Category: Stock Market News

Shares of NRG Energy Inc. surged 6.2% toward a six-month high in premarket trade Tuesday, after activist investor Elliott Associates disclosed in a filing that it has taken a 6.9% stake in the energy production and distribution company. Elliott also disclosed that it entered into an agreement with Bluescape Resources to form an investor group owning 9.4% of NRG’s shares outstanding. Elliott said in an SEC filing that it believes NRG’s stock was “deeply undervalued,” and that there are “numerous opportunities to significantly increase shareholder value,” including operational and financial improvements and strategic initiatives. Elliott is also considering nominating one or more people to NRG’s board. NRG’s stock has rallied 44% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 21%.

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Globus Maritime Ltd.’s stock plunged 24% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the dry bulk shipper said its previously-announced private placement will not occur as planned. The company said late Friday that deal had required multiple parties to close transactions simultaneously, but one party had not agreed to complete the transaction. The company first announced the private placement and the conversion of certain outstanding loans on Nov. 28, then said on Dec. 20 that the closing of the private placement would be delayed until Jan. 13. The stock has more than tripled over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 7%.

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Shares of Christopher & Banks Corp. tumbled 17% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company announced the departure of CEO LuAnn Via and said sales disappointed during the key holiday shopping period. The women’s retailer anticipates fiscal fourth-quarter sales in the range of $85 million to $86 million, compared with $94.6 million in the year-earlier period. Analysts on average had been calling for sales of $95.2 million, according to FactSet. Christopher & Banks blamed the weaker-than-expected sales on lower traffic, “ongoing headwinds in women’s apparel,” and the weather, with the worst demand occurring in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. The company also announced that industry veteran and former Wet Seal CEO Joel Waller has been appointed as interim chief in the wake of Via’s departure. Shares of Christopher & Banks had been up more than 50% in the past three months as of Friday’s close.

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Mattel Inc. said Tuesday morning that Margo Georgiadis would be its new chief executive officer, effective Feb. 8. Georgiadis, who will also join the company’s board of directors, has been President, Americas at Google since 2011, and has also been chief operating officer of Groupon Inc. and an executive vice president of Discover Financial Services. Current Mattel CEO Christopher Sinclair, who has served since early 2015 and helped re-energize the company’s sales and culture, will be executive chairman of the board, the company said. Sinclair told the Wall Street Journal in November that he’d only name the next CEO “when we’ve got confidence that we’ve got a stable enterprise.” Mattel shares have dropped 2.2% over the last three months, compared with a 7.0% rise in the S&P 500 /

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Shares of American Express Co. rallied 0.9% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the credit card and financial services company was upgraded at J.P. Morgan, which cited expectations continued consumer strength and the potential for lower tax rates. Analyst Richard Shane raised his rating to overweight from neutral, and lifted his stock price target to $90, which is 17% above Friday’s closing price of $76.62, from $76. “We expect that personal tax rate reductions will disproportionately benefit [American Express’s] higher income consumers, as well as post a tailwind to the company’s corporate [travel and entertainment] spend,” Share wrote in a note to clients. He said the stock’s valuation remains attractive despite the postelection rally, as it is the only one of card issuers still trading at a discount to its historical relative multiple to the S&P 500 . The stock has run up 14% since the election, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has climbed 18% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 8.5%.

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Shares of Nordstrom, Inc. fell 1% in premarket trade Tuesday after the stock was downgraded to hold from buy at Stifel. The analysts said they believe holiday sales will be weaker than anticipated, which would also mean a “challenging start” to 2017. They cut their target price to $40 from $62. Nordstrom’s anticipated sales weakness was a result of poor sales across retail in general, the analysts wrote. “We believe that the highly competitive environment for retail is pressuring traffic, sales and margins, and we do not anticipate this trend to abate in the near term,” the analysts wrote. The analysts said they have a favorable outlook for the retailer long term, but the current share price already reflects that. The analysts lowered their fourth-quarter 2016 EPS estimate to $1.13 from $1.18. Shares of Nordstrom have fallen 17% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 7%.

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The pound rallied on Tuesday as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said said she’ll put the terms of the country’s exit from the EU to a parliamentary vote. In a closely watched speech on May’s plans for exiting the European Union, the prime minister also confirmed the U.K. will leave the single market, but said she’ll try to get an ambitious trade deal with the bloc. “We will continue to be reliable partners, willing allies and close friends. We want to buy your goods, sell you ours, trade with you as freely as possible, and work with one another to make sure we are all safer, more secure and more prosperous through continued friendship,” she said. Sterling jumped almost 2% to an intraday high of $1.2279, up from $1.2046 on Monday. Against the euro, the pound rose to €1.1454, compared with €1.1363 on Monday.

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Limited Stores, LLC said Tuesday that it has filed for relief under chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Additionally, the apparel retailer said it has began a purchase agreement with an affiliate of Sycamore Partners, a private equity firm, to buy the company’s intellectual property and related assets. This acquisition is subject to the approval of the Bankruptcy Court.

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Tiffany & Co. reported Monday holiday-period total sales of $966 million, up from $961 million a year ago, although total same-store sales fell 2%. By region, same-store sales fell 4% in the Americas, declined 4% in the Asia-Pacific region and dropped 11% in Europe, but rose 21% in Japan. “These overall holiday period sales results were somewhat lower than we had anticipated, but we continue to benefit from a favorable gross margin and prudent expense management,” said Chief Executive Frederic Cumenal. He said he did not anticipate any significant improvement in 2017 to the challenges faced last year. The high-end jewelry retailer expects fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings per share to be down “no more than a mid-single digit percentage,” while the FactSet consensus of $3.97 is up 6.7% from a year ago. Separately, Tiffany said it appointed Reed Krakoff to the newly created position of chief artistic officer, effective Feb. 1. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 14% over the past three months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 3.1% and the S&P 500 has advanced 7%.

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In a speech that could well be aimed at Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday lauded globalization and warned against the dangers of closing the door on trade with other nations. Speaking at the opening plenary at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Xi warned that “no one will emerge as a winner in a trade war,” and he urged other nations to say no to protectionism. “Pursuing protectionism is like locking oneself in a dark room. Wind and rain may be kept outside, but so is light and air,” he said in the speech, which was live translated by an interpreter. The remarks come before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Friday. Trump has pledged to slap tariffs on Chinese goods to bolster U.S. manufacturing.

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