Category: Stock Market News

Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. said Tuesday it expects fourth-quarter net sales of about $2.013 billion, up 4.1% from the year-earlier period, and ahead of the current FactSet consensus of $1.972 billion. The maker of orthopedic reconstructive products said full-year sales are expected to come to $7.684 billion, up 28.1% over the year earlier. The FactSet consensus is for full-year sales of $7.642 billion. The company is unable to provide updated guidance for full-year EPS using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles as it works to complete the accounting for its acquisition of LDR Holding Corp., but said it expects adjusted EPS to come in towards the upper end of its range of $7.90 to $7.95. Shares rose 1.2% premarket, and are up 5.4% in the last year, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

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Italian police have arrested two people for allegedly cyberspying on top officials, including European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Italy’s state police said on Tuesday. The arrests come after Italy’s Polizia Postale discovered a central cyber-espionage center that for years has collected sensitive information on politicians, public authorities and top entrepreneurs. The findings were made with help from the FBI Cyber Division. The pair — a nuclear engineer and his sister — will now to have answer charges of obtaining information concerning state security, unauthorized access to computer systems and illegal interception of communications, Polizia di Stato said. The two live in London, but are domiciled in Rome.

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Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. shares surged 5.4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for a late-stage trial of PLX-PAD cells in the treatment of critical limb ischemia, or CLI. CLI is a condition in which fatty deposits block arteries in the leg, reducing blood flow and causing pain, non-healing ulcers, and gangrene. Patients suffering from CLI often require limb amputation. Pluristem, an Israeli developer of placenta-based cell therapy products, said it will use the Phase III study of its PLX-PAD cells to support an application for a marketing approval for the treatment. The company is aiming to start enrolling patients in the U.s. and Europe in the first half of 2017. Shares have gained 47% in the last 18 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. announced Monday night it was selling its Dendreon cancer business to Chinese conglomerate Sanpower Group Co. for $819.9 million in cash. Dandreon’s only commercial product is Provenge, a treatment for prostate cancer. “With this sale, we are better aligning our product portfolio with Valeant’s new operating strategy by exiting the urological oncology business, which is one of our non-core assets,” Valeant CEO Joseph Papa said in a statement. Quebec-based Valeant said it would use the sale proceeds to repay loan debt, and expects the deal to close in the first half of 2017.

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Rent-A-Center Inc. announced late Monday afternoon that Chief Executive Robert Davis had resigned and been replaced on an interim basis by founder and former CEO Mark Speese. Davis replaced Speese nearly three years ago, but the rental-furnishings chain struggled last year thanks to a large impairment charge and sales declines that Davis blamed on a new point-of-sale system. “I am extremely proud of what our team has accomplished in the past three years, during a dynamic and challenging environment,” Davis said in the news release announcing the change. Speese, who had been serving as chairman of Rent-A-Center’s board, previously served as CEO from 2001 to 2014. Rent-A-Center shares, which had fallen 21.8% in the past year, were steady in late trading Monday afternoon.

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President-elect Donald Trump appointed son-in-law Jared Kushner as a senior White House adviser late Monday. Amid speculation that he would be named to the post, media reports said Kushner planned to step down from executive positions and divest substantial assets. Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, will step down as CEO of Kushner Cos. and divest interests in 666 Fifth Avenue as well as other assets with proceeds going into trust, according to Politico. The move is expected to comply with federal ethics statutes. “Mr. Kushner is committed to complying with federal ethics laws and we have been consulting with the Office of Government Ethics regarding the steps he would take,” Kushner’s lawyer told NBC News in a statement. Ivanka Trump, who is not currently slated for a White House position, is also expected to resign from positions she holds within the Trump Organization and divest assets.

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Yahoo Inc. disclosed Monday afternoon that the entity that remains after its merger with Verizon Inc. will be called “Altaba,” and current Chief Executive Marissa Mayer will not be on the board. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Yahoo said that the new company — which consists of Yahoo’s remaining investment in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Yahoo Japan, as well as cash and a few other assets — will only need five board members, and Mayer as well as Yahoo cofounder David Filo will not be among them. The five Yahoo board members who will remain are Tor Braham, Eric Brandt, Catherine Friedman, Thomas McInerney and Jeffrey Smith, Yahoo said, with Brandt serving as chairman of the board beginning Monday. Verizon agreed in July to purchase Yahoo’s core business for $4.8 billion, though recent revelations about hacked Yahoo accounts have put the deal in question. Yahoo shares gained about 0.1% in late trading Monday after closing with a 0.3% gain at $41.34.

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Jared Kushner, the son-in-law to President-elect Donald Trump, plans to step down from executive positions and divest substantial assets in order to become a senior White House adviser, according to media reports Monday. Kushner, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, will step down as CEO of Kushner Cos. and divest interests in 666 Fifth Avenue as well as other assets with proceeds going into trust, according to Politico. The move is expected to comply with federal ethics statutes. “Mr. Kushner is committed to complying with federal ethics laws and we have been consulting with the Office of Government Ethics regarding the steps he would take,” Kushner’s lawyer told NBC News in a statement. Ivanka Trump, who is not currently slated for a White House position, is also expected to resign from positions she holds within the Trump Organization and divest assets.

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Cray Inc. on Monday said it expects to be profitable in 2016 on both adjusted and GAAP basis but did not provide an earnings outlook for 2017 due to a “lack of visibility for the year.” However, it projected 2016 revenue of $630 million, which fell short of $633.3 million projected by analysts in a FactSet survey. Wall Street also forecast the supercomputer company to post adjusted earnings of 18 cents a share in 2016. Cray shares slumped 5% after hours.

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Parexel International Corp. is expected to book charges of $25 million to $35 million, mostly related to employment separation costs stemming from its effort to restructure its operations, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. However, the pharmaceutical services company did not disclose how many employees will be affected nor how it will proceed with the restructuring. Parexel plans to complete its reorganization by the end of fiscal 2018. Shares were flat in late trading after the stock closed down 0.6% to $68.29.

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