Category: Stock Market News

Shares of Illumina Inc. soared 16% in active morning trade Tuesday, putting them on track for the biggest one-day percentage gain in five years, after the DNA sequencing company provided late Monday an upbeat sales outlook and revealed upgraded sequencing platform. Volume neared 2 million shares in the first half hour since the open, already exceeding the full-day average of about 1.4 million shares. The company said at J.P. Morgan’s healthcare conference that it expects fourth-quarter sales of $619 million, according to a transcript provided by FactSet, which was above the FactSet consensus of $612.8 million. The company expects 2017 revenue growth of 10% to 12%, while the FactSet consensus implies growth of 10%. Separately, Illumina introduced its NovaSeq next-generation gene sequencing architecture, which J.P. Morgan analyst Tycho Peterson said holds the potential “to spark a major upgrade cycle.” The stock has lost 0.9% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has gained 4.8% and the S&P 500 has climbed 18%.

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U.S. stocks opened flat on Tuesday, as investors held off on making big bets a day ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s first news conference in months. Recent market gains were fueled by Trump’s election, as investors anticipate that the policies he is expected to pursue will accelerate economic growth. However, the rally has shown signs of stalling of late, and the press conference will be scrutinized for any indication as to Trump’s legislative priorities, as well as other issues. Separately, a modest rise in the price of crude oil could support energy shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 28 points, or 0.1%, to 19,855. The S&P 500 rose less than 1 point to 2,270, basically unchanged on the day. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7 points to 5,539, a rise of 0.1%.

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DineEquity Inc. said Tuesday that its IHOP and Applebee’s brands are expanding internationally. IHOP will open 10 locations in Thailand by 2021 through a franchise agreement with King of Pancakes Co. Ltd., an affiliate of King Food Group Company Limited. And 20 IHOP locations will open across India by 2025 through a franchise agreement with Kwals Catering Private Ltd., a subsidiary of Kwality Group. Applebee’s will open six locations in Bahrain and Oman by 2023 through a development agreement with Mohammed Fakhro, a restaurant operator and franchisee. And five new Applebee’s locations will open in Panama by 2021 through an agreement with current franchisee Collins Restaurant Group. DineEquity has opened 80 new international restaurants since 2014 with plans to double the company’s international presence by 2021. DineEquity shares are unchanged in premarket trading and down 9.6% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 18.1% for the past year.

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Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. said on Tuesday it’s investing in eSports franchise Immortals, reflecting a growing interest in the potential of eSports. Lions Gate joins a consortium of investors that includes Michael Milken and previous investor Steve Kaplan, co-owner of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and Premier League’s Swansea City. The Immortals is a professional eSports team that competes worldwide in a market that is projected to grow to over $1 billion by the end of next year, according to a news release. “We’re delighted to be an early mover in a market that has the potential to transform the face of sports entertainment,” said Peter Levin, Lions Gate president of interactive ventures and games, in a statement. Last year, the world championships for the game League of Legends were played at a sold-out Staples Center in Los Angeles. Lions Gate stock is up 3% in last month since reclassifying shares.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. shares rose 2.8% in Tuesday premarket trading after the fast-casual chain announced same-store sales that progressively improved over the fourth quarter, and a new share repurchase program. Chipotle expects a fourth-quarter same-store sales decline of 4.8%. The company said same-store sales decreased 20.2% in Oct. 2016, decreased 1.4% in Nov. 2016, and increased 14.7% in Dec. 2016. The company expects fourth-quarter sales of $1.035 billion, up from $997.5 million last year, but below the FactSet consensus of $1.049 billion. And Chipotle said earnings per share are expected to be in the range of 50 cents to 58 cents. The FactSet EPS consensus is 96 cents. Chipotle’s board has also authorized a new $100 million share repurchase program, in addition to the previously announced $2.1 billion authorization. As of Jan. 10, 2017, there is $200 million left of the previous program. Chipotle shares are down 4.4% for the last 12 months while the S&P 500 index is up 18.1% for the same period.

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Shares of Williams Cos. tumbled 11% in active premarket trade Tuesday, after the natural gas infrastructure company said its stock offering priced at a deep discount and that it would increase its stake in Williams Partners L.P. . Volume topped 6.1 million shares ahead of the open, enough to make the stock the most actively traded in the premarket. Williams said late Monday that its 65 million share offering, which would increase the shares outstanding by 8.7%, priced at $29, or 9.2% below Monday’s closing price of $31.93. Williams said it would use the proceeds from the sale to help boost its stake in Williams Partners to 72%. Williams said it would increase its quarterly dividend by 50%, while Williams Partners will cut its quarterly payout by 29%. Williams Partner’s stock fell 1.7% before the open. Williams’ stock has soared 57% over the past 12 months through Monday, while Williams Partners’ shares have run up 65% and the S&P 500 has climbed 18%.

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Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. said Tuesday that it expects same-restaurant fourth-quarter revenue to be down 4.5%. Red Robin sees fourth-quarter revenue of $290.8 million, below the FactSet consensus of $300 million. The company expects a comparable guest count decrease of 2.9%. Red Robin said it will report earnings Feb. 21, after the market closes. Shares of Red Robin have fallen 19.5% in the past 12 months, compared to the S&P 500’s gain of 18%.

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Icahn Enterprises L.P. said Tuesday its board has approved a rights offering that aims to raise about $600 million. The investing arm of billionaire Carl Icahn said the offering aims to enhance its depositary unit holder equity, improve its credit ratings and raise equity capital for general partnership purposes. Last May, Standard & Poor’s lowered the company’s credit rating to BB, placing it in speculative, or “junk” status. The rating agency cited the firm’s weak investment performance and high borrowing levels as motives for the move. Icahn Enterprises said it will distribute freely-tradable rights on a pro rata basis to holders of record as of close of business on a record date that has yet to be decided. The rights will allow a unit holder to acquire a newly-issued depositary unit of Icahn Enterprises at an exercise price that is also yet to be determined. Icahn owns about 90% of the company’s outstanding depositary units and has told the company that certain of his affiliates will fully exercise all basic rights allocated in the offering. IEP shares were not yet active premarket, but are up just 2.9% in the last year, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

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Pixelworks Inc. shares jumped almost 8% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the video display technology company said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to come in at the high end of its guidance of $15 million to $16 million. The company said it expects to post a profit for the quarter, after previous guidance of a loss of 6 cents a share to breakeven. The company is expecting to end the quarter with a cash balance of about $19.6 million, net of borrowing, which about $3 million more than at the end of the third quarter. Shares have gained about 28% in the last year, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

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Ascena Retail Group Inc. warned that fiscal second-quarter losses would be wider than expected, as disappointing holiday traffic led to increased promotional activity. The apparel retailer, which store brands include Ann Taylor and Loft, now expects and adjusted per-share loss of 11 cents to 8 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus for a loss of 3 cents. The company now expects fiscal 2017 adjusted earnings per share of 37 cents to 42 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 58 cents. Same-store sales for the holiday period–Nov. 19 through Jan. 2–fell 3.1%, with Ann Taylor sales down 8.2%, Loft sales down 1.8% and Lane Bryant sales down 5.1%. “Outside of discrete peaks during the holiday season, we experienced stronger than expected store traffic headwinds,” said Chief Executive David Jaffe. “As a result, we were forced into a more highly promotional stance in order to move through inventory in the face of softer overall consumer demand.” The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 43% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 6.9% and the S&P 500 has rallied 18%.

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