CoLucid’s key drug is lasmiditan, which was originally discovered at Eli Lilly and was out-licensed to CoLucid in 2005. CoLucid’s stock has rocketed five-fold over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while Eli Lilly shares have lost 5.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 21%.

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Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush has been hospitalized, KHOU 11 News reported Wednesday, citing his office chief of staff Jean Becker. Bush, who is 92 years old, is “doing fine,” Becker told the CBS affiliate station. No reason was given for Bush’s admission to the Methodist Hospital in the Texas Medical Center, but the former U.S. leader has previously been treated for a neck fracture, shortness of breath and fever. He regularly uses a wheelchair and suffers from a form of Parkinson’s Disease, according to KHOU. Bush served a term as president from 1989 to 1993 and before that, was vice president to Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989.

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Cameco Corp. shares fell in the extended session Tuesday after the uranium miner said it would cut 10% of its workforce and that a continued weak market in the metal will lower earnings. Cameco shares dropped 8.7% to $12.11 after hours. “We expect our adjusted net earnings for 2016 will be significantly lower than analysts’ earnings estimates,” Cameco said in a statement. “In presenting our adjusted net earnings, we expect to make total adjustments to net earnings between approximately $180 million and $220 million after-tax ($0.45 to $0.56 per share)[Canadian].” Analysts surveyed by FactSet estimate 2016 earnings of 53 cents a share. Cameco said it will lay off 120 employees to improve efficiency at its uranium mining operations.

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Apollo Global Management LLC is preparing an initial public offering for the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain, according to a report from Reuters on Tuesday. Reuters reported that the IPO would seek to value the chain at more than $1 billion. Apollo purchased Chuck E. Cheese parent company CEC Entertainment Inc. in 2014, valuing the company at $1.3 billion at the time. Apollo is aiming for an IPO in the second half of this year, and is open to offers for an outright purchase, Reuters reported, based on anonymous sources.

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. said late Tuesday Chief Operating Officer and Executive VP Chris Hsu will resign from the company to become the chief executive officer of the previously announced, proposed spin-off and merger of its software business with Micro Focus International PLC. That deal is expected to go through by Aug. 31, the company said in a filing. Shares of HPE were flat after hours after ending the regular trading day down 1.1%. HPE said earlier Tuesday it had agreed to buy SimpliVity for $650 million in cash.

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